Better Than Raw

It’s uncommon to find an album so lyrically fixed on positivity yet so musically aggressive as this one, and it’s a winning combination. Helloween is one of the bands that invented power metal, and they’re in complete mastery of the genre here. This is the version of the album that contains the full 1998 release plus four bonus tracks in the form of previously hard-to-find rarities. Starting off with the whimsically titled, classically inspired short instrumental piece “Deliberately Limited Preliminary Prelude In Z”, the album then segues into its first full-length track, “Push” with great drums and machine gun-like riffing, solid vocals and pulsating bass, and great solos. The song is about resisting media manipulation, and they’ve got a point to a large degree, but this one comes off a little, well, pushy. The various forms of media all have their faults, but they’re not all bad. A little bit of this flaw comes out in “Don’t Spit On My Mind” too but as with “Push” it doesn’t stop it from being, overall, a great track. The lyrics elsewhere are better constructed and generally very upbeat, often very Christian, on great tracks like “Revelation” and “I Can.” The slower, much more mellow “Time” serves as a nice counterpoint to the all out metal assault on most of the album. “Lavdate Dominvm” is a great pure metal attack sung entirely in Latin, and it leaves me with the same question I always have when I hear great non-English metal tracks: why don’t more bands do this, at least occasionally? English is great but there are, what, 6500 or so other languages out there that would probably love to be immortalized on a few tracks. “Lavdate Dominvm” is a great example. The original album concludes with one of its highlights, “Midnight Sun”, and then we’re off to the four bonus tracks, all saved from relative obscurity by being added here. Possibly the best of these is the instrumental “Moshi Moshi-Shiki No Ura”, a live track listed as a drum solo, but there’s a little guitar in there at the end too. This track gives me the perfect opportunity to discuss Uli Kusch’s drumming in general. It’s amazing. This guy either has some uncommon percussion pieces included in his drum kit, or he’s simply able to wrench sounds from the regular drums that most other drummers can’t. It’s similar to the way Jimi Hendrix coaxed all these original, unique sounds out of a regular guitar, which I don’t think anybody has been able to quite emulate. The guitars by Michael Weikath and Markus Grosskopf, and the bass by Roland Grapow, are all great, but what I’d like to address next is Andi Deris’s great vocals. This guy was given a highly unusual voice that, for many singers, would hold them back. Deris has found a way to make this unorthodox voice work wonders, though, and it goes great with the instrumental aspects of the album. Overall, this is an album that any metal fan should have in their collection. Highly recommended.

Excelente

Helloween “Better Than Raw” 2006 on CD includes 15 Tracks. Helloween “Better Than Raw” Tracks 1-11 and Bonus Tracks 12-15 included on CD featuring Andy Deris on Vocals. Highly recommended Helloween discography.

Very fragile design, completely made from paper, but the sound is good, I was lucky that I got an undamaged copy

This is the last of the Eight remastered Helloween albums. The album as it stood before was a very solid, hard hitting album that took Helloween into a darker, and more progressive sound that needed to occur for the band to mature, and move in a different musical direction. It stands as an early preview to what "The Dark Ride" was to be. Starting with the introductory instramental Deliberately Limited Preliminary Prelude In Z, to the last track Midnight Sun, this album is full of hard rock and thrash elements. Songs like I can and Hey Lord have a catchy anthem type vibe to add into the mix. For those who bought the album in Europe originally, this contains the US bonus track "A Game We Shouldn't Play". For other outside Japan who didn't buy the bonus version there, or the single for Hey Lord, this has the tracks Back on the Ground and Moshi Moshi Shiki No Uta (live). Also a bootleg version of Hey Lord from the single is here to. Nicely done with new slipcover sleave, and a full 16 page liner book with the continuation/conclusion of the 8 cd booklet interview/travel through time with Helloween members. Definately should pick this album up if you havn't before.

Better Than Raw is a phenomenal album, often with a heavier sound than much of their other albums. Deris is fantastic throughout, and he exhibits a great range from the intense Push to the more relaxed Time. Like Time of the Oath, I don't believe there's a single weak track on this album, and it's a must have for any Helloween fan.

Item is brand new. Highly recommended.

I was astonished at how good this album was. Really caught me off guard, even though I like the "I Can" single better than the Cd version. This album has a blend of heaviness, melody and it's catchy. Deris' voice sounds great in this album, sure he isn't Kiske but his voice is good nonetheless and it fits nicely with the band.

Très bon album de Helloween. Chaque album est un peu différent, certains sont plus rythmés que d'autres, plus hard rock limite Trash. Ils sont tous bien, mit les uns derrières les autres dans un lecteur multi disque, cela fait un très bel ensemble à écouter en boucle, moi j'adore.

This is maybe a 90% album, but it gets 5 stars on Amazon. Helloween have 3 fairly distinct stages in their career and 'Better Than Raw' falls firmly in the middle stage. This is where Andi Deris had settled in and the band were making very solid albums that were still influenced by classic power metal but no longer sounder "traditional" (like Iron Maiden etc) and had not yet begun to sound heavier and modern. 'Better Than Raw' shows a little bit of experimentation but is still a straight up heavy/speed/power metal album. All the little things are great here. The production is good - clear, heavy, and precise - and everyone in the band gives a good performance. The artwork surpasses even Helloween's high standards. The songs are all well-written and don't drift or become dull, although the 8-minute 'Revelation' could be cut to 6. The opening 'Push' was at the time perhaps Helloween's heaviest song and has Deris using a gruffer voice in the chorus, but there are sing-along moments in 'Falling Higher', 'Hey Lord!', and 'Midnight Sun', as well as 'Laudate Dominum', which is absolutely irresistible despite all the lyrics being in Latin. Even the ballad is good. The guitars are always being used creatively: the riffs are consistently catchy and the solos are some of the best from the pair of Weikath and Grapow. Listen to the twin guitar break in 'Falling Higher' if you need any persuading. The rhythm section provide a high energy backdrop to the songs without approaching extreme territory as they would after 2006's 'Gambling With the Devil', though there are moments for both instruments to shine through, like on the wicked build up to 'Midnight Sun'. A joy of an album, and one of Helloween's best.

Llegó en el dia señalado y en buenas condiciones, mas temprano de lo que pensé, y sobre el album en sí, solo decir que es de los mejores de helloween

Band leggendaria. E questo è uno dei loro migliori album senza dubbio. Personalmente quello che mi piace di più essendo un po'più moderno rispetto ai loro capolavori storici. Potentissimo sia nei suoni che negli arrangiamenti è assolutamente da avere e basta. Prezzo irrisorio.

El mejor disco de Helloween era Deris. Perfecto y con expansión que no está mal, no es lo que más destaco del disco mas que el disco en sí. Genial