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You have to give this to Helloween, this is a band that doesn't always put out the same album! Following the excellent Better Than Raw released in 1998, The Dark Ride, as announced by its almost colorless cover, is a much darker album, and much more slow-paced than its predecessor. So different in fact, that I think a lot of people might not like it - or not give it the chance to grow on to them. First off, there is no doubt that this is an Helloween album, it might sound totally different from their previous material, but there's still that little something that distinguishes them. Secondly, those who dismiss Andi Deris as a vocalist are full of shit, and this album proves it without any doubt. Very well-controlled vocals, flowing with the music, you'll want to sing along!

The Dark Ride is indeed less "happy" than previous Helloween release, but somehow they managed to get most of the songs to remain catchy, namely Mr. Torture, Escalation 666, If I Could Fly, The Departed (Sun is Going Down) and I Live for Your Pain. Hmmm... I almost named them all. Not one bad song on this album, although a couple of them don't stand out as much as the others, they're still very good by any standards. This is an album that might remain in your CD player for a while, so beware! Anyways, I loved Better than Raw and, although this new release sounds completely different, I think they managed to put out an equal (or at least almost equal) successor to their 1998 masterpiece.

I have to ask though, what is it with Germans and mirrors?