Helloween come back with their new album, the second after their big reunion, titled “Giants & Monsters,” and as a first single, we have “This Is Tokyo”. To be frank, in the beginning, at the very first listen, I was afraid that the song wasn’t something special. Yet I was wrong, because this song, penned by Andi Deris, is a great one! Yes, I love it and have many good things to say about it! First of all, it is a classic Andi Deris composition, which goes in a more hard rock direction – it could be on a Pink Cream 69 album, but of course, you can hear the sound of Helloween in it. Transformed into a power metal track, “This Is Tokyo” has great melodies in both the couplet and the refrain, which stick in your brain. This melodic track will make you want to sing along and shake! Then we have the amazing performances by every musician – each member of Helloween has his own style, and that can be heard on “This Is Tokyo”. I love the guitar work, the AWESOME production by Denis Ward and Charlie Bauerfeind, and the excellent combination of the vocals by Michael Kiske and Andi Deris. So, the first taste of “Giants & Monsters” is a great one – this tune by Andi Deris impresses and shows that Helloween are in fantastic condition/shape/mindset! I am sure the upcoming album will include all the other sides of Helloween – the Andi Deris side of Helloween sounds brilliant! This is Helloween!
♦ 8,5/10
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
