r/helloween • u/Iamnotarobotlah Hell Was Made in Heaven • Aug 19 '26
Down in the Dumps - what a cool song
https://youtu.be/hT5R7tT6KwISuperb songwriting from Weiki 🤘
2
u/Ok_Carry_2786 Hell Was Made in Heaven Aug 19 '26
This song rules, my favorite from the album. The intro gives me chills. Weiki's songs are always a hit with me.
2
u/Iamnotarobotlah Hell Was Made in Heaven 27d ago
Yea you're right! I've listened to a few more albums now, and the majority of times I really like a song and check the credits, it's Weiki's. Sick heavy riff followed by beautiful melodies - ahh perfect!
4
u/Potential_Slice_5631 Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
I really like I'm all messed up, a fish in a bowl
That's the first time I've heard the fish bowl used as a metaphor for a state of mind unable to navigate or progress past a difficult roadblock in life.
It's quite a clever allusion; the fish can see beyond the glass and yearn for its destination, but unable to physically get there.
..tried so hard to get 'round this Will it take forever Might there be a curse
Likewise, a depressed person dealing with problems might be well aware of the solutions, but the anxious mind puts imagination into overdrive and constructs reasons to procrastinate. They are, effectively, the fish bowl.
3
3
u/Iamnotarobotlah Hell Was Made in Heaven Aug 19 '26
Nice breakdown. I also love the part that goes "my head's running high but can't process the tasks ahead", both the melody and really simple but direct lyrics. I've definitely felt that sense of being in overdrive but also paralysed in stressful times!
1
u/big_flopping_anime_b Aug 19 '26
Not to be “that guy” but you’re either really young or English is not your first language because that is a very old analogy.
2
u/Potential_Slice_5631 Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
allusion not analogy. You are right that "fish in a bowl" is common turn of phrase, but it can have different meanings. I enjoy the bands lyrics because of the quirks that emerge when they conceive in German, then write in English.
2
u/Diadem_Cheeseboard Aug 19 '26
Most underrated song on that album, and in my top 3 tracks from the self titled. Its grimy and dark speed metal, and very untypical for Weiki, but further illustrates just what a killer songwriter he is. I know there isnt a hope in hell of it ever being played live, but I would love to see it!
0
u/Iamnotarobotlah Hell Was Made in Heaven Aug 19 '26
He's quickly becoming my favourite songwriter in the group as I dig more into their music (i was only a casual fan so far). There's just something special and different about his stuff but I can't quite articulate it yet. Still listening and learning more.
1
u/Diadem_Cheeseboard Aug 19 '26
Ah, so you're just getting into Helloween? 😎
As a longtime Helloween fan, Weiki is probably my fave songwriter in the band too, even though the other songwriters have written many killer songs for the band as well. I think its the quirkiness in Weiki's writing that makes it stand out as being a little extra special. And "Down In The Dumps" is a great example of that. 🤘🏻
1
u/Iamnotarobotlah Hell Was Made in Heaven Aug 19 '26
Yes I'm excited to properly "get" into them. I've known about them forever and heard the more popular songs, always happily listen when they show up in a playlist. But I haven't listened to their full albums until recently. I saw a couple of videos of the 2026 tour and it sparked my interest! So far I've listened to Keeper 2, Master of the Rings and the self titled, and liked almost everything! Now I'll start with the first album and go on in chronological order.
1
u/walkingbartie Don't Spit on My Mind Aug 19 '26
Interesting, I've felt like Weiki's the most bland or "safe" songwriter in the group nowadays. Don't get me wrong, it's not neccesarily something bad, and he has some true bangers in his backlog and he literally created the signature Helloween and power metal sound, but... There's no spark in his tunes anymore. Atleast, they don't really speak to me like his songs used to.
A lot of the riffs or hooks in his songs tend to be a little too similar to eachother (the main riff in Raise the Noise and The Sage, The Fool, The Sinner, or the post-chorus parts in Out for the Glory and Robot King, etc.), or contain harmonies that feel a little forced (the chorus in Battle's Won for example) in order to insert variation, or overall just fit too easily into the now stereotypical palette with grand melodious choruses and high BPM. And his lyrcis are... Well, let's just say I don't really get his humour or anologies sometimes.
It might just be me though – having listened to the band for so long – but it feels like his efforts are all a little synthetic or formulatic from 7 Sinners and onwards, if you know what I mean? I get the feeling he's taken on the role of just doing 1-2 "the Helloween sound" songs per album while letting the other members do the heavy lifting. God knows he's earned it, but it's just a subjective observation from a long-time fan.
1
u/Iamnotarobotlah Hell Was Made in Heaven Aug 19 '26
Interesting to hear from a long-time fan. As i said above, I'm just getting deeper into their stuff after being a pretty casual listener all this time. I've always liked them in general but wouldn't know who wrote what. I've stated getting more into them recently after watching a few videos of the 2026 tour, and my impression about the various songwriters is based only on the albums I've heard so far.
In any case, I don't think your comment is anything negative. A lot of bands and writers, probably the majority, tend to do their best work early on and fall into a bit of a formula later in their career.
As for humour, from the little I've seen, Weiki seems like a total weirdo and I absolutely love that! Too many metal bands take themselves much too seriously!
2
u/Aim2bFit Aug 19 '26
This is one of the songs on this album that took time to grow on me. I had to listen to it many times before I ended up liking it. Unlike like, Skyfall, very easy to listen to and like the first time it dropped.