Helloween "Walls of Jericho" CD

Even though "Walls of Jericho" is not the first European power metal album as praised by many critics, it set up many standards for the upcoming bands, which unfortunately were not followed in an appropriate way at all. That said, the album constantly shifts its lyrics topics from the fantasy into the critic to society's lifestyle, and brilliantly alternates the faster moments with some mid-paced tempos. Their former creative mastermind Kai Hansen relied on the influence of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, and capitalized the availability of tempos and riffs that made up the broad musical menu of both bands. For instance, "Phantoms of Death" recalls a lot Iron Maiden's classic "Two Minutes to Midnight".
In general terms, the album is simple and its sound is straightforward. They just followed the structure that the songs needed, and they did not bother themselves with trying complex tempo changes, nor took unnecessary risks. But all this apparent lack of audacity is not relevant if considering that the merit of the album mainly lies on the careful selection and creation of guitar riffs by Hansen and Weikath, and the incredible double-bass drumming of Schwichtenberg. The only songs that could be barely deemed as complex are "Ride the Sky" and "How Many Tears". The former is heralded by the tremendous instrumental title-track, after which a great "Freewheel Burning" inspired intro riff lead things to the well-known speed metal number. Then, the closing track is the longest song in the album, and it features a low-paced mid-section. It seems to be the epic track of the album, although it is not exactly a story-telling song.
Besides these songs, other numbers that make up the speed metal frenzy include the attempt at making a heavy metal anthem, that is "Heavy Metal is the Law". It is an excellent speed metal song which unfortunately is too catchy for being a mandatory anthem among metalheads. On the other hand, the band seems to avoid using mid-paced numbers; however, they kept some room for pieces like "Reptile" and "Gorgar". The former runs in a faster fashion, while the latter is a slower number whose lyrics talk about the addiction to a pinball machine named Gorgar.
Despite of the limitations that the band exposed at some moments, they released what is possibly their best album. The unstoppable energy of the band and the excellent songwriting work was reflected in the songs, as they were insane and fast. But unfortunately, the band never repeated this kind of sound, and the requested changes in their musical direction made Kai Hansen feel uncomfortable. Consequently, he left the band after the release of the Keeper's saga searching for a new chance for composing the songs that better suit his talents. Thereafter, the band faced a lot of problems trying to regain the listeners that made of Helloween a successful band.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...