The Time of the Oath

Infobox Album | Name = The Time of the Oath
Type = Album
Artist = Helloween


Released = 1996
Recorded = 1995 at Chateau du Pape, Hamburg, Germany
Genre = Power metal
Length = 1:01:29 (w/o bonus tracks)
1:31:45 (w/ bonus tracks)
Label = Castle Communications
Producer = Tommy Hansen
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:7sd2vw9ya9uk link]
Last album = "Master of the Rings" (1994)
This album = "The Time of the Oath" (1996)
Next album = "High Live" (1996)

"The Time of the Oath" is the seventh studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1996. The album is dedicated to the memory of former drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg, who committed suicide the previous year.

Album discription

"The Time of the Oath" is a concept album. According to Andi Deris, it is based on the prophecies of Nostradamus, referring to the prophecies made for the years 1994 to 2000. Nostradamus' interpreters believe that he predicted a third World War followed by a millennium of peace if humans made the right choices. The album is meant to reflect the choices of humanity. The Keeper that appears on this album, having returned from the first two "Keeper of the Seven Keys" albums and later to return on the third, could represent God, or the stupidity of humanity in the form of the seventh trooper in the song "Before the War." [http://www.perfectgentleman.com/articles/AndiDeris.html] Instead of a space scene as on the cover of "Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1", the area under the Keeper's hood is filled with stars and a line of golden rings, in the fashion of Master of the Rings. The track "The Time of the Oath" is reflecting the final of the book Faust Part Two, of the famous escritor Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Andi Deris has the part of the devil, reclaiming the soul of doctor Faust, whereas the chorus of Johann Sebastian Bach (Conductor Axel Bergstedt) is singing the Dies irae from the traditional requiem, representing the angels rescuing the lost soul.

The album contains three singles, which are "Power", "The Time of the Oath", and "Forever And One (Neverland)". The latter has a different track listing for the German release, which is titled "Forever And One Live".

Track listing

#"We Burn" (Deris) – 3:04
#"Steel Tormentor" (Weikath/Deris) – 5:40
#"Wake Up the Mountain" (Kusch/Deris) – 5:01
#"Power" (Weikath) – 3:28
#"Forever And One (Neverland)" (Deris) – 3:54
#"Before the War" (Deris) – 4:33
#"A Million to One" (Kusch/Deris) – 5:11
#"Anything My Mama Don't Like" (Deris/Kusch) – 3:46
#"Kings Will Be Kings" (Weikath) – 5:09
#"Mission Motherland" (Weikath/Helloween) – 9:00
#"If I Knew" (Weikath) – 5:30
#"The Time of the Oath" (Grapow/Deris) – 6:58Japanese Version Bonus Track
#

"Still I Don't Know" (Deris/Grosskopf) – 4:13
#"Take It to the Limit" (Deris/Kusch) – 4:04

Expanded Edition

#"Still I Don't Know" (Deris/Grosskopf) – 4:13
#"Take It to the Limit" (Deris/Kusch) – 4:04
#"Electric Eye" (Tipton/Halford/Downing) – 4:06
#"Magnetic Fields" (Jarre) – 3:41
#"Rain" (Parfitt) – 4:33
#"Walk Your Way" (Grosskopf) – 4:56
#"Light in the Sky" (Deris) – 2:35
#"Time Goes By" (Deris) – 2:24

*M - 3,4 also appears on the The Time of the Oath single.
*M - 5,6 also appears on the Power single.
*M - 7,8 also appears on the Forever And One single.

Credits

*Andi Deris - vocals
*Michael Weikath - guitar
*Roland Grapow - guitar
*Markus Grosskopf - bass
*Uli Kusch - drums

References