John Q, I stand by my comment that Helloween have been more consistent than Maiden. I love both bands and own all their studio output but no self respecting Maiden fan can say they've done anything great since 1988s Seventh Son, Fear of the Dark being average and No Prayer... poor, Blaze Bayley being a failure on all counts(poor range in concert). Killers was good but Maiden's peak occurred with the arrival of Bruce for Number of The Beast and the consequent next few albums.
As for Helloween, well it's easy for non-fans to slag Pink Bubbles and Chameleon but these albums were not unmitigated disasters, just a misguided attempt to slow the pace down. I still appreciated these albums whilst waiting for a return to form which resulted big-time with their last three studio albums Master of The Rings, and the award winning Time of the Oath and Better than Raw which are stonkingly heavy whilst retaining the famous melodies.
And to say that Andre Matos of ANGRA is a terrible singer is ridiculous. I love Halford but they are a different breed of vocalist and should be judged as such. John Q I'll give you plaudits in one area - though you're the only person I know who likes Astronomica with the new vocalist. Here in OZ in one of our leading metal publications it was rated WORST COMEBACK ALBUM EVER. Anyways, here's hoping Maiden's new album is a beauty - first single is quite promising. CHEERS KAOS FAN.