Following a mystical voiceover by Saxon’s Biff Byford, the Germans dish up a dozen new tunes, easily the heaviest thing in a decade, if not their entire career. However, by itself, tonnage is not a welcome commodity. It must be married with catchy tunes. Apart from the staccato modernism of ‘I.M.E.’ and a pair of lukewarm ballads, the searing guitars are housed within interesting frameworks. Sadly, this one deserves the Keeper moniker more than 2005’s lame attempt at traveling back in time, The Legacy. Deris even strays from his trademark delivery, venturing into post-millennium Halford-esque screams (‘Kill It’, also punctuated by symphonic strings). At 7:04, ‘The Saints’ is the longest track, beginning with heads-down headbanging guitars, before being dominated by the lilting chorus. Skip the piano-begun single ‘As Long As I Fall’, and move onto ‘Paint A New World’, which is not only one of Gambling’s strongest tracks, but a burning guitar number. Apart from the guitar break, ‘Final Fortune’ is a light-hearted romp, typical of Helloween lately. The trio of ‘Bells Of The 7 Hells’, ‘Fallen To Pieces’ and the aforementioned ‘I.M.E.’ form a thematic arc. The peppy introduction and acoustic-tinged follow-up pair prove to be worth more than the finale. ‘Can Do It’ recalls ‘Final Fortune’, in that it’s an upbeat, standard (non-offensive, but non-stellar, just the same) for the Weenies beyond 2000. ‘Dreambound’, on the other hand, sees Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner turn their respective fretboards into sawdust, like some Looney Tunes cartoon effect. ‘Heaven Tells No Lies’ concludes the disc in fine form, the summation of what has come before. Expanded versions will include a pair of bonus cuts and their own gamble. In a scene right out of Willy Wonka, all purchasers will get a scratch-off card, the golden ticket being airfare, hotel and tickets to a South American concert! Good luck.