SPOILER FREE REVIEW!!
So this was my third time seeing Helloween. The first time was in 1987, and then not again until the Pumpkins United tour in 2018. I ignored the Deris Era for the most part, only seriously giving it a chance about 10-12 years ago. During that time, I have been an all things Kiske guy. His voice, to me, is spiritual. I had long written off ever seeing him sing live again. But that all changed with the Helloween Reunion. It really was a dream come true for me.
For this tour, the setlist was quite a bit shorter because of having an opening band. If I had a complaint, it would be that other than the three new songs and ONE classic Kiske song added, EVERYTHING else was part of the Pumpkins United setlist.
Let me start with the elephant in the room, and that is Michael Kiske. So it's easy for me to sing his praises. Reading this, it'd be kind of expected, but let me say this...he was fucking INCREDIBLE. I mean, he struggled in some early legs on this tour last year. I was actually getting worried. But he is in tip top shape right now. I spent yesterday watching Marc's video, and Kiske sounded amazing. The songs he is singing on this tour are ridiculous. He is strong and powerful, and he is hitting the notes.
UNREAL.
And Andi sounded amazing as well. That guy is powerful, and he doesn't crack. He is the most fearless vocalist I have ever heard. He's sharing the stage with Kiske, and Andi is holding his own, easily. Plus, they actually sound great together. Their voices have a great and unique blend that really works.
But Andi and Kiske also have this great personal chemistry together. This jumped out at me the United tour and it's what really makes this so effective. Considering they had literally never met before the Reunion idea came about, hearing them talk about it is actually heartwarming.
One thing that was noticeably different about Kiske was his audience interaction. He's really a reluctant frontman, and on the United tour, he really stepped into the background when possible. Last night, he was out front and engaging with the audience. He really seems way more comfortable in his own skin. And he should. Vocally, he blew my doors off, but he has a lot of personality and he really let it show.
The other thing that jumped out at me was just how engaged with his bandmates Michael Weikath was. On the United tour, he just seemed grumpy. I know that's his look and style, but last night, he was making playful faces with the other guys. He was more involved with working the stage as opposed to standing in his spot. It was actually refreshing to see.
Both of these developments led to something I didn't notice the first time around and that is that the stage actually felt too small for all of them. Obviously, they play much larger stages than they did in Worcester, but there was a bit of clumsiness as they walked around the stage. It's not really a negative, but with the two developments I just mentioned, Kiske and Weiki being more active around the stage, it's a great trade off.
And fucking Kai Hansen.
His portion of the show was the best part of the United show, and it did not disappoint last night. He even came out and sang without a guitar to start. It was really cool. He did a lot of talking to the crowd during the show and he really owned the thing.
Is there a happier person on earth besides Markus? He is the most underrated bassist in music. He is audible in the mix and he is all up and down that bass. He's the one guy that smiles more than Dave Murray, and I didn't think that was possible.
I love Sasha, and the dude can flat out play. He had a cool solo spot, and he played a number of solos in the songs, but I don't know..he seemed like he was an outsider at points. It's hard to describe. maybe it's how he looks, but I don't know..I hope the band doesn't forget about him because I think he really has a lot to offer, and I would love to see him more involved vocally.
Finally, Dani blew me away the first time around. That dude holds the whole thing together and he really stood out. He didn't stand out last night like he did the first time, but probably because it's a thing you can only experience once. He was on point throughout, and like I said, he holds it all together. Helloween will never be confused with Dream Theater, but they throw a bit more at you musically than the typical power metal band.
Anyway, those are my Spoiler Free thoughts. Helloween is a Top 5 band for me. I'm already itching for the next time.
Topic: Official Helloween thread v. Pumpkins United (Read 167158 times)
