Heelloween

The history of the group Helloween begins in 1983. But already in 1980, the main characters of this unborn team joined together in the Gentry group, founded by Kai Hansen and Piet Sielck. After several upheavals with the composition, two new musicians appeared in the group, Marcus Grosskopf and Ingo Schvichtenberg . In the same 1980, the group was renamed to Second Hell , then in 1982 to Iron Fist (in honor of the Motörhead song of the same name ). In 1983, Michael Weikath became the new guitarist instead of Zilka who left for the United States. In the same year, the group finds its new name - Helloween, in which the words “Hell” (hell) and “Halloween” ( Halloween holiday) were played out. However, there is an opinion that the name of the group is associated with an error in the spelling of the word Halloween and was approved by the original composition of the group in this form. With this name, the collective entered the history of rock music. In the same period, two demos by Helloween entered the Death Metal compilation along with three other German / Swiss heavy metal bands: Running Wild , Hellhammer (future Celtic Frost ) and Dark Avenger ^[2] . In 1984, the group released a trial mini-album Helloween , and then, in the following 1985, the full-length disc Walls of Jericho . Helloween music from the very beginning differed from traditional heavy metal at a greater speed, which allows us to attribute early albums to the genre of speed metal .

As the experiments progressed, Kayu became increasingly difficult to play complex guitar parts and sing at the same time, so the group began to look for a vocalist with a suitable vocal range. Soon, the composition was replenished with 18-year-old Michael Kiske , who had an original manner of singing, similar to the manner of Jeff Tate from Queensrÿche (Kai concentrated on the guitar). In the new line-up, the group became widely known in the music world thanks to the albums “ Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 1 and Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2 " , released in 1987 and 1988. These albums are sometimes called the first power metal albums in the history of metal music. ^[3]

The success was overshadowed by the tension between the musicians, as a result of which in 1989 one of its founders, Kai Hansen , left the band to found the band Gamma Ray , which develops the style he worked out at Helloween. Hansen was replaced by virtuoso guitarist Roland Grapov , who previously played in the band Rampage.

In the absence of Kai, Helloween started having problems with the producers. Their early 90s albums Pink Bubbles Go Ape and Chameleon , where the group began musical experiments, sold significantly worse Keepers . Chameleon caused a real shock for the loyal fans of the genre, as well as for the producers with whom the group planned to work. Problems with the lineup continued: drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg was convicted of drug use and, against the background of his schizophrenia, was dismissed from the group in 1993. At the end of 1993, vocalist Michael Kiske was also fired. The main reason for this was Kiske’s personal conflict with guitarist Vaikat, and then with Roland . “When Ingo got sick and Weikat brought another drummer ( Uli Kush ) into the band, he turned him against me. These intrigues got worse and worse, until I finally told Roland casually that I could not stand it anymore - the atmosphere in the group was just spoiled. I hinted that I hope for Ingo to return, and as a result, the creation of a normal climate within the group. I asked Roland to keep this conversation a secret - I did not want everyone to know about it. Unfortunately, he talked to everyone and as a result, they kicked me out of the group, "says M ichael Kiske in a 1995 interview for Rockhard magazine.

Weikath, Grapov and Grosskopf meanwhile appointed the new vocalist Andy Deris from Pink Cream 69 . The new lineup turned out to be more stable: having existed until 2000, he recorded more successful than the works of the 90s, the albums Master of the Rings , The Time of the Oath (dedicated to the memory of Ingo), Better Than Raw and The Dark Ride , and also a live album and cover album.

In 2000, another split ripened in the group. In 2001, Roland Grapov and Uli Kush were fired by Michael Wikat because of disagreements over the album "Dark Ride" and were closely engaged in a new team, Masterplan . The new guitarist was Sasha Gerstner . Helloween did not have a permanent drummer until 2005, the Rabbit Don't Come Easy album was recorded with Motörhead's drummer, and performed live with constantly changing session drummers. Finally, Dani Loble from Rawhead Rexx joined the band.

In 2005, the album Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy was released on two discs, which was announced as a continuation of the first Keepers and immediately hit the highest places in sales ratings. The album was accompanied by two singles: Mrs. God and Light the Universe . The song Light the Universe was recorded by a duet with vocalist Candice Knight from Blackmore's Night , with her participation the group also shot a video clip .

In 2007, the group recorded the album Gambling With The Devil , which absorbed the features of the entire " Deris era" (1994-2005). With the material of the new album in the fall of 2007, the band began a joint Hellish Tour with Gamma Ray .

In 2009, the disc Unarmed - Best Of 25th Anniversary was released in honor of the 25th anniversary of the group. This disk contains revised versions of the classic hits of the group. Here you can find acoustic versions of old and new hits - Future World , If I Could Fly , etc., as well as two orchestral arrangements - The Keeper's Trilogy and A Tale that Wasn't Right . The composition of The Keeper's Trilogy is worth stopping separately, it is a 17-minute mix of three epic songs - Halloween , The Keeper of the Seven Keys and The King For 1000 Years , once again, like on the 2005 album, linking the three Keepers together . On the official website, the Unarmed album - Best Of 25th Anniversary is in the main discography (that is, it is not considered as an album of covers or compilation).

The new album, called 7 Sinners , was released on October 31, 2010. On September 12, 30 second samples from the album were uploaded to the network. On September 22, the single “Are you metal?” Was released. On January 18, 2013, the band released a new album, “Straight Out Of Hell”.

On May 29, 2015, My God-Given Right was released.

In 2016, the group announced a reunion with members of the Helloween classic, Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske, for the Pumpkins United reunion tour. In this regard, the official website of the group was revised, and an official video was released in support of the upcoming tour.

On October 13, 2017, the single Pumpkins United was released, recorded in the new line-up with Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen, who took part in the recording as vocalists.

The concert tour "Pumpkins United" was held from the end of 2017 to the end of 2018 and became one of the largest in the history of the group in terms of the number of countries and cities visited. In addition to the basic composition, Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen took part in it. According to Roland Grapov and Uli Kush, they did not receive a single offer to take part in the recordings or concerts of the reunion, and Helloween participants avoid talking to them. ^[4] Roland used Helloween's songs of his authorship and re-recorded some of them for his band Masterplan in 2017.

Timeline

Studio Albums

• 1985 - Helloween (mini album)
• 1985 - Walls of Jericho
• 1987 - Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. one
• 1988 - Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2
• 1991 - Pink Bubbles Go Ape
• 1993 - Chameleon
• 1994 - Master of the Rings
• 1996 - The Time of the Oath
• 1998 - Better Than Raw
• 2000 - The Dark Ride
• 2003 - Rabbit Don't Come Easy
• 2005 - Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy
• 2007 - Gambling With the Devil
• 2010 - Unarmed - Best of 25th Anniversary
• 2010 - 7 Sinners
• 2013 - Straight Out Of Hell
• 2015 - My God-Given Right

Also included in the discography are 5 live albums, 8 compilations, 31 singles and 6 video clips.

• Gamma ray
• Iron savior
• Masterplan
• Kiske

•   Wikimedia Commons has Helloween related media
• Official Russian Fan Club
• Helloween's Profile at Last.fm
• Helloween at Rate Your Music
• Helloween on MusicMight
• Helloween (rus.) On rockfaces.ru