Helloween

Helloween is a German ^Germany power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band is known as one of the pioneering power metal bands, being part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene ^{Music_of_Germany#Metal} . Through the years they have influenced many bands, such as Edguy, HammerFall, Crystal Eyes,

 
Walls of Jericho

Helloween formed in 1984 in Hamburg, Germany. The original line-up included Kai Hansen on vocals and guitar, Michael Weikath on guitar, Markus Grosskopf on bass, and Ingo Schwichtenberg on drums. That year, the band signed with Noise Records ^{Noise Records (Germany)} and recorded two songs for a Noise compilation record called Death Metal ^{Death Metal (Split album)} . The compilation featured the bands Hellhammer, Running Wild ^{Running Wild (band)} , and Dark Avenger ^{Dark Avenger (band)} . The two tracks were "Oernst of Life" by Weikath and Hansen's "Metal Invaders," a faster version of which would appear on the band's first full-length album.

Helloween recorded and released its first record in 1985, a self-titled ^{Helloween (album)} EP containing 5 tracks. Also that year, the band released its first full-length album, Walls of Jericho ^{Walls Of Jericho (album)} . During the following concert tour, Hansen had difficulties singing and playing the guitar at the same time. Kai's last recording as the band's lead singer was in 1986 on an EP titled Judas ^{Judas (song)} , which contained the song "Judas" and some live tracks. Following these releases, Helloween began the search for a new vocalist.


Keeper of the Seven Keys, Parts I & II

The band's first choice was to recruit former Tyran' Pace vocalist Ralf Scheepers, who had sung lead for the band on the short "Judas" tour; he declined. The band then found an 18-year-old singer, Michael Kiske, from local Hamburg band Ill Prophecy. With its new lead singer in tow, Helloween approached record labels Noise International and RCA and proposed the release of a double-LP to introduce the new line-up. This proposition was turned down. Instead, they recorded a single LP, Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I, which was released in 1987. In 1988, Helloween released Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II, the companion album. MTV put the single "I Want Out" into heavy rotation and in support of its "Headbanger's Ball" show. MTV also presented the inaugural Headbanger's Ball Tour with Helloween joining Bay Area thrash-metal band Exodus ^{Exodus (band)} in support of headlining act Anthrax ^{Anthrax (band)} . The band was slotted in the prestigious second spot, right before Anthrax's set. On the heels of this exposure to US audiences, the band achieved worldwide success.

Guitarist Kai Hansen unexpectedly left the band soon after the European leg of the Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II tour, due to conflicts within the band, troubles with Noise International, and a growing dissatisfaction with life on tour. He was soon replaced by former Rampage guitarist Roland Grapow, who finished the rest of the tour with the band.


Pink Bubbles Go Ape and Chameleon

In 1989 the band released a live album called Live In The UK (Keepers Live in Japan and I Want Out Live in the United States), featuring material from its 1988 European tour. The remaining members continued on, but ran into label problems with Noise, and after a long litigation which kept them from touring and releasing new material, they were eventually released from their contract. A new album would not appear until 1991 when, after several rumors about the band's breaking up, they released Pink Bubbles Go Ape for their new record company, EMI. The album was less heavy, and with song titles such as "Heavy Metal Hamsters", "I'm Doing Fine, Crazy Man", and "Shit and Lobster", showed a shift toward — and an emphasis on — humor rather than the epic moods on previous releases. As a result, Pink Bubbles Go Ape failed both commercially and critically, and tensions started to build amongst the band members.

The pop-influenced follow-up Chameleon ^{Chameleon (album)} was released in 1993. Instead of taking a heavier approach, the band ventured into new territory, eschewing its signature double-guitar harmonies for synthesizers, horns, acoustic guitars, a children's chorus, country music, grunge, and swing. As with the previous album, Chameleon failed commercially and critically.

Helloween teamed up with Kai Hansen's current band Gamma Ray ^{Gamma Ray (band)} for their 2007/2008 "Hellish Rock" world tour, which started in early November 2007. Helloween were headlining and Gamma Ray ^{Gamma Ray (band)} were labeled as the "very special guest" with most shows also having fellow German "guest" Axxis. The tour went through Europe, Asia, South America as well as a few dates in the US. The tour is notable for Kai Hansen stepping on stage with his former band fellows Weikath and Grosskopf to perform hits "I Want Out" and "Future World" in the last encore ^{encore (concert)} segment of Helloween.


Unarmed - Best Of 25th Anniversary


On December 26, 2009, Helloween released the Unarmed – Best of 25th Anniversary album in Japan. The album was released on February 1, 2010 in Europe. The album is a compilation of 10 of the band's best songs, re-recorded in different musical styles than the original recordings and by the current lineup. It features a 17 minute "Keepers Medley", recorded by a 70 piece orchestra from Prague, mixing together "Halloween", "The Keeper of the Seven Keys", and "The King for 1000 years". There is a limited edition digipak, including a 30 minute "making of"-DVD with interviews and studio footage. The bands website states that the album will be released on April 13, 2010 in North America via SONY & THE END RECORDS labels.* Andi Deris – Vocals (1993-present)
* Michael Weikath – Guitar (1984-present)
* Sascha Gerstner – Guitar (2002-present)
* Markus Grosskopf – Bass (1984-present)
* Daniel Löble – Drums (2005-present)




Former tour-only members

* Jorn Ellerbrock – Keyboards (1988-2003)
* Ritchie Abdel Nabi – Drums (1993)*Walls of Jericho ^{Walls of Jericho (album)} (1985)
*Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 1 (1987)
*Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2 (1988)
*Pink Bubbles Go Ape (1991)
*Chameleon ^{Chameleon (album)} (1993)
*Master of the Rings (1994)
*The Time of the Oath (1996)
*Better Than Raw (1998)
*Metal Jukebox (1999)
*The Dark Ride (2000)
*Rabbit Don't Come Easy (2003)
*Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy (2005)
*Gambling with the Devil (2007)
*Unarmed - Best of 25th Anniversary (2009)