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, drop-tuned guitars, and gruffer vocals. The album was produced by 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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Dark Ride | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Sputnikmusic | [2] |
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
edit| 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 |
| Total length: | 56:57 | ||
| 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 the latter 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 misprint on the back label.
Personnel
edit- Andi Deris - vocals
- Michael Weikath - guitar
- Roland Grapow - guitar
- Markus Grosskopf - bass
- Uli Kusch - drums
Charts
edit| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[6] | 19 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] | 26 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[8] | 43 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[9] | 11 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] | 38 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] | 68 |
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ "Helloween: The Dark Ride" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Helloween – The Dark Ride" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 27 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Helloween".
- ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Helloween – The Dark Ride". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Helloween – The Dark Ride". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
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