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HELLOWEEN
(GERMANY)
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BETTER THAN RAW
(1998)
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LABEL:
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GENRE:
HEAVY METAL
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TAGS:
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"Less dark than its predecessor, "Better Than Raw" is another excellent album from Helloween, both Heavy and melodic."
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4/5
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Following the success of "Time Of The Oath", Helloween embarked on a long tour that kept them busy throughout 1996. This led to the release of a double live album, "High Live", in 1997, that will be a fine retrospective. Helloween then immediately returned to the studio, recording "Better Than Raw" in early 1998 in Tenerife, in Andi Deris' personal studio.
Musically, Helloween remains on the same course, offering melodic heavy speed with, as on their two predecessors, an alternation between speedy and more direct tracks. After a classical-inspired intro by Uli Kusch, the album kicks off with a thunderous 'Push', featuring heavy drums, almost unrecognizable vocals and harmonies limited to the chorus and solos, followed by a devastating 'Falling Higher', less Thrash than its predecessor, but with an effective chorus and a huge break.
After this unstoppable opener, Helloween calm things down with more classic tracks that are both heavy and easy to get to, such as 'Hey Lord!', a real potential hit with a pop chorus and an easy-to-remember airy melody, 'I Can', the album's single or 'Handful Of Pain'. 'Laudate Dominum' is the album's fun track, with its Latin vocals, and 'Revelation' is the most complex composition, in which Helloween switch from Thrash to Heavy Metal with ease, in a track that's pretty close to the spirit of Iron Maiden. 'Midnight Sun' concludes the record brilliantly, effectively applying the band's recipe for excellent melodic heavy speed.
Less dark than its predecessor, "Better Than Raw" is another excellent album from Helloween, both heavy and melodic. With an album of this caliber, Helloween has completely erased its painful past and regained its place on the metal scene. - Official website
Did you know?
 "Better Than Raw" (1998) was initially intended to be a double album, but time constraints led the band to release it as a single disc.
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Deliberately Limited Preliminary Prelude Z (01:44)
02. Push (04:47)
03. Falling Higher (04:48)
04. Hey Lord! (04:07)
05. Don't Spit On My Mind (04:25)
06. Revelation (06:23)
07. Time (05:45)
08. I Can (04:39)
09. A Handfull Of Pain (04:49)
10. Laudate Dominum (05:12)
11. Midnight Sun (06:20)
LINEUP:
Andi Deris: Chant
Markus Grosskopf: Basse
Michael Weikath: Guitares
Roland Grapow: Guitares
Uli Kusch: Batterie
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READERS
3.9/5 (8 view(s))
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STAFF:
3.8/5 (4 view(s))
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