HELLOWEEN

KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS - THE LEGACY

Not for the first time in the past twenty years, Helloween have proved courage and musical vision. The German melodic metal act continues to be at the top of the international metal scene at the beginning of the third decade of their existence, having repeatedly reinvented themselves stylistically without ever losing their typical trademarks and countless bands still take Helloween as an example. The musicians, Andi Deris (vocals), Michael Weikath (guitar), Markus Grosskopf (bass), Sascha Gerstner (guitar) and new addition Dani Loble (drums, ex-Rawhead Rexx), see their latest recording, Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy, in direct context with their 1987 and 1988 classics, consciously and confidently increasing the expectations of their fans of an doubtlessly unusual studio offering.

After all, these musicians know what they are doing. Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy is more than simply another Helloween album, it's also the band's strongest release in over ten years. Helloween celebrate their exceptional melodic speed metal.

The first harbinger to announce the impending arrival of the album, the single release 'Mrs. God', more than proved Weikath's claim. Now Keeper Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy confirms that there really isn't one unconvincing number to be found among the 13 tracks. The musicians impress with epic compositions, such as 'The King For A 1000 Years' and 'Occasion Avenue' (11:05 min.), as much as they do with shorter, more compact songs (the up-tempo 'Pleasure Drone', 'Silent Rain' with its traditional riffing, 'Do You Know What You're Fighting For', driven by haunting guitars, the catchy 'Come Alive' or the huge ballad ?Light The Universe?. In this first-ever duet in Helloween's history frontman Andi Deris is singing together with non other than Richie Blackmore's companion, Blackmore's Night lead singer Candice Night).

Of course, the driving, transparent and extremely dynamic production courtesy of Charlie Bauerfeind also deserves to be mentioned. Bauerfeind and Helloween have worked together repeatedly in past years and have become a tight and homogeneous team. And there's more good news for the fans: the work on Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy had hardly been completed when Helloween announced a worldwide tour that promises a sensational show in both visual and musical terms. Summary: there's a storm brewing - Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy is about to set new standards, not only in terms of the band history.

BAND HISTORY

Helloween came together in the early Eighties, formed by members of the two Hamburg bands, Iron Fist and Powerfool. The first line-up, already featuring Michael Weikath (guitar) and Markus Grosskopf (bass), was marked from the start by a high level of independence and the unconditional determination to work on the group's development. Only two years after the band's foundation, the members signed a recording deal and brought out their first EP. The debut album, Walls Of Jericho, and particularly the two subsequent offerings, Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I and Part II, which sold over 250.000 copies in Germany alone, catapulted the band directly among the elite of hard rock acts. Helloween were a major success, not only in Germany, but also in Japan and the US, and their success story continued unabated despite a number of line-up changes. Their first live recording, Live In The U.K., and Pink Bubbles Go Ape, cut in Denmark with producer Chris Tsangarides at the helm, conclusively proved the high musical standard that the band stood for in those days.

Legal difficulties with their record company, which put the band on ice for several months, proved no more than a temporary set back in the early Nineties, before they continued to keep up their demanding musical standard with Chameleon, followed by another line-up change (vocalist Andi Deris joined Helloween) and the celebration of their triumphal return to the very top of the scene with their seventh album, Master Of The Rings. Their subsequent release, The Time Of The Oath.

In 1998, their eighth studio album, Better Than Raw, picked up seamlessly where the triumphal march of the previous years had left off, presenting at once the group's stylistic development and the justified confidence of the band members who had tried out and courageously realised experimental song structures. Their 2001 album, Metal Jukebox, showed the five musicians from an unusual but by no means less fascinating side, featuring the band's interpretations of memorable rock and pop songs from over thirty years of music history.