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By RYAN MAVITY
You want some high-octane power metal? You want a record filled with pounding rhythms, high-speed guitar solos and impeccable craftsmanship? Of course you do. And why do I sound like Dan Dierdorf? And why the hell am I asking you?
Anyway, Gambling with the Devil, the latest from veteran German metalheads Helloween, is full of all those things. Much like with Annihilator, this is old-fashioned “AAAAAAA!!!!!!” power metal, done by guys who know what they are doing. This kind of music may be old hat, but Helloween still makes it look good. Every track on Gambling with the Devil is big, epic and grand. Thankfully, they are interested only in rocking your fucking socks off and not slipping in a ballad. Things start off with the speed-metal-fueled “Kill It” and never let up. Tracks come fast and furious, and Helloween is always fun, whether it’s the seven-minute opus “The Saints” or the made-for-Guitar Hero sounds of “Final Fortune.” Vocalist Andi Deris lets his high-pitched wail keep the proceedings rooted in classic metal, while Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner back it up with some serious dueling guitar work. Drummer Dani Loble is all over the place and puts the backbone into Helloween’s sound. Tracks like “As Long As I Fall” and “Can Do It” are as catchy as anything you can hear in metal these days.
Gambling with the Devil is one of those albums that, as a metal enthusiast, you have to love. It’s not original; in fact, Helloween themselves have played this same sound for years. But its just so damn rockin’ that you can’t help but turn into Jack Black and start praising at the alter of “The Metal.” Music like this has survived so long precisely because it hasn’t changed. It stands outside of trends and, whether people like it or not, will be with us long after nuclear holocaust, like cockroaches, Cher and Chuck Taylors. Sure, there is a bit of a Spinal Tap feel to the proceedings, but goddamn if it isn’t consistently entertaining.
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