And now...the TAC Deris Era Top 25....
25. Heaven Tells No Lies (Gambling With the Devil) (Grosskopf)Totally cool straight ahead rocker by Markus. I really like the chorus to this song and I think it's the best part. Really nice guitar solo section. I believe that's Sasha that starts it. He has a great tone. Especially during the Wolf Hoffman-esque section right before the last part..
24. The Invisible Man (Keeper: The Legacy) (Gerstner)Nice intro by Markus. Andi sounds awesome on this. So versatile. Typical, but awesome chorus. The mellow part in the middle reminds me of Spinal Tap's Stonhenge. Did Helloween have midgets come out dancing? Love Sasha's solo there. It's JP-esque. This song has a surprising depth to it.
23.The Swing Of A Fallen World (My God Given Right) (Deris)I think this song is really unique for Helloween. Gone are the double bass melodic choruses. This song has a sinister bad ass groove. I found my self totally headbanging. As with Immortal, also written by Andi Deris, it has a really odd chorus but it totally works. I'm not a fan of mid tempo mumbo jumbo, but this song has a pace that eclipses most songs like it. It grooves, but doesn't plod. Really interesting instrumental section that picks up nicely, and then bam! Sinister! I see in this thread that My God Given Right isn't very heralded, but it has a couple of gems, and this is one of them.
22. Who Is Mr. Madman? (7 Sinners) (Gerstner)Impressive composition from Sasha. Andi sounds great on this, especially in the prechorus. He has an amazing voice, and what I like about this song is that he uses all of it. This song really picks you up and doesn't let you go until the end.
21. Far In The Future (7 Sinners) (Deris)Love the chorus. Love the Thin Lizzy style guitar. Andi does a great job of fitting his style into Helloween's. It always seems to have a unique twist to it. This song really gets me going, and I think the chorus is absolutely glorious.
For the albums..
8. My God Given Right
I don't think this is a great album on the whole, but I think it has a number of really strong tunes, and I find it a bit better than the previous two. It also might be my favorite album cover from this era. I think for the most part, the album isn't too serious. It's fairly easy on the ears, if unspectacular.
7. Rabbit Don't Come Easy
Kade, I know you'll be disappointed with this, but let me put it this way. I like MGGR. I really like Rabbit. And I love everything else to come. This is a tough discog to rank because it's so consistently strong. This feels transitional though, with no real drummer on board, and Sasha's first album. I definitely like a lot of this, but they had much better music to come with their next couple of albums.