Helloween: Hellish Videos - The Complete Video Collection

I've been a Helloween fan for years. It just kills me that they just didn't go over as big in the U.S. as they did overseas. After viewing this DVD, I have a lot more respect for the band. They didn't choose to go with just the videos of their hit songs; they went with videos of their not-so memorable songs too. Add that up with the quality of the early videos, and you have a band that's not ashamed of anything. "Halloween", the band's first video, is full of cheesy special effects. The most notable being the pumpkin that turns into a pumpkin man. It's shot out in the woods with a lot of fog and scantly-clad women. The song is edited down from its original 11+ minute version.

"I Want Out" takes place inside of one of the band member's mouth. Inside that mouth is the band playing in an abandoned building and on a mountain top. Nothing cliché about that. Surprisingly a video from Pink Bubbles Go Ape (one of their worst albums) is included; "Kids of the Century". The video is live performance footage mixed with artsy imagery. What's up with the egg yolk glasses? On "When the Sinner" it's apparent that Helloween was still trying to experiment with a different sound. I don't know how the song fits with the old west, but I did dig the girl in the gold cowgirl outfit.

The video for "Mr. Ego" dates itself around the early nineties when all videos were shot in black and white with lots of shadows. It's apparent at this point that good video making and continuity was not a big deal to Helloween. Believe it or not, it's that mentality that makes these videos even more enjoyable. For "Where the Rain Grows", a man in a suit walks into an open desert. He takes off his clothes, puts on Indian garments, and sits around a fire; all while cutting to the band performing on a scaffold. See what I mean? "Perfect Gentleman" follows the trials and tribulations of what is a cross between a pimp and an aristocrat.

If you haven't had your fill of video clichés yet..."Power" is shot in black and white with some color. The band is performing in front of a huge fan while a girl dances around beside them. You kind of have a feeling going into "The Time of the Oath" that it's going to be a bit bizarre. "If I Could Fly" shows the darker side of the group as the video is viewed through the eyes of an eagle. At this point, the only video cliché that's missing is animation, but "Just a Little Sign" takes care of that. It's computer animation combined with live action of the band. It has nothing to do with the lyrics. Boy does the design of the space ship their in look awful familiar.

There are a few bonus features that are thrown in. A live performance of "Hey Lord" is included, but honestly it's not live. The footage is, but it's the studio version. A photo gallery from the Rabbit Don't Come Easy tour is included. I like the pictures that have hilarious captions. You wouldn't believe how many are labeled "Sleeper of the Seven Keys". Great stuff. Equally amusing is the home video outtakes that are included. Who would have thought this band was so funny.

The Bad

Nothing

The Verdict

They don't make the best videos, but their killer songs more than make up for that. Hellish Videos is an excellent chronicle of how Helloween developed into the power metal legends they are today. It's also an intriguing look into the evolution of music video ideas and technology. I know I've said it before, but it's really the cheesiness of the videos that make the DVD so enjoyable. Helloween didn't skimp on the bonus material either.

Whether you are just getting into Helloween or have been a long time fan, such as myself, there's something on this DVD for you. Every studio album from "Keeper of the 7 Keys part 1" is represented here with at least one track (Master Of The Rings & The Time Of The Oath feature 3 songs).

The great thing about Helloween, as opposed to the vast majority of Metal bands, is that they don't take themselves too seriously & do not put out negative vibes. This definitely comes across in their videos. Most of them are light-hearted, showing the band in a live setting as goofballs, while sometimes more artistic aspects are added to some tracks.

The first 4 songs features Michael Kiske on vocals, the rest are all Andi Deris. Guitarist Kai Hansen can be seen in the first 2 songs - "Halloween" (editied to about 4 & 1/2 minutes) & "I Want Out." Up next are the experimental 7-minute "When The Sinner" from the commercial flop Chameleon and "Kids of the Century" from the less-than-well received Pink Bubbles Go Ape album. It's great to see Ingo behind the drums on these tunes (R.I.P. Ingo)!

Mr. Ego /edited/, Where the Rain Grows, Perfect Gentleman, Power, The Time of the Oath /edited/, Forever & One (Neverland), I Can, If I Could Fly, and Just A Little Sign are the further tracks on this DVD. As I mentioned, just about every song features the band playing their instruments/performing, while sometimes there's a back story or some artsy/whacky/avante-garde interlude.

Some of the videos are slightly cheesy, sometimes just because they are outdated or becuase the band didn't have much of a budget. But Helloween have always been a band to embrace their humorous side. However, some of the tracks do have a darker vibe, which is represented visually, not just sonically.

There aren't too many extras, a pseudo-live version of "Hey Lord" (more like a video montage), a photo gallery and some behind the scenes outtakes from the road round out this collection. I also like how each band member shows up during the main menu after about a minute if you don't select anything. If you're into melodic European metal, this is the DVD for you!

This dvd is awesome. It contains all of Helloween's corny (but good) videos. I wish there had been a little more Kai/kiske era stuff on here (maybe some live videos or something), but we only get two songs from the Keeper Of The Seven Keys albums.

The later helloween material isn't as good as older stuff, but it's still pretty damn good. The "Just a little sign" video is very strange, and it probably the best of the andi deris era.

The first two videos are worth the price of the dvd alone (it would have been better if they had a "Halloween" video for the whole entire song though).
If your a helloween fan, there is no doubt that you'll love this one!

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