Master of the Rings

Master of the Rings
Studio album by Helloween
Released	26 August 1994 (Japan) 30 August 1994 (UK & Europe) 8 July 1995 (USA)
Recorded	1994
Studio	Chateau du Pape, Hamburg, Germany
Genre	Power metal
Length	50:12 84:49 (with bonus tracks)
Label	Victor Entertainment Castle Communications/Raw Power Castle Records
Producer	Tommy Hansen and Helloween
Helloween chronology
Chameleon (1993) Master of the Rings (1994) The Time of the Oath (1996)
Singles from Master of the Rings
"Mr. Ego" Released: 22 July 1994 "Where the Rain Grows" Released: 3 August 1994 "Perfect Gentleman" Released: 28 September 1994 "Sole Survivor" Released: 5 October 1995

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	8/10[2]

Master of the Rings is the sixth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1994.[3] It is the first to feature new members Andi Deris and Uli Kusch.

This album contains four singles, which are "Where the Rain Grows", "Mr. Ego (Take Me Down)", "Perfect Gentleman", and "Sole Survivor", with corresponding videos for the first three. "Mr. Ego" was dedicated to the band's former singer, Michael Kiske, and was released as an EP in Europe.

Context and recording

Helloween and vocalist Michael Kiske had reached the end of the road during the touring of 1993's "Chameleon". Michael Kiske's replacement was Andi Deris, formerly with Pink Cream 69.

After an alcohol and drug-related incident in Japan, drummer and co-founder of the band Ingo Schwichtenberg was replaced first by the session-drummer Richie Abdel-Nabi, then on a more permanent basis by former Gamma Ray drummer Uli Kusch,[4] who only arrived when most of the album was already written.[5]

After two highly controversial studios projects and a live album, Helloween parted company with EMI records, aligning themselves with the more modestly sized Raw Power (an imprint of Castle Communications). Nevertheless, the effect of Deris and Kusch was to re-energize their collective fortunes. In Japan, "Master of The Rings" sold more than 120,000 copies.[6]

Commenting on the recording sections for the album, bassist Markus Grosskopf said:[5]

"It was very quick because there was a couple of songs Weiki [Michael Weikath, guitarist] did and Roland [Grapow, second guitarist] had a couple of stuff and then combined with the stuff Andi brought into the band you know it was very functioning and amazing because it went all so quick. We had like three months to rehearse and then the studio was booked and... That was a very quick session and I kind of liked that. There was also a drummer change because we got Uli Kusch in but we still did all that within like three months."

According to Roland Grapow's comments in the liner notes, the lyrics for "Take Me Home" were written by his wife Silvia (the song is simply credited to "Grapow" in the album).

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Irritation (Weik Editude 112 in C)"	Michael Weikath	1:14
2.	"Sole Survivor"	Music: Weikath, Lyrics: Andi Deris, Weikath	4:33
3.	"Where the Rain Grows"	Music: Weikath, Lyrics: Deris	4:47
4.	"Why?"	Deris	4:11
5.	"Mr. Ego (Take Me Down)"	Roland Grapow	7:02
6.	"Perfect Gentleman"	Music: Deris, Lyrics: Deris, Weikath	3:53
7.	"The Game Is On"	Weikath	4:40
8.	"Secret Alibi"	Weikath	5:49
9.	"Take Me Home"	Music: Grapow, Lyrics: Silvia Grapow	4:25
10.	"In the Middle of a Heartbeat"	Music: Deris, Lyrics: Deris, Weikath	4:30
11.	"Still We Go"	Grapow	5:09
Total length:			50:12

Japanese edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Can't Fight Your Desire"	Deris	3:45
13.	"Grapowski's Malmsuite 1001 (In D Doll)"	Grapow	6:33

Expanded edition (disc 2) track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Can't Fight Your Desire"	Deris	3:45
2.	"Star Invasion"	Music: Weikath, Lyrics: Deris, Weikath	4:47
3.	"Cold Sweat" (Thin Lizzy cover)	Phil Lynott, John Sykes	3:46
4.	"Silicon Dreams"	Markus Grosskopf	4:10
5.	"Grapowski's Malmsuite 1001 (In D Doll)"	Grapow	6:33
6.	"I Stole Your Love" (Kiss cover)	Paul Stanley	3:23
7.	"Closer to Home" (Grand Funk Railroad cover)	Mark Farner	8:13

• M – 1 and 2 also appear on the "Mr. Ego" and "Where The Rain Grows" singles.
• M – 3, 4 and 5 also appear on the "Perfect Gentleman" single.
• M – 6 and 7 also appear on the "Sole Survivor" single.

Personnel

Helloween

• Andi Deris – vocals
• Michael Weikath – guitar
• Roland Grapow – guitar, lead vocals on "Closer to Home"
• Markus Grosskopf – bass
• Uli Kusch – drums

Others

• George Chin – photography
• Ian Cooper – mastering
• Jorn Ellerbrock – programming
• Tommy Hansen – production, mixing, programming
• Michael Tibes – sound engineering

Charts

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7]	34
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[8]	7
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9]	23
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10]	6
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11]	26
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12]	23

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[13]	Gold	100,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Anderson, Jason. "Helloween – Master of the Rings review". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
2. Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
3. "Helloween – Master of The Rings (tracklist and versions)". Discogs. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
4. Metal Storm. "Ingo Schwichtenberg".
5. Syrjala, Marko (11 January 2011). "Helloween – bassist Markus Grosskopf". Metal Rules. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
6. Sunday Old School: Helloween
7. "Austriancharts.at – Helloween – Master of the Rings" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
8. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Helloween – Master of the Rings" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
10. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
11. "Swedishcharts.com – Helloween – Master of the Rings". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
12. "Swisscharts.com – Helloween – Master of the Rings". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
13. "Japanese album certifications – Heloween – Master of the Rings" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 27 December 2020. Select 1994年9月 on the drop-down menu