If there is a golden thread throughout the more than 25 years of HELLOWEEN's history, 13 studio albums, countless headliner tours around the globe and more than 5 million records sold, then it is their special kind of attitude: don't take yourself too seriously and simply live statements like "just have fun with the shit you're doing." Maybe it is exactly this easiness that allows HELLOWEEN to be one of the most constant bands of the genre while simultaneously being the one band who dares to experiment more than their musical peers.
While some copycats would rather stick with the same old patterns, Andi Deris, Michael Weikath, Sascha Gerstner, Markus Großkopf and Dani Löble aren't afraid of taking risks — and are rightfully rewarded with success.
"7 Sinners" is definitively one of the fastest and hardest albums in the HELLOWEEN's history and it bursts with vitality. That might partly be due to the versatility of the various songwriters within the band, who over time have become so homogenous, that the 13 songs formed a unity on their own in the studio , but it may also be due to the fact that the album was recorded completely without a click track, which, considering the extreme speed of the songs is an impressive feat. Especially drummer Löble, who proves that his technique is at a world-class-level. Following his excellent inner clock, bass and drums drive tracks like "Are You Metal?", "Long Live The King" and "Who Is Mr. Madman?" to dizzying tempos. "7 Sinners", with its typically strong melodies and the tangible joy of playing, is a true metal album whose range reaches astonishing dimensions.
It has become a cliche for metal band's to tout their newest opus as their "fastest" or "heaviest" album ever made, but in HELLOWEEN's case, "7 Sinners" is truly a return to form and is indeed their fastest and heaviest release in years. HELLOWEEN bass player Markus Grosskopf stated about the band's new material: "For all those out there who found our special best-of [CD] 'Unarmed' to be too smooth and calm, I have great news: The new album will hit you right in the face! It's gonna be very heavy and contain all [the classic] HELLOWEEN trademarks! Some songs are very powerful and hymnic, others contain the fastest bass-drum patterns our drummer Dani ever played, and this means a lot!"
"7 Sinners" track listing:
01. Where The Sinners Go
02. Are You Metal?
03. Who is Mr. Madman?
04. Raise The Noise
05. World Of Fantasy
06. Long Live The King
07. The Smile Of The Sun
08. You Stupid Mankind
09. If A Mountain Could Talk
10. The Sage, The Fool, The Sinner
11. My Sacrifice
12. Not Yet Today
13. Far In The Future
The "Are You Metal?" video can be viewed below. The clip was filmed on September 30 in Beelitz, Germany.
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