Steel Tormenter (5:40)
This is a solid metal song, but it doesn't particularly
stand out on this album. Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent song, it just
tends to get forgotten a little. It seems to be either about a racecar driver,
or a driver of something else, which I won't get into right here.
Wake Up the Mountain (5:01)
At first listen,
this song seemed rather commercial to me, but now it's one of my favorites.
Mainly because it has one of the best solos
I've heard out of Helloween. Especially amazing that it was written by
the drummer. It's got a pretty cool picture too.
Power (3:28)
This was the first single off the
album. It's got a great solo and a really catchy chorus. Very melodic.
This one was written by Weikath, and lyrically, it seems to be strongly
anti-Gamma Ray. What else is new? Not that I care, because it's still a
great song.
Forever and One (Neverland) (3:54)
This is the first of the two ballads on
this album, and in my opinion, the good one. It was written by Deris,
and he does some rare clear singing on it. Somehow it reminds me of Guns 'n
Roses' Don't Cry, which is not exactly a good thing. The lyrics are pretty
sappy, but the music is a little better than your average ballad.
Before The War (4:33)
Wow, is this a fast song. Possibly the fastest
Helloween has ever done. It's got a great intro, with all kinds of war sounds
and a few strings, and suddenly it bursts into high speed mayhem. The whole
song maintains the same furious pace, even the incredible dual lead solo.
This song contains one of the few refrences
to the so-called Nostradamus concept. It also features the Keeper, who is
pictured on the cover of this album.
A Million To One (5:11)
Helloween takes a break
from the extremes and tries out a mid-tempo song. It's a nice change.
This is another one written by Kusch (drums). It's got a lot of character to
it, and a groovin' solo. Reminds us that Helloween has much more than one
side to their music.
Anything My Mama Don't Like (3:46)
This is the song that most Keepers-era
Helloween fans won't like too much. It's basically a rock-and-roll song with
a real silly chorus. You might hate the song, but I'll guarantee you'll have
"anything my ma-ma, anything my ma-ma..." running through your head sometime.
It also has a trick ending like Perfect Gentleman off Master of the Rings.
Those who liked Chameleon can probably see some value in this song. It's just
a lot of fun, even if it doesn't fit on this album.
Kings Will Be Kings (5:09)
We're back to the speed and power
again with this song. To go along with its title, this song has a sort of
majestic feel to it. The songs near the end of the album have a more serious
feel to them, which also makes them better.
Mission Motherland (9:00)
This is the long song of the album.
Sure, it's no Halloween, but does have quite an epic feel to it. It's also
got a really heavy riff we have never really heard from Helloween before.
Lyrically, it's about aliens coming to Earth to live with us, but then they
discover that the sun is killing them, so they go inside freezers. And that's
about it. Strange story, great song.
If I Knew (5:30)
This is the Weikath written ballad that isn't so good. That's about it.
The Time of the Oath (6:58)
Here's my idea of what happened with this song: Roland Grapow was all depressed
during the writing of this album. This was the conversation:
Helloween: Roland, you gotta write at least one song!
Roland: Oh, alright. Is it ok if it's really dark and heavy?
Helloween: Sure, as long as it kicks ass.
And the song was created. With it's background machinery sounds and Latin
chants, this one is chock full of moodiness. It took a little getting used to,
but his is now my favorite song off the album. A great end to a great disc.
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