Better Than Raw

Better Than Raw
Studio album by Helloween
Released	April 24, 1998
Recorded	1997 at Chateau du Pape and Crazy Cat Studios, Hamburg, Germany and Mi Sueno studio, Tenerife
Genre	Power metal Speed metal
Length	52:58
Label	Castle Communications
Producer	Tommy Hansen and Helloween
Helloween chronology
High Live (1996) Better Than Raw (1998) Metal Jukebox (1999)

Professional ratings
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Better Than Raw is the eighth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1998. The album spawned the singles"I Can" and "Hey Lord!".

The album was recorded at Chateau du Pape and Crazy Cat studios in Hamburg and at Mi Sueno studio in Tenerife. It was produced and mixed by Tommy Hansen at Chateau du Pape and mastered by Ian Cooper at Metropolis, London.

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Deliberately Limited Preliminary Prelude Period in Z"	(instrumental)	Kusch	1:44
2.	"Push"	Deris, Kusch, Weikath	Kusch	4:44
3.	"Falling Higher"	Deris, Weikath	Weikath	4:45
4.	"Hey Lord!"	Deris	Deris	4:05
5.	"Don't Spit on My Mind"	Deris	Deris, Grosskopf	4:23
6.	"Revelation"	Deris	Kusch	8:21
7.	"Time"	Deris	Deris	5:41
8.	"I Can"	Weikath	Deris, Weikath	4:38
9.	"A Handful of Pain"	Deris	Kusch	4:48
10.	"Laudate Dominum"	Weikath	Weikath	5:09
11.	"Midnight Sun"	Weikath	Weikath	6:18

Expanded Edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Back On The Ground"	Kusch, Deris	4:39
2.	"A Game We Shouldn't Play"	Deris	3:38
3.	"Perfect Gentleman (Live Bootleg Version)"	Kusch, Deris	3:27
4.	"Moshi Moshi~Shiki No Uta (Live Drum Solo)"	Kusch, Grapow	6:53

• M - 2 also appears on the I Can single.
• M - 3,4 also appears on the Hey Lord! single.

Personnel

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

• Jorn Ellerbrock - keyboards
• Tommy Hansen - keyboards
• Jutta Weinhold, Ralf Maurer, Christina Hahne, and Helloween members - backing vocals

Trivia

• Hanson have been known to use the album introduction as an entrance to their concerts.
• Lavdate Dominum was written as a tribute for the band's dedicated fans in Spain, South America and other Catholic countries.
• Midnight Sun is about the ending of a bad relationship.
• The cover was inspired by The Smurfs, with Gargamel changed for the witch and the Smurfs for pumpkins.
• As opposed to the more benign-looking pumpkin used on previous albums, a sinister-looking pumpkin is used to represent the "o" in the "Helloween" logo. Albeit with a few minor tweaks, it is still currently in use.

External links

• Helloween - Better Than Raw (1998) - Poster (Hi Res Scan)