The Summary Judgment Reviews:
Title: The Dark Ride
Artist: Helloween
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 12/15/00

Rating: 4 Skulls
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    • Reviewed by Moloch (7/10/02):
    Helloween's The Dark Ride was released in 2000, and the single for "If I Could Fly" was also released in 2000. So what's new here? They've both been released together in a special "value box" offering the single as a bonus for buying the full length. The only problem I can see with this is that most people who would have purchased this CD would most likely already own it, but for those who don't, or haven't heard it: on to the music!

    For those who don't know the history of these talented Teutons, I'll attempt to construct it with a modicum of brevity. The band helped to pioneer fast, melodic power metal in the 80's; went through several line-up changes; practically disappeared off the face of the map; resurrected into this current lineup (actually since this release Roland Grapow and Uli Kusch have departed), and have produced several albums in the 90's since rising from the dead with only two original members.

    Now the crux the album is this: I used to listen to other power metal bands and think, "Yah, this sounds like Helloween! I love this!" Well, I find this ironic because I think that a lot of the music on The Dark Ride sounds like Stratovarius and Gamma Ray. I'm referring to some of the leads and keyboard parts. Now I've also read that this is the best "new era" Helloween album, but after listening to it a few times I still think that Better than Raw is still the best post-Kai Hansen album, but not by much. This record was also supposed to be "dark;" I don't really see it aside from the cover, the title song and "Escalation 666," which has a low, sludgy main riff throughout it. Regardless, it's still a powerful album musically; the production is great, and I do have to say that I like it more every time I listen to it. It's filled with strong, memorable vocals, rolling double bass, some blazing solos and more than enough variety for the songs to separate themselves. (Which you can't always say about a lot of power metal bands.) My favorite tracks are the faster paced songs, showing where my tastes lie, but as I said, there's plenty of variety. Concerning the attached single, if you don't already have it, but you have the album I'm sure you can find the single separately because it's worth a listen, and if you don't have either... hey, what a bargain!
    4 out of 5

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