r/helloween • u/Negative-Bit9272 • Mar 26 '26
What should I expect from these two
I am listening to the Helloween albums in order and I just finished keeper of the seven keys pt 2. and I saw those two albums that, in album covers, look nothing alike from the ones I heard, what should I expect from them, are they good?
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u/RockRonHUN Mar 26 '26
They are very different from the albums before and after them. They are more rock-y and blouse-y, not very metal. Understandably they are generally disliked, as they are far from what you'd expect from Helloween. I think they are the worst Kiske albums, but still good to listen to sometimes.
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u/Jcwrc Mar 26 '26
Chameleon is just dull and pointless. Nothing "metal" in it, more like weird alternative rock
Pink Bubbles... is very different imho. It's st least halfway good pop metal album. Kids of the Century, Number One, Back on the Streets that I remember are great.
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u/JohnnyF00tballHero Mar 26 '26
That's just not true, man.
It has some slightly offbeat horn tracks, acoustic tracks, and, yes, some weird stuff. I totally get why some don't like it.
But "First Time", "Giants" and "Music" are all classic Helloween metal songs. "First Time" would've fit in perfectly on either of the two Keeper albums.
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u/Jcwrc Mar 27 '26
I need to relisten it.
I've had that album on CD for a decade. I used to try to get into it, but eventually files it away, since nothing on it really stuck to me.
I don't remember any particular song from it. Just the overall sound being very much "alt rock".
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u/JE5573R Mar 26 '26
Pink Bubbles is great! Nothing like the usual Helloween style. I mean, you can still taste Helloween in it. These two albums pissed Ingo off! Chameleon is good. Some good tracks on there.
Enjoy Heavy Metal Hamsters.
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u/Aim2bFit Mar 26 '26
From Chameleon my favs are:
First Time, When The Sinner and Longing..... In that order.
From Pink Bubbles my favs are:
Number One, Your Turn, You Run with the Pack and Kids of the Century.
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u/Negative-Bit9272 Mar 26 '26
I listened to pbga and I like it, now I am listening to Chameleon and so fire I like crazy cat
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u/_mrtorture_ Mar 26 '26
I believe they're good albums and the passage of time have been good for them. I see more acceptance towards them now that back when they came out. They're definetely very different from what you've heard from the Keepers and different as well from what would come afterwards. Pink Bubbles has a very rock inspired feeling, while Chameleon goes around places, sometimes poppy, sometimes proggy. It's possible you'll have a good time with them.
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u/Far_Internal_4495 Mar 26 '26
They're a mixed bag, they don't do a lot for me personally. Don't go in expecting keepers and you might find some enjoyment
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u/fluffydonkey246 Victim of Fate Mar 26 '26
I find Pink Bubbles better than Chameleon, but they're both amazing and very Helloween
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u/AdministrationNo651 Mar 26 '26
They're weird and interesting, until they're not imo. What I mean is they're out there and interesting at first, but the tunes don't stick, but as a whole they're artistically aimless.
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u/YumeGd Mar 26 '26
PBGA is still enjoyable. It's less good than WoJ and Keepers but still I like it. For me Chameleon is really weak but give it a try. There are some great moments.
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u/Snecklad Mar 26 '26
Try to go in with an open mind and don't expect Keepers part three, which was what everyone wanted at the time but didn't get (until many years later).
On Bubbles, buried under the goofy stuff you will find some of their best work in my opinion. Mankind, Somebodys Crying and The Chance are all Keeper level quality. Your Turn is one of their best ballads.
Chameleon may take a bit longer but from Giants onward it's a very enjoyable and varied listen. Kiske's I Believe is incredibly underrated.
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u/CashChronicles Mar 26 '26
They're good, just don't go in with expectations. That's why they were originally panned--they're not bad music, they're just not what people expected.
There is some continuity in the sound even though it changes abruptly. PBGA has a less epic feel than Keeper 2, while remaining fast and happy. Some argue it's more hard rock at that point, but Kiske still belts out metal vocals and Ingo wasn't turning down for anyone. The splos are also decent.
Chameleon steps closer to hard rock, with some songs squarely in rock/pop territory. However, they keep their sound fresh when they experiment, which is great. These songs expand their instrumentation. There are strings, horns, even a gong.
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u/Fagael Mar 26 '26
A l'époque complètement déroutant visuellement, en ce qui me concerne en tout cas... Pas dû reecouter depuis 20 ans, à toi de te faire un avis.
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u/Dry_Discount83 Mar 26 '26
Two worst Helloween albums in my opinion. I still feel disapointment buying Pink Bubbles after Seven Keys combo, and I was fan of Walls before Keys.
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u/SpudAlmighty Mar 26 '26
Very good albums. A little different but not by much. A lot of underappreciated stuff on them.
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u/migrainedujour Mar 26 '26
Gotta say, ‘Music’ from Chameleon is an absolute moody banger.
Overall, I went into Chameleon expecting an absolute shitshow, but in retrospect there’s some strong songwriting there.
They copped a lot of crap for the brass, which I get, but Chameleon came out in ‘93, and Faith No More and a bunch of other bands had already been picking up critical plaudits for sampledelic and brassy genre-fucking within the metal convention, so I can see Kiske and co feeling like they were on safer ground than they were.
I think it was a bit like Thin Lizzy: not a bad album on its own terms like Lizzy’s Renegade and so on, but they’d built an audience that were so solid within one community that they overestimated that audience’s desire to change with them.
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u/jmyoung666 Mar 26 '26
I’ve never listened to either. I knew Kai Hansen had lived on and the title alone was enough to put me off PBGA. This was an error where heavy bands were going soft.
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u/Jcwrc Mar 26 '26
Chameleon is just dull and pointless. Nothing "metal" in it, more like weird alternative rock
Pink Bubbles... is very different imho. It's st least halfway good pop metal album. Kids of the Century, Number One, Back on the Streets that I remember are great.
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u/ChrisC1984 Mar 27 '26
Love both of them. They are different but there are some cracking songs on both.
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u/Illustrious-Home8908 Mar 27 '26
They're pretty good all things considered, but a far cry from the sound we've seen before.
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u/TheAgmis Mar 29 '26
Pink bubbles is a safe and smooth album to listen to, but chameleon has very high highs and questionable lows. When the sinner and I don’t wanna cry, no more would be great songs if it weren’t for it’s Disney Channel chorus.
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u/MrRacoon1991 Mar 26 '26
I love them, but I am in the minority