review by: Steppenvvolf

Funny that a Helloween album reminded me of one of the most decisive postwar events in German history.

In June 1961, asked by a western journalist if it was the intention to "create" a state border at the famous "Brandenburger Tor," (the place where later Kennedy gave his unforgettable "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech) the East German head of state Walter Ulbricht responded with a couple of long-winded sentences, closing with the legendary statement: "No one has the intention of building a wall."

Only...the journalist didn`t ask about a wall...

The fourth track on Rabbit Don’t Come Easy, "Never Be a Star," was similarly revealing. Without being asked, Helloween intones a four-minute "We are who we are, we`ll never be a star."

Boys, what have you become? That`s so cheesy.

But there are more than enough fantastic songs to make up for the odd dodgy one. The CD starts with a real rocker, “Just a Little Sign,” that has the potential to send a bunch of fans unconscious during concerts.

All in all, the production is perfect, with the whole album being more upbeat than the previous ones.

Yes, it`s so perfect that you should ask yourself if you really need this Helloween CD if you have all the others. Sixty minutes of perfect, happy metal.

Perfect....yes...

Perfect.....mmmhh....

Defect.....yes, that`s it! Be a defector from Helloween’s land of rehashing their own heritage. And remember: Steppenvvolf would die for the happy moments his first Helloween CD gave him. (7/10)

review by: Roberto Martinelli

Dear reader,

Please excuse Steppenvvolf if he’s gone a little haywire. He’s been under a lot of stress lately. Honestly.

What he means to say is that the new Helloween *is* a perfect album, but it’s perfect in the sense that it’s rehashing what they’ve done a bunch of times already. So you might want to beware of it.

With that said, I can’t seem to stop listening to the first three songs on Rabbit Don’t Come Easy, all the while picturing a World Cup stadium filled filled with fans waving gigantic flags of metal to and fro. They’re three of the best power metal tunes this year. And, yeah, some of the slower songs are goofy (and worse, skippable), just like on previous Andi Deris-fronted Helloween, but I know *I* paid for the full version of this album (with bonus track) when I got the promo for free. And that’s saying a hell of a lot, don’t you think? (8/10)