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{{
'''Helloween''' is a German [[Power Metal|power]]/[[Speed Metal|speed metal]] band. Alongside Switzerland's [[Celtic Frost]] and Sweden's [[Bathory]], Germany's Helloween were possibly the most influential heavy metal band to come out of Europe during the 1980s. By taking the hard riffing and minor key melodies handed down from metal masters like [[
The band has it's roots in 1978, under the name Gentry, by Kai Hansen and Piet Sielck. Sometime later, they were joined by bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Ingo Schiwchtenberg, and changed the name again, this time to Second Hell. There was another change in the name (Iron Fist) before the definitive took of the name Helloween. From this point, Sielck left the band. Michael Weikath, who was playing in the band Powerfool, joined them after the disbandment of his band. And so, the first line-up (and official birth) of Helloween was formed, in 1984.
This lineup (Hansen-Weikath-Grosskopf-Schwichtenberg) collaborated in a compilation, (''Death Metal'', alongside Hellhammer, [[Running Wild (
Kai Hansen, foresawing the difficulties to take the lead guitar and singing roles, decided to focus just on the guitar part, and so the search for a new vocalist begun, which ended in the former Ill Prophecy singer Michael Kiske being hired. This lineup change was key in the band's success, with the albums ''Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 1'' and ''Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 2''.
Sadly, just as they were on the verge of breaking to a wider audience -- even flirting with American success -- the band's meteoric rise was rudely interrupted by internal strife and a string of bad business decisions. Hiring Kiske ultimately proved a double-edged sword -- his iconic work with the aforementioned ''Keeper'' albums was what set up said meteoric rise in the first place, but he then decided he wanted to move away from [[Power Metal]] towards a [[Lighter and Softer|lighter]] [[Hard Rock]], a decision which cost them the departure of Kai Hansen, who would later start [[
However, this was not the end of the band. Michael Weikath took the control of the band and hired the singer Andreas "Andi" Deris, from the band ''[[
In 1995, however, there was sad news: Ingo Schiwchtenberg was profoundly depressed and [[Driven to Suicide|committed suicide]] by throwing himself to the subway rails. This hit hard in the band, who dedicated the album ''The Time Of The Oath'' (a [[Concept Album]] about a Nostradamus prophecy) to his memory.
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1999 saw the band celebrating fifteen years of music, thus it was a perfect occasion to release something. This something was a [[Cover Album]] called ''Metal Jukebox'', containing metalized covers from numbers such as [[ABBA]], [[Jethro Tull]], [[David Bowie]].
2000 saw the latest release with this lineup: the [[Darker and Edgier]] ''The Dark Ride''. It was the last album with both Roland Grapow and Uli Kusch, since they both were sacked from the band. They went later to form the acclaimed ''[[
Sascha Gerstner from [[Freedom Call]] replaced Grapow, but the band struggled with the position of drummer. The first drummer hired was Mark Cross from Metalium, who abandoned the band after some medical issues. Finally, Stefan Schwarzmann (formerly from [[
The final lineup change came in the form of Dani Löble, from Rawhead REXX, replacing Stefan, who left the band for [[Creative Differences]]. This lineup survives to our days, and recorded three albums (''Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 3: The Legacy'', ''Gambling With The Devil'' and ''7 Sinners'') and a [[Lighter and Softer]] compilation album called ''Unarmed''.
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Today, they're known for never having grown up or received the memo that it's no longer [[The Eighties|the 80s]]. Their over-the-top bombastic performances, [[Large Ham]] antics, and absolutely hilarious music videos are essentially what would happen if [[Homestar Runner|Limozeen]] were a real band.
== Band Members: ==▼
* Andreas "Andi" Deris -- Vocals
* Michael Weikath -- Guitar
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* Daniel Löble -- Drums
* Kai Hansen -- Vocals until 1986, Guitar until 1988
* Michael Kiske -- Vocals from 1986 to 1993
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* Uli Kusch -- Drums from 1993 to 2001
{{Discography}}
* 1985 - ''Helloween'' [EP]
* 1985 - ''Walls of Jericho''
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* 2009/2010 - ''Unarmed (Best Of 25th Anniversary)'' [A compilation with acoustic reimaginings of some of their older songs]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onFoZS5gdx0&hd=1 Ride the Sky]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOAl0enE7kI&hd=1 Halloween]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQGwRsMorLI&hd=1 (Full version here)]
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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24JnVQ3i7fw&hd=1 Are You Metal]
▲[http://www.helloween.org/ The official site].
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{{creatortropes}}
Before adding a trope, check that it isn't subjective. Subjective tropes about the band go [[Helloween
== Band tropes ==
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* [[One Steve Limit]]: Averted. ''Michael'' Kiske, singer from ''Keeper 1'' all the way to ''Chameleon'', and ''Michael'' Weikath, guitarist on all of them. Also, Kai Hansen's second name is ''Michael''.
** Another example is the aforementioned Weiki (whose full name is Michael ''Ingo'' Joachim Weikath) and the late drummer ''Ingo'' Schwichtenberg, who played in the first 5 albums.
* [[Trrrilling Rrrs]]: When speaking in Spanish, Andi can't avoid these.
* [[Start My Own]]: After ''Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 2'', Kai Hansen left Helloween. Several years later, he formed [[
* [[Welcome Back, Traitor]]: Kai Hansen quit the band over [[Creative Differences]] and went on to form [[
** Also, Michael Kiske did guest a guest appearance on Gamma Ray's ''Land Of The Free'' album in the mid-90s, did guest vocals for Roland Grapow's and Uli Kusch's spinoff band Masterplan ([[What Could Have Been|and would have agreed to be their studio vocalist altogether, just not to performing live]]) and is working on a side project with Kai Hansen and Roland Grapow as well, trying to write, according to Hansen, some softer songs for him because of his "Metalphobia".
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* [[All Love Is Unrequited]]: "A Tale That Wasn't Right", from ''Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 1''.
* [[And Now for Something Completely Different]]: ''Chameleon'' and ''Unarmed''. To some extent, ''Pink Bubbles Go Ape''.
* [[Anti
* [[Audience Participation Song]]: "Future World" and "Power", among other examples.
* [[Big Rock Ending]]: "Where The Rain Grows", from ''Master of the Rings'', among other examples.
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*** The chorus of "Are You Metal?" has the chords of "Halloween", from ''Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 1'', at full speed. Just check the version from the ''Legacy World Tour'' live album, if you have some doubts.
*** "Who is Mr. Madman?" acts as a sequel song to "Perfect Gentleman", from ''Master of the Rings'', even including the riff from the original song in several instances, and beginning with an intro describing how the character from Perfect Gentleman's narcissism drove him to insanity. The song itself depicts his time in an insane asylum and subsequent plot to escape it.
* [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]: "Mr. Torture", from ''The Dark Ride'', is a parody over [[Cold
* [[Cool Cat]]: "Crazy Cat", from ''Chameleon''.
* [[Cover Version]]: "[[The Beatles (
** [[Cover Album]]: ''Metal Jukebox''. The japanese version also has "[[Deep Purple|Rat Bat Blue]]".
* [[The Cover Changes the Gender]]: "[[ABBA|Lay All Your Love On Me]]", from ''Metal Jukebox''.
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** ''Master of the Rings'' would also count, coming off the [[Lighter and Softer]] ''Pink Bubbles Go Ape'' and ''Chameleon''. (Also slightly compared to the ''Keeper of the Seven Keys'' albums, due to Andi Deris' rougher singing style)
** ''Gambling With the Devil'' is mostly more mature, and one could almost conclude that Helloween finally grew up if they were to compare [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHWK0gzIgM0 "As Long as I Fall"] to their [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8U8gjFx9Vk older] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAegHGGwru8 work]... except for the fact that ''Gambling With the Devil'' also gave us [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fFNTdJXAAo "Can Do It"].
** ''7 Sinners'' somehow managed to be even more [[Darker and Edgier]] than ''Gambling With The Devil''. Lesee: the two comic songs of the album ("[[Heavy Meta|Are You Metal?]]" and "[[Go Mad
* [[The Disease That Shall Not Be Named]]: "Reptile", from ''Walls Of Jericho'' is about the {{spoiler|AIDS}}.
* [[Drugs Are Bad]]: "Starlight", from the ''Helloween'' EP.
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** In ''Gambling With The Devil'': "Crack The Riddle" (Intro) => "Kill It", and "Fallen To Pieces" => "I. M. E."
* [[Filk Song]]: "Gorgar", from ''Walls Of Jericho'', is based on a ''pinball'' game with same name.
* [[Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!]]: "Cry For Freedom", from the ''Helloween'' EP, is about a slave rebellion.
* [["God Is Love" Songs]]: Several, "Lavdate Dominvm", from ''Better Than Raw'', for example.
* [[Going Native]]/[[Insult Backfire]]: "Savage", from the [[Updated Rerelease]] of ''Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 1'' and the ''Future World'' songle.
* [[Go Mad
{{quote|
* [[Gratuitous French]]: "Perfect Gentleman", from ''Master of the Rings'', has the following bit:
{{quote|
* [[Green Aesop]]: "Paint A New World", from ''Gambling With The Devil''. "If A Mountain Could Talk" from ''7 Sinners''.
* [[Grief Song]]: An [[Alternate Character Interpretation|Alternate Song Interpretation]] towards "Forever And One (Neverland)", from ''The Time Of The Oath'', considering that the band dedicated the whole ''TTOTO'' album to their former bandmante, the late drummer Ingo Schiwchtenberg.
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** The unfortunately-titled "Get It Up", from ''Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 3: The Legacy''.
** "Heavy Metal (Is the Law)", from ''Walls Of Jericho''.
** "Long Live The King", from ''7 Sinners'', an [[Homage]] to [[Ronnie James Dio]] and [[
** "Are You Metal", from ''7 Sinners'', parodies the trope.
* [[Heavy Mithril]]
* [[Homage]]: "Steel Tormentor", from ''The Time Of The Oath'', is dedicated to [[
* [[The Jimmy Hart Version]]:
** "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXxBXcpQL_E&fmt=18 Revolution Now]", from ''Chameleon'', has a riff very reminiscent of "[[Red Hot Chili Peppers|Give It Away]]".
** In "World of Fantasy", from ''7 Sinners'', the intro sounds like the opening of ''[[King Arthur and
** [[Word of God]] states that Weiki had to change the melody of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7y9vh-G3y0 "Salvation"], from ''The Dark Ride'', because it sounded too much like [[Stratovarius]]'s [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxegqv87JhA "Father Time"].
* [[Just One More Level]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xo2DhNvrbA "The Game is On"], from ''Master of the Rings'', is about someone who got so absorbed into a video game that he didn't even notice his house was on fire and presumably perished. The game is heavily implied to be the [[Game Boy]] version of ''[[
* [[Letters 2 Numbers]]: "Sun 4 The World", from ''Rabbit Don't Come Easy''.
* [[Lighter and Softer]]: Michael Kiske preferred this style in general and had been pushing for it for years, finally getting his wish granted with ''Chameleon'', which got him kicked out as part of the album's backlash. He even recently released a solo album entitled ''Past in Different Ways'', which was essentially a fluffy dreamy acoustic version of every old Helloween song he had written while still with them.
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* [[Mundane Made Awesome]]: There's a flute solo in "Raise The Noise", from ''7 Sinners''.
* [[New Sound Album]]
* [[Non
* [[Notable Music Videos]]: The video for "I Want Out", from ''Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 2'', got heavy air play on [[MTV]].
* [[Not Christian Rock]]: "Save Us", (from the [[Updated Rerelease|Updated Rereleases]] of ''Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 2'' and the ''I Want Out'' single) "I Believe", (from ''Chameleon'') "Salvation" and "We Damn the Night", (from ''The Dark Ride'') and "My Sacrifice" (from ''7 Sinners'') among other examples.
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* [[Refrain From Assuming]]: "The Departed", from ''The Dark Ride'', is also called "Sun Is Going Down". Subverted in that the full title of the song is "The Departed (Sun Is Going Down)".
* [[Retraux]]: Helloween will never grow up. For example, the video for [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_uEdaIbWww "Just A Little Sign"], from ''Rabbit Don't Come Easy'', is both ''[[Beyond The Minds Eye]]'' and [[Homestar Runner|Limozeen: "but they're in space!"]] in equal parts, and was made in ''2003''.
* [[Rock Me, Amadeus]]: "Gorgar", from ''Walls Of Jericho'', features a part of "[[Edvard Grieg|In the Hall of the Mountain King]]" in the solo part.
* [[Rockstar Song]]: "Heavy Metal Hamsters", from ''Pink Bubbles Go Ape'', and "Rise and Fall", from ''Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 2'', mocks the trope.
* [[Sampling]]:
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** The battle sounds at the beginning of "Before The War" were taken live in Yugoslavia.
* [[Seven Deadly Sins]]: Some songs from the aptly named ''7 Sinners'' play with this concept, even if it's not a [[Concept Album]].
* [[Shout
{{quote|
like the good old Charlie Brown,
you think Linus could be right
The kids will say it's just a stupid lie!!! }}
** In "The Dark Ride", from the eponymous album, this line:
{{quote|
** "Heavy Metal (Is The Law)", aside of being a [[Heavy Meta]] hymn, has this following paragraph:
{{quote|
[[Judas Priest
** The [[B
** The rhythm section during Weikath's solo in "Cry For Freedom", from the ''Helloween'' EP, was taken from Mania's "Shadows Under Your Eyes".
** "Crazy Cat", from ''Chameleon'', is inspired by ''[[
* [[Survivors Guilt]]: "Sole Survivor", from ''Master of the Rings''.
* [[Take That]]:
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* [[Up to Eleven]]: If you thought Andi Deris was a [[Large Ham]] in their music videos ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8U8gjFx9Vk which he is]), try seeing them live!
* [[You Can't Fight Fate]]: "Victim Of Fate", from the ''Helloween'' EP.
* [[Zeroth Law Rebellion]]: "Twilight Of The Gods", from ''Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 1'', combines this and [[The End of the World
== Misc tropes ==
* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: In the fourth page of the booklet of the remastered ''Walls Of Jericho'', the band takes shots at many people into the section "Into pumpkins". Then, the last part goes this way:
{{quote|
* [[Mascot]]: Jack-o-Lantern and Fangface; the latter went to Gamma Ray along with Kai Hansen.
* [[Power Metal]]: Credited as the [[Trope Maker]] of the European style. Some give them credit for creating power metal as a whole, but this isn't entirely accurate as the American style of power metal had been around for a couple years before Helloween released their debut.
* [[Spell My Name
{{quote|
* [[Take That]]: The fourth page of the ''Walls of Jericho'' remaster contains one towards many people. In the third and most of the fourth pages, many people receive "fangs" (in a [[Shout
* [[The Wiki Rule]]: [http://helloween.wikia.com/ Helloween Wiki].
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[[Category:Musicians]]
[[Category:The Eighties]]
[[Category:German
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