Along with its predecessor, Pink Bubbles Go Ape, Chameleon marked a period of personal turmoil and professional miscalculations for Helloween.
The final recording to feature golden-era vocalist Michael Kiske, this 1996 recording wasn't even released in the U.S.
and only served to confuse fans where it was available.
While the group intelligently toned down the unexplainable attempts at humor featured on their previous recording, they still were intent on expanding their stylistic and textural boundaries.
This just wasn't wise.
Many bands would kill for the kind of mastery Helloween possessed over the fast-paced power metal they practically invented, and yet the group only visits familiar sonic territory on Chameleon between odd musical experiments.
In and of themselves, tunes like "When the Sinner," "Crazy Cat," and "In the Night" are decent songs with fine performances.
But there needed to be less of these acoustic, boogie, and synth-laden tracks and more cuts like the splendidly metallic "Giants." Only the staunchest of Helloween fans should be interested in Chameleon and its surprising variety of themes, both musical and lyrical.
Newer and casual fans might want to avoid this subpar disc and stick to the classic '80s recordings.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First TimeMichael Weikath | Helloween | Play | 05:29 | 12 MB | 42 MB |
| 2 | When the SinnerMichael Kiske | Helloween | Play | 06:54 | 15 MB | 51 MB |
| 3 | I Don't Wanna Cry No MoreRoland Grapow | Helloween | Play | 05:11 | 11 MB | 38 MB |
| 4 | Crazy CatRoland Grapow | Helloween | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | GiantsMichael Weikath | Helloween | Play | 06:32 | 14 MB | 50 MB |
| 6 | WindmillMichael Weikath | Helloween | Play | 05:14 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 7 | Revolution NowMichael Weikath | Helloween | Play | 08:04 | 18 MB | 60 MB |
| 8 | In the NightMichael Kiske | Helloween | Play | 05:35 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 9 | MusicRoland Grapow | Helloween | Play | 07:01 | 16 MB | 49 MB |
| 10 | Step Out of HellRoland Grapow | Helloween | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 33 MB |
| 11 | I BelieveMichael Kiske | Helloween | Play | 09:11 | 21 MB | 67 MB |
| 12 | LongingMichael Kiske | Helloween | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 71 mins | 163 MB | |||||
| 71 mins | 517 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Axel Bergstedt | Choir Master, Organ |
| 2 | Craig Boubet | Mixing |
| 3 | M. Drechsler | Gong |
| 4 | Roland Grapow | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Steel), Slide Guitar |
| 5 | Markus Grosskopf | Bass, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 6 | Tommy Hansen | Keyboards, Producer |
| 7 | Helloween | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 8 | The Kick Horns | Horn |
| 9 | Michael Kiske | Arranger, Composer, Design, Guitar (Rhythm), Kick Horns, Sleeve Design, String Arrangements, Vocals |
| 10 | Werner Lang | Arranger, Director, Orchestration |
| 11 | Stephen Marcussen | Mastering |
| 12 | Frederick Moulaert | Design |
| 13 | Stefan Pintev | Concert Master |
| 14 | Roland | Vocals (Background) |
| 15 | Ingo Schwichtenberg | Drums, Drums (Snare) |
| 16 | Michael Tibes | Assistant Producer |
| 17 | Michael Wagener | Mixing |
| 18 | Michael Weikath | Composer, Design, Guitar, Logo |
| 19 | Lenny Wolf | Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |