HALLOWEEN - Don't Metal With Evil

Halloween - Don't Metal With Evil

14 songs
46:53 minutes
***** **
Pure Steel

Bandpage

Don’t mistake Halloween from Detroit for the Hamburg based band Helloween. Both play traditional metal, and even though the Americans were founded in 1984, one year after the Germans began, I doubt that back then, before the age of information, they knew of each other. Halloween also differ with their spooky horror looks.

Don’t Metal With Evil is their debut which came out right after they came together. The album sounds of course totally retro, harmonically building a bridge between classic heavy metal and nervous speed metal. All of this are aspects, or should I rather say clichés?, that were very popular in mid-Eighties metal. There’s plenty of pace changes, but Halloween are at their best when they play fast, like on Trick Or Treat and The Wicked Witch, two of the record’s highlights. Somehow Halloween sound like an appealing mix between Mercyful Fate and Helstar. This also goes for the vocalist who sports a mighty voice that even masters the higher registers. The mid-tempo songs do not always work and sometimes even feel a little askew. Fortunately the fast material prevails, and even the weaker tracks always retain some charm.

Originally the album contained eleven songs clocking in at thirty-six minutes. The re-release comes with some bonus tracks to make the purchase even more worthwhile. Fans of retro metal or those curious about discovering a truly underground band from the Eighties will be in for a treat with Don’t Metal With Evil.

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