German power metal legends, Helloween, have returned with their milestone sixteenth studio album. My God-Given Right is an hour long journey ranging over thirteen songs that aims to get your fist pumping. Personally, I have never been a big fan of power metal throughout the years, but of course I give every album a chance to surprise me. Unfortunately, Helloween did not do much for me on this album outside of a couple tracks. As much as I enjoyed a few of the tracks, I found myself just hitting the dreaded skip button.

The album opener, ‘Heroes’, is actually one of my favorites off of My God-Given Right. Maybe it was the lack of guitar wankery that is present in just about every other song that made this one shine. Yes, I know, power metal thrives off of crazy fretwork. And just to mention, Michael and Sascha are great guitarists so it is not a question of skill, rather it becomes overbearing. ‘Stay Crazy’ is another solid track off the album. The main riff is memorable which I can guarantee will get stuck in your head. The chorus is also very catchy with some chanting thrown in to the mix. Another fun song is ‘The Swing of a Fallen World’, which is a true headbanger. Slow tempo, slowly evolving guitar riffs, and pounding drumming phrases really bring this track to life. The song evolves to faster speeds for the solo and then drops back down to the heavy, slow stomping feel. While the rest of the songs surely feel like power metal from the 80’s and early 90’s, I just could not find anything in them as memorable.

Overall, My God-Given Right is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination. The production is spot on, which is huge for me, and Helloween only experiments a bit from the sound just enough to supply some variety on the album. Also, each of the musicians on this album still showcase their skills even after thirty years. Outside of the couple of likeable and memorable songs on this album, I just really was not that impressed.

5.0/10

TIM LEDIN