Straight Out of Hell (2020 Remaster)＜Light Green/Ocean Blue Bi-Colored Vinyl＞

The 14th studio album from venerable German power metal outfit Helloween kicks off with the blistering "Nabatea," a typically ambitious, seven-minute epic concerning a kingdom of nomadic, Mediterranean, peace-loving folks swallowed up by the Roman Empire in AD 106. From there, truncated history lessons are put on the back burner in favor of a more traditional, Keeper of the Seven Keys-era Helloween approach, offering up immaculate blasts of impossibly tuneful, power/neo-classical metal with humor ("Asshole"), apocalyptic glee ("World of War"), and an unapologetic love for all things Iron Maiden ("Far from the Stars"). Brighter, broader, and a good deal lighter in tone than 2010's ominous 7 Sinners, Straight Out of Hell (definitely not Compton) finds Helloween resting on its laurels a bit, but should nonetheless please longtime fans with its huge, soaring choruses and reliably strong musicianship. [A version was released with two bonus tracks, "Another Shot of " and "Burning Sun."] ~ James Christopher Monger

〈LOUDPARK〉参加を経て到着したこの新作も、速くて大袈裟すぎるアレンジに心躍らされっぱなしの素敵な仕上がりだ。それにしたって振り切れっぷりはハンパなく、「ポジティヴでハッピーな雰囲気を意識した」というメンバーの発言からも楽しんで作られたことが窺えますな。ボートラで聴けるジョン・ロード追悼曲まで、徹底してメロディアスなカボチャ流パワー・メタルで攻めまくり! 2000年以降の最高傑作!!
bounce (C)山口コージー