Helloween: Giants & Monsters

Helloween and their 'Pumpkins United' line-up return for their 2nd album together, and 17th overall, titled Giants & Monsters. If you haven't been following, the band now features:

Andi Deris: vocals
Michael Kiske: vocals
Michael Weikath: guitars
Kai Hansen: vocals, guitars
Markus Grosskopf: bass
Sascha Gerstner: guitars
Daniel Löble: drums

The album kicks off with "Giants on the Run", not quite an opening title track, but a great way to start the album. Killer riff, great vocal tradeoffs between Andi, Michael, and Kai (is that Kai or Andi doing the gruff vocal?), and the song is so damn memorable and heavy. Killer! "Savior of the World" features Michael Kiske in all his glory, and this one could have easily come off either of the first two Keeper of the Seven Keys albums. So catchy, and man, Kiske's pipes are still in fine form. Blazing lead guitars, riffs, and drums as you would expect, this one takes me instantly back to late '80s Helloween. Next up is "A Little Is a Little Too Much", another ultra catchy power metal track, and kind of reminds me of "Shot in the Dark" by Ozzy in the beginning. Love the vocals of Andi and Michael here, each trading off verses...and what a chorus! It's followed by "We Can Be Gods", another old school styled crusher, with Kiske delivering another killer lead vocal, all three taking turns contributing on the chorus, nice use of keys, and a barnstorming riff to open the song. Tasty guitar solos too, with them all trading off!

"Into the Sun" is more of a soaring ballad, Deris and Kiske killing it on the vocals, and a great yearning guitar solo from Weikath. From there we move into "This is Toyko", a standard, uptempo, happy power metal track, but damn, is this catchy as all hell...kudos to Kiske and Deris for once again nailing the vocals. "Universe (Gravity for Hearts)" is up next, with a crankin' riff to kick it off, Deris with a potent vocal to start, Kiske then coming in and killing it...another really memorable power metal anthem. The chorus is so good! That's followed by "Hand of God", a groovy tune, some funky licks mixed in with the power metal chug, and a playful vocal from Deris. "Under the Moonlight" is more of a straightforward metal track, but given the fun Helloween spin, Kiske taking us back to the 2nd, more playful Keeper album. Quick, painless, and fun, though perhaps my least favorite here. "Majestic" is the epic 8-minute closer, this one has a "Love to Love" (UFO) styled keyboard intro, and even the riffs are similar. Crunchy mid-paced metal thumper, loads of great guitar work, Kiske and Deris again taking turns on the verses to great effect. Roaring guitar solos...this one is epic all the way!

"Out of Control" is the CD bonus track, a chugging and clever power metal song, Kai Hansen on the lead vocal, for some more old school sounds. This is not a leftover, and just as worthy as any of the other songs, and the chorus completely crushes!

Overall, yeah, this is loads of fun and better than I thought it would be, and you could make the argument that it's stronger than the previous album. Having all these guys together is allowing all the creative juices to flow, and in the end, it's another classic Helloween album!

Track Listing
1. Giants on the Run 06:20
2. Savior of the World 04:15
3. A Little Is a Little Too Much 03:30
4. We Can Be Gods 05:24
5. Into the Sun 03:39
6. This Is Tokyo 04:16
7. Universe (Gravity for Hearts) 08:22
8. Hand of God 03:44
9. Under the Moonlight 03:07
10. Majestic 08:10

Added: September 27th 2025
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 335
Language: english

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