Rabbit Don't Come Easy
Rabbit Don't Come Easy is the tenth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 2003. It is something of a return to roots for the band. The album combines many old classic Helloween elements with newer sounds and modern production. This is the first Helloween album to feature Sascha Gerstner on guitars, who replaced Roland Grapow.
No drummer is listed in the band line-up for this album. Mark Cross was hired for the position before recording, but only managed to complete two tracks ("Don't Stop Being Crazy" and "Listen to The Flies") before being forced to leave due to illness. Mikkey Dee of Motörhead played on the rest of the songs on a session basis. The Japanese version contains a cover of Accept's "Fast as a Shark," with the band's new drummer, Stefan Schwarzmann.
About the album title, bassist Markus Grosskopf explained in 2003 that "It's based on that English saying, pulling a rabbit out of the hat. Pulling this rabbit [the album] out of this hat [in reference to recent line up changes] wasn't that easy this time. That gave us the idea of just calling the album Rabbit Don't Come Easy. [Laughs] It's not to be taken too seriously. We were joking that statement around, and then I suggested we actually call the album that".[3]
About the recording of the album, singer Andi Deris said in 2003 that producer Charlie Bauerfeind "shows on this new record that he is the biggest fan of our genre of music because he knows how to separate the frequencies and knows where the power has to be. You have to imagine that this type of music is so packed with frequencies that it is nearly impossible to mix because it is so overloaded and you have to single out all of the instruments so you can hear them all".[4]
After the controversial release of The Dark Ride, according to Grosskopf, "The record company also wanted us to show that were are back. This song "Just a Little Sign" represents the more typical side of Helloween, and that's what we wanted to make clear. You can't really represent a whole album with one track, but this shows exactly where the album actually goes. It's more of that 'happy happy Helloween' direction. It shows that this album is not a sequel to 'The Dark Ride'".[3]
Track listing
|
| 1. |
"Just a Little Sign" | Deris | Deris |
4:25 |
| 2. |
"Open Your Life" | Deris | Deris/Gerstner |
4:30 |
| 3. |
"The Tune" | Weikath | Weikath |
5:35 |
| 4. |
"Never Be a Star" | Deris | Deris |
4:10 |
| 5. |
"Liar" | Deris | Deris/Gerstner/Grosskopf |
4:55 |
| 6. |
"Sun 4 the World" | Deris | Gerstner |
3:57 |
| 7. |
"Don't Stop Being Crazy" | Deris | Deris |
4:21 |
| 8. |
"Do You Feel Good" | Weikath | Weikath |
4:22 |
| 9. |
"Hell Was Made in Heaven" | Deris | Grosskopf |
5:33 |
| 10. |
"Back Against the Wall" | Deris | Deris/Weikath |
5:44 |
| 11. |
"Listen to the Flies" | Deris | Deris/Gerstner |
4:54 |
| 12. |
"Nothing to Say" | Weikath | Weikath |
8:29 |
|
|
| 1. |
"Far Away" (limited edition bonus track) | Grosskopf | Grosskopf |
4:18 |
| 2. |
"Fast as a Shark (Accept cover)" (japanese bonus track) | Hoffmann/Kaufmann/Udo/Baltes | Hoffmann/Kaufmann/Udo/Baltes |
3:38 |
Personnel
- Helloween
- Additional musicians
Trivia
- "Do You Feel Good" was originally written during the sessions for The Dark Ride.
Notes
- ↑ Rabbit Don't Come Easy at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
- ↑ "Helloween - Rabbit Don't Come Easy". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Helloween interview (10/2003) - Metal Storm
- ↑ BLABBERMOUTH.NET - HELLOWEEN Singer Speaks Out On 'Rabbit Don't Come Easy'
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