 |
|
Helloween: Better Than Raw-Expanded Edition
Our love for Better Than Raw and our curiosity as to why it’s being re-issued exist rather in spite of one another. On the one hand, here’s one of the best albums that Helloween has ever put out – Michael Weikath, in his interview with Maelstrom after the release of Rabbit Don’t Come Easy, concurred – but on the other, it’s not like it’s so terribly old and in need of re-mastering.
This whole business of getting unsuspecting metal fans to buy an album they already have under the guise of it being "re-mastered" can be an ugly, sordid thing, particularly when the original and re-tooled versions sound identical. And Better Than Raw has been out in "re-mastered" format for years now. We asked Weikath what the deal with all this re-mastering and "new artwork" was. "Mere crap," he replied, adding "treacherous" and "lame." "The masters we had were already digital and already as good as can be."
Indeed. Buyer beware. Your original copy of Better Than Raw is sounds EXACTLY the same as any subsequent versions. That is, if you don’t listen past track #11...
The incentives to buy the expanded edition lies in four bonus tracks (and an expanded booklet with a mini-interview). The two studio b-sides, "Back on the Ground" and "A Game We Shouldn’t Play" are quite fine as such. The live cut of "Perfect Gentleman" is a bit of fun, and the Uli Kusch drum solo is a good time for what it is. The art remains the best, most professional and eye-catching work to grace a Helloween record.
But the main event is rightfully the album itself. Light years better than the album’s predecessor, The Time of the Oath, Better Than Raw contains a skillful mix of songs that range from the opening rager "Push," to mid-tempo rockers like "I Can," to the irresistibly sing-along of "Falling Higher," to the Black Sabbath Spirit Caravan"-flavored "Time," to the heaviest, most technical song the band has ever done, "Revelation" (one of this reviewers all-time Helloween faves). Another particular standout is "Laudate Dominum," a song written entirely in Latin and with a chorus that evokes some manner of reverence for old, classical melody.
What’s significant about this melange is that Helloween manage to make just about all of them an engaging experience, either with tremendously appealing choruses, melodies, or tempo shifts. Absolutely all the tracks on this album benefit from a stellar, full production with tremendous bite and power in the vocals and guitars, really making The Time of the Oath seem like a sad-sack sonic experiment gone awry in comparison.
Of course, if you want a procession of power metal anthems, you might be left wanting. For that, stick with Walls of Jericho. By this time, Helloween had progressed, leaving their speed metal roots largely behind. But where the first couple Andi Deris-fronted albums floundered in the reduction of speed and intensity, Better Than Raw does a superb job, and sees the best gelling together of Helloween’s longest lasting line-up in the four albums that they would put together. Better Than Raw is a great time through and through, abounding with hooks, memorability, and tremendous performances. (9.2/10)
track Listing
1. Deliberately Limited Preliminary Prelude in Z
2. Push
3. Falling Higher
4. Hey Lord!
5. Don't Spit On My Mind
6. Revelation
7. Time
8. I Can
9. A Handful Of Pain
10. Laudate Dominum
11. Midnight Sun
12. Back On The Ground -bonus
13. A Game We Shouldn't Play -bonus
14. Perfect Gentleman -bonus
15. Moshi Moshi-Shiki No Uta -bonus
От себя добавлю, что альбом по качеству 1-1 совпадает с оригиналом. Однако тут есть еще 4 бонус трека (см. опрос) + новые обложки для фанатов (у меня нет)
Our love for Better Than Raw and our curiosity as to why it’s being re-issued exist rather in spite of one another. On the one hand, here’s one of the best albums that Helloween has ever put out – Michael Weikath, in his interview with Maelstrom after the release of Rabbit Don’t Come Easy, concurred – but on the other, it’s not like it’s so terribly old and in need of re-mastering.
This whole business of getting unsuspecting metal fans to buy an album they already have under the guise of it being "re-mastered" can be an ugly, sordid thing, particularly when the original and re-tooled versions sound identical. And Better Than Raw has been out in "re-mastered" format for years now. We asked Weikath what the deal with all this re-mastering and "new artwork" was. "Mere crap," he replied, adding "treacherous" and "lame." "The masters we had were already digital and already as good as can be."
Indeed. Buyer beware. Your original copy of Better Than Raw is sounds EXACTLY the same as any subsequent versions. That is, if you don’t listen past track #11...
The incentives to buy the expanded edition lies in four bonus tracks (and an expanded booklet with a mini-interview). The two studio b-sides, "Back on the Ground" and "A Game We Shouldn’t Play" are quite fine as such. The live cut of "Perfect Gentleman" is a bit of fun, and the Uli Kusch drum solo is a good time for what it is. The art remains the best, most professional and eye-catching work to grace a Helloween record.
But the main event is rightfully the album itself. Light years better than the album’s predecessor, The Time of the Oath, Better Than Raw contains a skillful mix of songs that range from the opening rager "Push," to mid-tempo rockers like "I Can," to the irresistibly sing-along of "Falling Higher," to the Black Sabbath Spirit Caravan"-flavored "Time," to the heaviest, most technical song the band has ever done, "Revelation" (one of this reviewers all-time Helloween faves). Another particular standout is "Laudate Dominum," a song written entirely in Latin and with a chorus that evokes some manner of reverence for old, classical melody.
What’s significant about this melange is that Helloween manage to make just about all of them an engaging experience, either with tremendously appealing choruses, melodies, or tempo shifts. Absolutely all the tracks on this album benefit from a stellar, full production with tremendous bite and power in the vocals and guitars, really making The Time of the Oath seem like a sad-sack sonic experiment gone awry in comparison.
Of course, if you want a procession of power metal anthems, you might be left wanting. For that, stick with Walls of Jericho. By this time, Helloween had progressed, leaving their speed metal roots largely behind. But where the first couple Andi Deris-fronted albums floundered in the reduction of speed and intensity, Better Than Raw does a superb job, and sees the best gelling together of Helloween’s longest lasting line-up in the four albums that they would put together. Better Than Raw is a great time through and through, abounding with hooks, memorability, and tremendous performances. (9.2/10)
track Listing
1. Deliberately Limited Preliminary Prelude in Z
2. Push
3. Falling Higher
4. Hey Lord!
5. Don't Spit On My Mind
6. Revelation
7. Time
8. I Can
9. A Handful Of Pain
10. Laudate Dominum
11. Midnight Sun
12. Back On The Ground -bonus
13. A Game We Shouldn't Play -bonus
14. Perfect Gentleman -bonus
15. Moshi Moshi-Shiki No Uta -bonus
От себя добавлю, что альбом по качеству 1-1 совпадает с оригиналом. Однако тут есть еще 4 бонус трека (см. опрос) + новые обложки для фанатов (у меня нет)