The Dark Ride
Studio album by
Helloween
Released30 October 2000
Recorded2000
StudioMi Sueño Studio, Tenerife, Spain
GenrePower metal
Length56:57
LabelNuclear Blast
ProducerRoy Z and Charlie Bauerfeind
Helloween chronology
Metal Jukebox
(1999) 		The Dark Ride
(2000) 		Rabbit Don't Come Easy
(2003)
Singles from The Dark Ride
  1. "Mr. Torture"
    Released: October 2000
  2. "If I Could Fly"
    Released: October 2000
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Sputnikmusic[2]

The Dark Ride is the ninth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 2000.[3][4] The album's style was quite different from Better Than Raw as it had a much darker sound, drop-tuned guitars, and gruffer vocals. The album was produced by Roy Z and Charlie Bauerfeind. It is the last studio album to feature Master of the Rings-era lineup with the dismissal of guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch after completion of the supporting tour for the album. They went on to form the band Masterplan.

The album contains two singles, which are "If I Could Fly" and "Mr. Torture".

On a later interview, bassist Markus Grosskopf commented on the album, saying: "The Dark Ride was kind of constructed, all the people were telling us try this, let's do this, you know, it's a good album but it's a very difficult way to do records when there's somebody always going on your nerves all the time."[5]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Beyond the Portal"Andi Deris0:45
2."Mr. Torture"Uli Kusch3:27
3."All Over the Nations"Michael Weikath4:55
4."Escalation 666"Roland Grapow4:24
5."Mirror Mirror"Deris3:43
6."If I Could Fly"Deris4:09
7."Salvation"Weikath5:43
8."The Departed (Sun Is Going Down)"Kusch4:37
9."I Live for Your Pain"Deris3:59
10."We Damn the Night"Deris4:07
11."Immortal"Deris4:04
12."The Dark Ride"Grapow8:48
Total length:56:57
Bonus tracks: Japanese edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."The Madness of the Crowds"Deris4:12
Bonus tracks: special edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."The Madness of the Crowds"Deris4:12
14."Deliver Us from Temptation"Markus Grosskopf, Weikath4:54
15."If I Could Fly (Single Edit)"Deris3:30

On some copies of "The Dark Ride" and "Rabbit Don't Come Easy" (as a special two for the price of one cd) the disc has "Mr. Torture" and "All Over the Nations" in reverse order so this way the latter is track #2. The tracks are also flipped on the Japanese version of the CD. Also on copies of the special two for one cd, there is a listing for track #13, "Far Away" on Rabbit Don't Come Easy, which does not exist on the CD and is a misprint on the back label.

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2000) Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[6] 19
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 26
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[8] 43
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[9] 11
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 38
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 68

References

  1. ^ The Dark Ride at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
  2. ^ "Helloween - The Dark Ride". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  3. ^ "The Dark Ride". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  4. ^ "Helloween – The Dark Ride (tracklist and versions)". Discogs. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  5. ^ Syrjala, Marko (11 January 2011). "Helloween – bassist Markus Grosskopf". Metal Rules. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Helloween: The Dark Ride" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Helloween – The Dark Ride" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 27 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Helloween".
  9. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  10. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Helloween – The Dark Ride". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Helloween – The Dark Ride". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.


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