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HELLOWEEN – Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II

Helloween – Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II (1988, RCA Records)

1. “Invitation” … 1:06
2. “Eagle Fly Free” … 5:08
3. “You Always Walk Alone” … 5:08
4. “Rise and Fall” … 4:22
5. “Dr. Stein” … 5:03
6. “We Got the Right” … 5:07
7. “Save Us” … 5:12
8. “March of Time” … 5:13
9. “I Want Out” … 4:39
10. “Keeper of the Seven Keys” … 13:38

Band:
Michael Kiske – Vocals
Kai Hansen – Guitar
Michael Weikath – Guitar, Keyboard
Markus Grosskopf – Bass
Ingo Schwichtenberg – Drums

Produced by: Tommy Hansen

Another pick up from the late 90s. I was trying to get into power metal at the time and Helloween’s name kept coming up on message boards and websites, so I gave’em a shot. I also remember WWE wrestler Chris Jericho’s column in the Metal Edge magazine raving about them. Jericho was actually a big enough fan to base his ring name and one of his finishing moves (the Walls of Jericho) on Helloween.

The funny thing is, I picked this album up by mistake. I wasn’t really schooled on Helloween yet. All I knew was that Keeper of the Seven Keys was a two-parter, and I thought Part II was the superior album, but it’s actually Part I that is considered better, if you pay attention to other reviews.
Helloween has done some great songs elsewhere, but I just can’t get into this album. It’s actually pretty bad outside of the really catchy “I Want Out”. I think one major issue I had is I was expecting something heavier and not as keyboard-heavy. This album turned me off to listening to any of their other albums. I’ll stick with the Treasure Chest compilation for my Helloween fix.

Highlights: “”Eagle Fly Free”, “I Want Out”

www.helloween.org
www.myspace.com/helloween

This entry was posted on April 14, 2009 at 9:16 pm and is filed under Helloween with tags , , , , , , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “HELLOWEEN – Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II”

  1. rhodeislandrock Says:
    July 8, 2009 at 8:31 pm

    Helloween is one of those bands that you might want to give another chance to…..I suggest starting at the beginning with the E.P. and WALLS OF JERICHO and KEEPER Pt.1. They really are a great band, very innovative, one of the premier early Power Metal bands.

    I’ll agree that ‘I Want Out’ is catchy and almost “radio friendly”. I always liked ‘Dr. Stein’ best.

    Steve
    Heavy Metal Addiction
    http://hardrockheavymetal.wordpress.com

    Reply
  2. HELLOWEEN – Treasure Chest « Metal Excess Says:
    October 31, 2009 at 10:51 pm

    [...] Helloween is a very well respected band in the power metal community, but I’ve had a hard time getting into them. From what I’ve heard, they seem like a campy and lighter version of Iron Maiden. But… I’m a sucker for power ballads and Helloween has done two of the best power ballads I’ve ever heard with “In The Middle Of A Heartbeat” and “Forever And One (Neverland)”. They were the two main reasons I bought this compilation album (which features remixes and remasters), though I also wanted to give the band another chance after disappointing me a few years earlier with Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II. [...]

    Reply

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