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I kind of lost track of Helloween since The Dark Ride. I've heard the albums that followed, but not as much as their previous stuff so I won't really try to compare this against their past work. I must start by saying that the album didn't click with me right from the start; I found it OK, but that's about it. It's a bit of a grower. Let's face it, there's been a lot of choice in the power metal realm for many years and being the forefathers doesn't guarantee that you stand out other than by name. With that said, this self-titled album is actually pretty good. Despite its near 68-minute length, there's nothing I would consider a filler and even though I'm not big on albums that run this long, I found that it flies by pretty quickly, which is a good sign. So, what's in here? Nothing surprising. This is Helloween through and through. Upbeat, catchy, singalong-inducing and mostly just "fun," feel-good power metal. The band opted for a relatively accessible sound here, so there's nothing particularly dark or anything of the sort, just good 'ol rocking power metal. Many of the songs are reminiscent of Helloween's phases throughout the years; they're not breaking any new ground here, just sticking to what they do best. With an immense sea of power metal to choose albums from these days, this is not essential, but fans of the band will, of course, want to get this and, well, if you're looking for some good power metal from those who practically invented the genre, this is not their best, but you won't go wrong picking it up either.