 HELLOWEEN
Hellish Videos:The Complete Video Collection
Sanctuary Visual Entertainment 2005
www.helloween.org
What’s the 4-1-1?
The title says it all; Helloween delivers all of their music videos
from their very beginnings to their last album Rabbit Don’t
Come Easy. The aspect ratio is 4:3 and the sound comes in both stereo
and 5.1 audio.
Genre
Power metal / heavy metal / hard rock
The Good
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.
Did You Know?
Founding member Kai Hansen went on to form Gamma Ray.
Rating:  out
of 5
Related Reviews:
Gamma Ray - Skeletons in the Closet
Rock Is Life Presents - A Guide to Box Sets
--George Dionne
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