Chameleon (album)

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Chameleon
Studio album by Helloween
Released	1993
Recorded	Chateau du Pape Hamburg, Germany 1992
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	1:11:26 (w/o bonus tracks) 1:52:35 (w/ bonus tracks)
Label	EMI
Producer(s)	Helloween and Tommy Hansen, assisted by Michael Tibes
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Helloween chronology
Pink Bubbles Go Ape (1991)	Chameleon (1993)	Master of the Rings (1994)

Chameleon is the fifth album by Helloween, released in 1993. It is their most musically adventurous, but also their least commercially successful.

Contents 1 Background 2 Track listing 3 Expanded Edition Bonus Tracks 4 Credits 5 Other information

[edit] Background

Tensions within the band resulted in an album that is highly eclectic in terms of its musical aesthetics, to the point that it has been rejected by some fans as being a Helloween album at all. This position is taken based on the concept that Helloween were only, and should only, ever be a metal band. A concept this album problematises.

Having failed to live up to the standard of Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part 1 and Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part 2 on the preceding Pink Bubbles Go Ape in commercial (and some would say artistic) terms, Chameleon abandoned almost all elements of the power metal sound that the band had been instrumental in creating, and can be seen as an attempt to garner success in wider musical avenues. This was not to happen however, and vocalist Michael Kiske left after the subsequent promotional tour. Helloween then recruited vocalist Andi Deris from Pink Cream 69 and continued in a direction more akin to their earlier works. Nonetheless Chameleon has achieved a cult status among some fans in recent years, who praise its esoteric artistic merits.

The atmosphere of the album is closer to progressive rock, with some pop elements, than power metal. It's arguable that these elements had always been a part of Helloween's sound, but were not the elements most celebrated by the bands core heavy metal audience. Chameleon was the first and last time these diverse influences would make it to the front of Helloween's sound. In terms of production, this is arguably the most accomplished album of the Michael Kiske era, with an epic sound full of different stylistic influences. In recent years, some fans have conceeded that Chameleon is a good progressive rock album, but cannot and should not be enjoyed as a power metal album, like the bands earlier works.

[edit] Track listing

1. "First Time" (Weikath) – 5:30
2. "When The Sinner" (Kiske) – 6:54
3. "I Don't Wanna Cry No More" (Grapow) – 5:11
4. "Crazy Cat" (Grapow) – 3:29
5. "Giants" (Weikath) – 6:40
6. "Windmill" (Weikath) – 5:06
7. "Revolution Now" (Weikath) – 8:04
8. "In The Night" (Kiske) – 5:38
9. "Music" (Grapow) – 7:00
10. "Step Out Of Hell" (Grapow) – 4:25
11. "I Believe" (Kiske) – 9:12
12. "Longing" (Kiske) – 4:15

[edit] Expanded Edition Bonus Tracks

1. "I Don't Care You Don't Care" (Weikath) – 4:01
2. "Oriental Journey" (Grapow) – 5:43
3. "Cut in the Middle" (Grosskopf) – 3:57
4. "Introduction" (Weikath) – 3:52
5. "Get Me out of Here" (Weikath) – 2:50
6. "Red Socks and the Smell of Trees" – 10:48
7. "Ain't Got Nothing Better" (Grosskopf) – 4:41
8. "Windmill" (demo version) (Weikath) – 5:28

[edit] Credits

• Vocals: Michael Kiske
• Guitars: Roland Grapow
• Guitars: Michael Weikath
• Bass: Markus Grosskopf
• Drums: Ingo Schwichtenberg

[edit] Other information

• 1992 Recorded at Chateau De Paup Hamburg/Germany
• 1992 Mixed at Scream Studios Los Angeles USA
• Mastered at Precision Mastering Hollywood USA
• Produced by Helloween and Tommy Hansen assisted by Michael Tibes
• Mixed by Michael Wagner at Double Trouble Productions Inc. assisted by Craig Boubet
• Mastered by Stephen Marcussen
• Logo by Michael Weikath and Sleeve design by Michael Kiske
• All songs published by Zomba Music Publishers (LTD) S.F. USA

Helloween
Andi Deris | Michael Weikath | Sascha Gerstner | Markus Grosskopf | Daniel Löble
Kai Hansen - Michael Kiske - Ingo Schwichtenberg - Roland Grapow - Uli Kusch - Mark Cross - Stefan Schwarzmann
Discography
Studio albums: Helloween | Walls of Jericho | Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 | Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2 | Pink Bubbles Go Ape | Chameleon | Master of the Rings | The Time of the Oath | Better Than Raw | Metal Jukebox | The Dark Ride | Rabbit Don't Come Easy | Keeper of the Seven Keys – The Legacy
Live albums: I Want Out Live | Keepers Live | Live in the UK | High Live | Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy World Tour 2005/2006
Compilations: Pumpkin Tracks | The Best, The Rest, The Rare | Karaoke Album vol. 1 | Metal Jukebox | Treasure Chest
Singles: "Judas" | "Future World" | "Dr. Stein" | "I Want Out" | "Windmill" | "If I Could Fly" | "Just a Little Sign" | "Mrs. God" | "Light the Universe"
Related articles
Gamma Ray | Masterplan
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