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{{
[[File:helloween_cover.jpg|frame]]
'''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 [[Judas Priest]] and [[Iron Maiden]], then infusing them with the speed and energy introduced by the burgeoning thrash metal movement, Helloween crystallized the sonic ingredients of what is now known as [[Power Metal]].
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.
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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 ''[[Pink Cream 69]]'', as well as ex-[[
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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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].
----
{{creatortropes}}
Before adding a trope, check that it isn't subjective. Subjective tropes about the band go [[Helloween/YMMV|here]].
== Band tropes ==
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** 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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* [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]: "Mr. Torture", from ''The Dark Ride'', is a parody over [[Cold-Blooded Torture]] made by a man who ''sells pain''.
* [[Cool Cat]]: "Crazy Cat", from ''Chameleon''.
* [[Cover Version]]: "[[The Beatles (band)|Something]]", "[[Judas Priest|The Hellion/Electric Eye]]", "[[Kiss|I Stole Your Love]]", "[[Grand Funk Railroad|I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home)]]", "[[Carl Perkins|Blue Suede Shoes]]", "[[Jean Michel Jarre|Magnetic Fields]]", "[[Status Quo (band)|Rain]]", "[[Queen|Sheer Heart Attack]]" and "[[Accept|Fast As A Shark]]". Also, during the "Master of the Rings" tour, they did a version of Pink Cream 69's "Where The Eagle Learns To Fly".<ref>Said band was Andi Deris's previous band before joining to Helloween.</ref>
** [[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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* [["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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* [[Seven Deadly Sins]]: Some songs from the aptly named ''7 Sinners'' play with this concept, even if it's not a [[Concept Album]].
* [[Shout-Out]]: "Halloween", from ''Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 1'', has one in a few lines to [[Peanuts|Charlie Brown]]:
{{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|Red hot]] }}
** 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 ''[[Fritz the Cat]]''.
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== 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 with an "S"]]: This comes from the fourth page of the booklet of the ''Walls Of Jericho'' remaster:
{{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-Out]] to [[Mascot|Fangface]]) but the "Into Pumpkins" section has the band taking shots at many people for many reasons.
* [[The Wiki Rule]]: [http://helloween.wikia.com/ Helloween Wiki].
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