Better and heavier than the previous

This CD is a punch in the face.Straight metal,pletoric of positive attitude and a powerful sound.Beautiful "Forever and One",and a very dark title-cut.In this album,the guys decided to set free the creativity that seemed to be lost somewhere in the road,and makes "Master of the Rings" look as a good album,but still a pale shade of how far they could go.Still,Michael Weikath's tunes seem to sound pretty much the same.Thanks that he can count on Grapow,Deris and Kusch,who definitely took command of the whole Helloween affair.This is how a band can react to the demmands of the audiences as times change without selling their beliefs or putting out horrid albums.Ok,ok,not all is roses in this album,and some songs fail miserably in the attempt of the band of not sounding too pompous,stuffy or serious.But in an integral sense,the album shows off growth of the new lineup,and a good chemistry in song writing.The highlights?"Power",the title cut,"Before the War"(a beautifully heavy Tchaikovski-like that proves Deris a great songwriter),and of course,"Forever and One".A must-have for metal fans.

Great European Metal!

Helloween's follow-up to their great 1994 MASTER OF THE RINGS album, THE TIME OF THE OATH picks up where that album left off. Combining their KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS style with PAINKILLER-era Judas Priest and shades of Yngwie Malmsteen, TTOTO shows Helloween at their best. THE TIME OF THE OATH is their second album with singer Andi Deris and drummer Uli Kusch, and both prove to be invaluable as both their performances AND their songwriting are top-notch. The album ranges in style from their brand of melodic (near) Speed Metal ("We Burn," "Steel Tormentor," "Before The War," and "Kings Will Be Kings"), to very catchy straight-ahead Metal ("Wake Up The Mountain," and "A Million To One") to (what I hesitate to call) Power Ballads ("Forever And One," and "If I Knew"), to the Steve Vai/Steve Stevens influenced "Anything My Mama Don't Like." Less Germanic and more British in style than KEEPER, TTOTO forges ahead with a truly classy Euro-Metal style. At a time when Iron Maiden was disappointing many fans, Helloween took their music up to the next level and picked up the slack. TTOTO is a GREAT album! If you don't have both this album and MASTER OF THE RINGS, you should!

Has Some Good Elements, But Average Overall

This album has some good elements. I find it to be on the same level as Better than Raw. Better than Raw is a little better than this album though. Everything seems to be here except for lasting power. These are songs that don't really have much longevity or staying power. Michael Kiske is sorely missed. I'm afraid to say that without him, Helloween just comes off different. Of course the musicianship and production on this album is good, it's just the fact that the songwriting could've been a little better. The songs are just too ordinary. Has ambition, but still an average album. Get Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II (that's their best).

Power!!!

After Making the very popular Master of the Rings -album, Andi Deris and the band made this album which was quite sad, rebellious, and heavy. The album has some great ballads "Forever And One" and "If I Knew" which both are very sad...both are kind of love songs. There's great upbeat tracks too "Steel Tormentor", "We Burn", "Before the War", "Kings Will be Kings", and "Wake Up the Mountain"...none of them isn't so happy. There's also a sad heavy track "The Time of the Oath" is a tale about Satan taking the control over you. "Mission Motherland" is a long one and is like the most of the songs in "Master of the Rings". "Power" was the first single from this. It is also the most popular song in this album. It is fast and it has great lyrics.

Stars: Forever And One (Neverland), Before the War, Power, The Time of the Oath, We Burn

Solid Effort.

Sounds like classic Helloween. Vocals are right on. The bass work is sick and perfectly placed in the mix. Added to the traditional Helloween sound are at times elements of funk and progressive rock.



The album has a nice pace and plenty of diversity. My favorites are the opening thrasher We Burn and the epic, but quirky Mission Motherland.



In general I haven't enjoyed most of Helloween's work since Keeper Pt. 1 & 2. The Time of the Oath is a pleasant surprise.

The best Helloween Album

I don't know why everybody badmouth this album! I heard all of Helloween's albums and I must say that this one is the best! Andi Deris is better than Kiske could ever be and his amazing vocal work on "Forever and One" says it all! "Mission Motherland" made me fall on my back with it's massive guitar riffs in the middle of the song. The album covers every style from fast paced heavy metal to slow melodic harmonies. "We Burn", "Steel Tormentor", "Befor The War" and "Kings Will be Kings" are the fastest ones. Again, this one is the best!

The best helloween album so far

Some peoples feel helloween's sounds now different than the keeper era. In some ways it is true. But the "new" helloween still follows the same power metal genre that the band helps started. And The Time of The Oath Album (TOTO) is a proof how good this band is. IMHO, TOTO is their best album so far, better than Kepper I and II. If you like Michael Weikath (Weiki) Songs you're not be dissapointed. Weiki wrote great fast melodic songs like "Power", "Kings will be king" and a ballad "If I knew" which is dedicated to the late Helloween drummer Ingo who died commit suicide. Andi Derris sang very well in all of the songs and wrote some beautiful ballads like "Forever and One". So If you helloween fan, buy this album.

TRYING TO IMPROVE ...

WIth new singer Andy Deris now completely integrated in the band, Helloween tries once more to stablish themselves as a real good rock band. But they are not suceeding, I'll tell you. THis CD has good songs ("Power" is pure energy, the slow ones are good, also), but it seems Helloween turned themselves definitely into one of a lot of bands that are bravely doing what is necessary to survive in the hostile environment we have, nowadays, towards heavy music. (at least in the great markets). But, anyway you look at it, their creativity was gone after the two "Keeper of the Seven Keys" albuns, or: when Kai Hansen left the band.

Very Beautiful

This album alone beats any of Iron Maiden's Sh*t.Love the Thrashing,love the singing,and love the drumming (although its a little hard to make out).Which brings me to another aspect of music--the sound quality!!There are no excuses,man!Any album recorded after the 60's should sound good!!Come on now!



There are moments where the drumming seems to fade deep into the back--thats not good.But anyway,it has everything a good EPIC THRASH METAL album should have.Get it.Now.