Helloween
Time of the Oath (1996)

The veterans of power metal, Helloween, delivers yet an outstanding piece of metal. Time of the Oath is without any doubt their best album since Keepers... Part 2, and maybe their best ever. It opens with a fast and powerful song "We Burn", and is followed by the all awesome tunes "Steel Tormentor", "Wake Up Mountain", and "Power". Then comes the first ballad "Forever and One". Slow and passionate, but for me to like a ballad, it must be really outstanding. It isn't outstanding, but it's not bad either.

Then comes "Before the War", an awesome power metal song in neckbreaking speed and a very catching riff. Next song is slower, "A Million To One". It has very good melodies and riffs, I really like it. Next song has the stupidest song title on the album; "Anything My MAma Don't Like". The song itself isn't one of the best either. Then, even more speed and melody, with the song "Kings Will be Kings".

"Mission Motherland" is the longest track on the cd, in fact 9 minutes long. It is changing from rather slow, to a mid-tempo speed, and the song itself is awesome. True epic power metal, I'd say. Next song is another ballad; "If I Knew", and for me this is the best of the two on the album.

The cd is completed by the title track "Time of the Oath", which sounds very like 80's heavy metal. Not very fast, but with a solid riff. It tends to get a bit boring, though... Overall this cd is a MUST HAVE for any power metal fan. Period.

Reviewed by Erlend