The Dark Ride
The Dark Ride is the ninth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 2000.[3][4] The album's style was quite different from Better Than Raw as it had a much darker sound, very tuned down guitars, and gruffer vocals. The album was produced by renowned figures Roy Z and Charlie Bauerfeind. It is the last studio album to feature Master of the Rings-era lineup with the dismissal of guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch after completion of the supporting tour for the album. They went on to form the band Masterplan.
| The Dark Ride | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 30 October 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 2000 | |||
| Studio | Mi Sueño Studio, Tenerife, Spain | |||
| Genre | Power metal | |||
| Length | 56:57 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| Producer | Roy Z and Charlie Bauerfeind | |||
| Helloween chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Dark Ride | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Sputnikmusic | |
The album contains two singles, which are "If I Could Fly" and "Mr. Torture".
On a later interview, bassist Markus Grosskopf commented on the album, saying: "The Dark Ride was kind of constructed, all the people were telling us try this, let's do this, you know, it's a good album but it's a very difficult way to do records when there's somebody always going on your nerves all the time."[5]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beyond the Portal" | Andi Deris | 0:45 |
| 2. | "Mr. Torture" | Uli Kusch | 3:27 |
| 3. | "All Over the Nations" | Michael Weikath | 4:55 |
| 4. | "Escalation 666" | Roland Grapow | 4:24 |
| 5. | "Mirror Mirror" | Deris | 3:43 |
| 6. | "If I Could Fly" | Deris | 4:09 |
| 7. | "Salvation" | Weikath | 5:43 |
| 8. | "The Departed (Sun Is Going Down)" | Kusch | 4:37 |
| 9. | "I Live for Your Pain" | Deris | 3:59 |
| 10. | "We Damn the Night" | Deris | 4:07 |
| 11. | "Immortal" | Deris | 4:04 |
| 12. | "The Dark Ride" | Grapow | 8:48 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "The Madness of the Crowds" | Deris | 4:12 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "The Madness of the Crowds" | Deris | 4:12 |
| 14. | "Deliver Us from Temptation" | Markus Grosskopf, Weikath | 4:54 |
| 15. | "If I Could Fly (Single Edit)" | Deris | 3:30 |
On some copies of "The Dark Ride" and "Rabbit Don't Come Easy" (as a special two for the price of one cd) the disc has "Mr. Torture" and "All over the Nations" in reverse order so this way "All over the Nations" is track #2. The tracks are also flipped on the Japanese version of the CD. Also on copies of the special two for one cd, there is a listing for track #13 "Far Away" on "Rabbit Don't Come Easy" which does not exist on the cd and is a mis-print on the back label.
Personnel
- Andi Deris - vocals
- Michael Weikath - guitar
- Roland Grapow - guitar
- Markus Grosskopf - bass
- Uli Kusch - drums
Trivia
- The Japanese cover art has the "Helloween" logo in the same type of "scratch writing" as the album title.
- Additionally, the Japanese cover art signifies the first time ever that the band uses the proper letter "o" in the "Helloween" logo instead of a pumpkin.
- "Do You Feel Good" was originally written during the sessions for The Dark Ride, but would not be recorded until the following album, Rabbit Don't Come Easy.
References
- The Dark Ride at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
- "Helloween - The Dark Ride". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
- "The Dark Ride". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
- "Helloween – The Dark Ride (tracklist and versions)". Discogs. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
- Syrjala, Marko (11 January 2011). "Helloween – bassist Markus Grosskopf". Metal Rules. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
