The Dark Ride

The Dark Ride is an unusual melodic-metal record on which Helloween steps far from its former bright image, greatly increasing heaviness and shadow. Andi Deris’s singing uses not only a bright high register but a low, sinking shadow, greatly widening the faces of the songs. Even in the band’s history, it sits in a particularly dark place. The guitar is heavy and the rhythm hard-edged, with a taut tension drifting over the whole. From the aggression of “Mr. Torture” and the lyricism of the fine ballad “If I Could Fly” to the drama of “Mirror, Mirror” and the weight of the title track “The Dark Ride,” a deep shading unlike before covers the whole, while a cut like “Salvation” unites sharpness and songcraft. Listeners expecting bright, open power metal may be surprised, but the record’s value lies precisely in boldly updating its sonic picture without fearing change. Even within the heavy, dark sound, the strength of the choruses and the appeal of the melody are not lost in the least. Opening a new side of Helloween, it is an ambitious, engaging work.