It’s big and heavy, as Helloween’s legacy! 500 hundred pages of history and archived material is something that surely cannot go unnoticed especially since there wasn’t up to this point a boon exclusively dedicated to the power metal pioneers.
“Hellbook” is an item that won’t disappoint any fan of the band or any heavy metal fan in general, for that matter. Apart from the extraordinary and at times exclusive photo footage, everys ingle detail from the Helloween saga is noted down in extreme detail. For instance, we get to know everything about the albums, the personnel, all their live shows since the band’s beginning, the equipment, all the lyrics of their songs…you see…everything!
Of great interest is also the publication of fan letters, all the Q&A sheets, Helloween’s memorabilia while Greece is represented here from the band’s sole Greek tribute act, Keepers of Jericho. It goes without saying that this is a labor of love that is credited to two die hard Helloween fans: Carlos Vicente Leon & David Lopez Gomez. This is yet another proof that when fans put their hands into something like that they turn it to gold! The price tag (69 Euros) can be a little bit disheartening but let me tell you that it is worthy every single cent of it since it is thorough and really detailed…a complete piece of printed work!
So, all in all, is it a flawless book? Well, “Hellbook” bears the negative distinction of being a paperback release so you’re constantly under the impression that the pages will be loose after a couple of page browsing. This kind of book should be a hardcover edition. Naturally, if someone can afford it there is a super deluxe, hardcover limited edition (777 copies) that include 56 additional pages (weighing 3 extra kilos). But you have to search in various other websites since it seems to be sold out in the official Helloween and Nuclear Blast store.
Having said that, “Hellbook” is a true gem; a great book that everyone will surely love. Personally, I am more than certain that I will revisit from time to time in the years to come.
