Rabbit Don’t Come Easy is not quite a Pink Bubbles Go Ape, the album title and cover just give that old school Helloween feeling, although after losing 2 of its principle members, Roland Grapow and Uli Kusch. The overall role of the drums on this album is a bit confused, owing heavily to there being 2 different drummers on here. Mickey Dee of Motörhead is probably one of the best in the business, but the beats suffer from too much speed, not enough change-ups, and being a bit too high in the mix. The tracks where Mark Cross plays the kit are much more appropriate and complement the songs, although this is only a significant change in the case of “Listen to the Flies” and “Don’t Stop Being Crazy”. The guitar work on here is pretty solid, owing mostly to the new axe man Sascha Gerstner’s highly methodical style. If there is a silver-lining to this less than stellar album it is that it kept Freedom Call’s former shredder from giving up on the metal genre.
Opener “Just a Little Sign” perfectly combines the heavier riffing of Better Than Raw with a typical old school catchy Helloween chorus and great work on leads. Talking about catchy chorusses, the album is filled with them. Second song “Open Your Life” goes through all kinds of tempi and Deris gives one of his best performances here. “The Tune” has a vocal melody on the chorus many may find too cheesy, but considering my love for ‘everything-seven-keys’ no Helloween chorus in that style can be too cheesy. Just a great melody and I’m sure a song like this will do nicely live. “Never be a star” is a good mid tempo pounder with strong chorus and although not a highlight on the album, heavy and catchy enough to earn a place. “Liar” goes back to Better Than Raw in term of heaviness but never gets too heavy for the album. Other songs worth mentioning are “Do You Feel Good” and “Hell Was Made in Heaven”which both sound quite happy but are so strong and catchy. The musical highlights on here are all branded with Sascha’s standard of musical excellence. “Sun 4 the World” showcases his abilities at capturing the sounds of eastern music and marrying it to the Power Metal style. “Back against the Wall” is somewhat darker than the rest of the best (intentionally written for The Dark Ride) but still an adequate song. “Listen to the Flies” has a promising outro but the song sinks into mediocrity and lacks a cathy edge. “Nothing to Say” is simply bad, filled with misplaced cheesy hardrock riffs. So two fillers and two bad songs take the album somewhat down. Fortunately the worst songs are in the end so they don’t spoil the rest of the album.
Maybe it was a mistake to fire Grapow and Kusch, maybe it’s better they take another way with Masterplan, well, the point is that the renewed Helloween has to try new and old things.
Recorded at Mi Sueño Music, Tenerife 2003
Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind
Tracklist:
1. “Just a Little Sign” (Lyrics & music: Deris) – 4:26
2. “Open Your Life” (Lyrics: Deris; music: Gerstner/Deris) – 4:30
3. “The Tune” (Lyrics & music: Weikath) – 5:35
4. “Never Be a Star” (Lyrics & music: Deris) – 4:10
5. “Liar” (Lyrics: Deris; music: Deris/Grosskopf/Gerstner) – 4:55
6. “Sun 4 the World” (Lyrics: Deris; music: Gerstner) – 3:55
7. “Don’t Stop Being Crazy” (Lyrics & music: Deris) – 4:21
8. “Do You Feel Good” (Lyrics & music: Weikath) – 4:22
9. “Hell Was Made in Heaven” (Lyrics: Deris; music: Grosskopf) – 5:33
10. “Back against the Wall” (Lyrics: Deris; music: Deris/Weikath) – 5:44
11. “Listen to the Flies” (Lyrics: Deris; music: Gerstner/Deris) – 4:52
12. “Nothing to Say” (Lyrics & music: Weikath) – 8:27
13. “Far Away” (Lyrics & music: Grosskopf) – 4:18 (Extra Track on Limited Edition)
14. “Fast As A Shark” (Accept cover) – 3:38 (Japan Bonus Track)
Total Running Time: 61:05
Recorded 2002/2003 at: Mi Sueno Studio, Tenerife, Es
Produced and mixed by Charlie Bauerfeind for S.C. & Services S.L.
- Andi Deris – Vocals
- Michael Weikath – Guitars
- Sascha Gerstner – Guitars
- Markus Grosskopf – Bass
- Mikkey Dee – Drums on Tracks 1-6, 8-10, 12, 13 (session)
- Mark Cross – Drums on Tracks 7, 11 (session)
- Stefan Schwarzmann – Drums on Track 14
