HELLOWEEN Singer Speaks Out On 'Rabbit Don't Come Easy'

HELLOWEEN singer Andi Deris recently gave an interview to the band's official web site (www.helloween.org) in which he touched upon a number of topics, including the group's upcoming album, "Rabbit Don't Come Easy", and the decision to part ways with guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch back in 2001. When asked how the new album compares to its predecessor, 2000's "The Dark Ride", Deris said: "Well, it's definitely 'Happy Happy HELLOWEEN!' first of all, and you will realize it music-wise and lyric-wise as it's all more positive whereas 'The Dark Ride' was more experimental and as the title says 'dark', it was an excursion to a land that we have never been to before. It was something that was a combination of ideas from the record label and the management to have a dark album so we made one. This doesn't mirror the band and I think the new album is definitely 100% HELLOWEEN and [guitarist] Weiki [Michael Weikath] is happy now and we are all happy which is very important so....uhm Happy Happy HELLOWEEN hahahahaha." On the subject of working with producer Charlie Bauerfeind, Deris said, "Well, in my eyes and my ears, Charlie is a sorcerer, he is a magician. That guy is more or less a guy who grew up with HELLOWEEN, but not as a musician or a fan, but as a producer. The first band he ever produced were all HELLOWEEN fans who wanted the 'HELLOWEEN sound', or whatever the HELLOWEEN sound is, but I think they wanted to have a 'Master Of The Rings' or 'Keeper…' sound or whatever, and he was always confronted with that and years later he became confronted with the band HELLOWEEN, obviously, and was in the studio with Roy Z......and by the way.... Roy Z is also a very good and talented producer but two years later we realize he is not the right choice for HELLOWEEN, because he is much more into that nu-metal type of producing which turned out not too good for 'The Dark Ride', I think, and if Charlie wasn't there when 'The Dark Ride' was being produced, it would have been a total disaster because all of the music would have been all nu-metalish which is very, very dangerous for a classic metal band who already has fans out there and will become disappointed to not get what they expect from HELLOWEEN and now Charlie alone 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, but this has always been the plan of HELLOWEEN's sound and if you ask Weiki what he actually intends to do during these 17 or 18 years ago when he started the band, I remember that Kai and Weiki.....yes I do know Kai as well, and Ingo, they all wanted to have like.....oh what do you call it....uhm megasport music....faster, louder, higher, and everything which works....put it in there and make it raw and pure power. 'The Dark Ride' was not pure power it was the nu-metal type of thing, you could play it on the radio and on the television and I would say that the real HELLOWEEN albums nobody would touch on a regular station or a television station because people would say that it's too hard or that it's too much and I think the new album is definitely going into this direction. When you put it on you say 'Oh my god! That's incredible!'. Uhm megasport, hahahahahaha."

HELLOWEEN's new album, "Rabbit Don't Come Easy", is due on May 5 through Nuclear Blast Records. The album will be released in a jewel case and there will be a limited edition in a very special digipack available, including the bonus track "Far Away". The first single off the album, "Just A Little Sign", will be released on April 7.