A review by an open-mind Helloween fan

This album is simply astonishing.Yes,Kiske and Hansen are not in the band anymore, and they are truly missed, but you can't expect that a band as excellent as Helloween stay forever playing in the ol' fashion 80's style,I would have get tired of them!The new members are very talented, specially Deris with his agressive tone.He sings so good that sometimes he makes me forget Kiske.
Better Than Raw offers a unique blend of variety and quality in its songs, something rarely seen in any band or their own albums(even Keeper of the Seven Keys 1&2 or Dark Ride).Every song is excellent(you gotta listen Push, Falling Higher,Revelations...they are art)yet so unique that appears to be from another album.One never gets tired of BTR's style because is constantly changing yet with the same spirit.
I gotta admit this:I sold the album,(I REGRET AND CURSE THE MOMENT I DID THAT CRIME!)but you can't bet I'm on my way to attain that jewel again.

If you are a Power Metal fan, don't think and buy this album now.If you are a Helloween fan, buy it too but expecting something different that offers the same quality(or even more)of the ol' times.

Clever lyrics, nice booklet, very good music

Before starting the review, just some data about myself: I was a Helloween enthusiast when Kiske and Hansen were there - and I was younger ;-) This is my first Helloween CD since that time, and my review will be written from a comparative point of view, and probably you'll notice that I am longing for those old good times -which is true! ;-) Well... let's now begin the review:

This is a very good CD, in spite of the few or no reminiscences of the "Keepers" era. Actually, I must confess that I was looking for more of *that* Helloween in this release but, although I found something notably different, I am equally pleased.

The first thing that I would like to mention is that I don't miss Michael Kiske at all. This Andi Deris is a very good singer and has many strong points as a vocalist. His voice has a "higher-pitched" equalization and is somewhat less muscled than Kiske's; but Deris shines on his own for his clearness, his technique, his broad range and his impeccable tuning. I find him very expressive. I also think that he has a better diction than Kiske. I give to his voice the five stars it deserves. In addition, the lyrics he wrote for this CD show that he is a highly skillful songwriter. I find his lyrics very clever, fitting perfectly to a band that always has had a refined humor sense and a proper cerebral attitude (by the way, the booklet demonstrates so with a delightful level of sarcasm, with those pumpkins doing a lot of things: don't miss that! :-)).

The album opens with an intro very well orchestrated, with progressive touches "à-là Wakeman-ELP". I liked it very much. After that, everything is without any doubt very close to the Helloween we all love. No week song here! "Falling Higher", a Weiki theme, has the perfect sound of Helloween. I do miss the Kai Hansen's style, that marked the Keeper era and he took away to Gamma Ray, but anyway this is not a showstopper. I admit that I would like to have more choirs, more catchy melodies... although songs like "Don't spit on my mind", "Time", "Midnight Sun" and "Falling Higher" itself will have all the ingredients to catch you - and some choirs, yes.

However, I have several issues to criticize. One of them is the guitar work, which is not as good as it used to be. While the riffs are not bad and the solos are well-played, the level of explosiveness that Helloween once had is never reached along this album. I guess that it is the lack of Hansen - again. Another issue is the production, that made the sound not so brilliant as I would like. Finally, while I don't repudiate style and/or line-up changes, I think that pure power/epic/melodic metal fits better to the idea we all have about Helloween; and their move to a more "progressive" arena really went against the sincerity and the fun they used to deploy - and I suppose that against their pockets too ;-) These small details don't mean that this album is not good (actually, it is VERY good), but I think that five stars would be too much for it. Final score: four stars. In any case, I am glad that Helloween is still alive and healthy!

It could have been a great album, but....

Otherwise good songs on this album are held down by two major flaws, in my humble opinion:
First: the always below-standards vocals of Andi Deris. He just does not fit into this band;

Second: the bad drumming by Uli Kusch. Technically speaking his drumming in this album is a lesson in virtuosity, really awesome. In terms of arragement and band-objectives, it's a disaster. Talk abou overplaying, talk about Uli Kusch in BETTER TAHN RAW. Amazing! Could no one restrain him just a little bit, so that the drums did not turn the songs into a big mess of a noise ????!!