Michael Kiske is a powerhouse metal singer hailing from the great nation of Deutschland (Germany). At age seventeen Kiske was part of a band called Ill Prophecy, but he became famous when he joined the epic band Helloween. He would remain as lead singer of Helloween between 1986 through 1993. After leaving Helloween Kiske had a successful solo career and also appeared as a guest singer for many bands including, Gamma Ray, Stratovarius, Aina’s metal opera “Days of Rising Doom,” Thalion, Edguy, Indigio Dying, Revolution Resistance, Trick or Treat, Tomorrow’s Outlook, and Timo Tolkki’s metal opera “Avalon.” In 2009 Kiske released a duet album with Amanda Somerville under the name Kiske/Somerville. Between 2005 through 2013 Kiske was the lead singer of Place Vendome. Also Kiske is a primary voice in the greatest super group ever Avantasia. Kiske is now the lead singer of Unisonic.
Kai Hansen is a powerhouse guitarist hailing from the great nation of Deutschland (again Germany) nad is one of the founder members of Helloween; after four albums as one of the leaders of Helloween Hansen would leave the band in 1989. Between 1990 through 2012 Kiske was the lead guitarist of Gamma Ray, he would also function as lead guitarist for the band Iron Savior on three of their albums. Hansen has appeared as a guest guitarist for many bands including, Rampage, Blind Guardian, Angra, Primal Fear, HammerFall, Heavenly, Stormwarrior, Headhunter, Heavenwood, and the greatest super group ever Avantasia. Hansen is now the lead guitarist of Unisonic.
Basically Kiske and Hansen have been in ever band ever.
As stated at the end of both introductory paragraphs, after journeying throughout the global metal scene both men have come together to form Unisonic, a modern German metal band. Kiske and Hansen met when they were both part of Helloween so Unisonic in many ways is a reunion for the two biggest stars of that band. Also in not so many ways Unisonic is Helloween version 2.0.
Unisonic had their debut album and world tour in 2012 much to the acclaim of European and South American critics and metal fans, all the while being largely ignored by the North American market. I mean I bought a copy of “Unisonic” but as near I as I know I am the only Canadian who did, and as a consequence this debut album becomes yet another hidden treasure from the popular knowledge of people, which is a real shame since “Unisonic” I think is the best work either Kiske or Hansen has done since the Keeper’s albums while in Helloween.
Unisonic the music video by Unisonic from the album Unisonic
The doubly self titled track “Unisonic” was the only single of the album and the only song to receive music video treatment. I suppose “Unisonic” off of the album “Unisonic” by Unisonic does seem the obvious choice for a first single especially considering the lyrical content is mostly Kiske introducing Unisonic to the world. The song “Unisonic” is a really good song but it far from the only good track on the album. I also really enjoyed “King For A Day” and “Never Too Late,” but if I had to pick a favourite track it would have to be “No One Ever Sees Me.”
Maybe I am just a sucker for a power ballad, or maybe it is because I am not so secretly a miserable person, or maybe it is because I think Kiske sings like a rock god on this song, but I really like “No One Ever Sees Me.”
The casual interpretation of a chorus like:
“No one ever sees me. No one ever hears me. No one knows me. No one feels my pain. I fade away.”
Could be a great many things. I instantly identified with the whole, no one knows me and no one feels my pain attitude. Like so many unusual prototypes before me I have felt far too many times misunderstood, outcast, and alone. But as I read over the lyrics, that I have been singing along too for just over a year now, it finally occurs to me that “No One Ever Sees Me” appears to be about an arranged marriage.
The opening two verses told from the girl’s point of view as her father pressures her, and guilt her into this arrangement.
“Anna hurts herself to cover up, The deeper pain inside. And if you ask she's alright, But in the night she cries.
Her father says: You better get your head right. Cause if you don't, you'll lose the fight of life. You'll find a man that will give you guidance, Who you can tell what you never shared with us, Do you ever think about us?”
The second two verses appear to come from the point of the view of the man in this arrange marriage and the dark expectations and intentions he feels entitled too in this unjust situation.
“Sati's dad is honoring, What always was tradition. He will choose who'll marry her, There must be no confusion. And if she starts to babble about love, I will forget what I am made of, I will end her life with my own hands, Do what it takes and what honor still demands, It ends right here.”
All of a sudden this song is a great white ribbon song. Who in the world pays much or any attention to the suffering of women trapped within arranged marriages? Did you even notice Iran lowering the legal age of marriage for girls to nine, they did this because Saudi Arabia’s legal age of raping young girls (they call it marriage for some reason) to ten, you know because that’s what the Quran said. When you stop for even a shortest of moments you realize arranged marriages is a very real modern problem for far too many woemn, and it is something fantastic that someone actually bothered to write a song about it. The more I think about it “No One Ever Sees” me is kind of perfect in its delivery of this message, because Kiske is right, we turn a very blind eye to suffering of women across the globe, especially the silent suffering of women forced and conditioned to function as brood mares for their family or faith.
I really liked “No One Ever Sees” me but after some casual analysis I love the song even more. Also I really liked Unisonic’s debut album, and I strongly encourage metal fans to pick up a copy. The birth of Unisonic is a historical moment for metal Kiska and Hansen are together again and they are awesome together.
In January of this year, on a whim I purchased tickets to Avantaisa in Berlin and Hamburg in April. I did not give it a lot of thought, it was something I wanted to do so I did it, and I so rarely do what I want. After a few weeks the tickets arrived by mail and as I sat there holding the tickets in my hand and it become very real what I was doing, but only then did it begin to feel that way. I had the tickets to see the greatest musical group in the world today; all I had to do now was get my ass to Germany.
I’ve never traveled before, not really, I went to Hawaii once two years ago, which was great, but Europe is a completely different matter. Europe was a hell of a lot further, more expensive, and English would not be the common language. In Hawaii I was going to see my kid brother in the Navy who would be there on duty, in Europe I was going alone. I had humoured the idea of asking a friend to come with me, but all my dearest friends are far too preoccupied with their own tribulations to go on a random adventure, especially one of another’s devices. After very little deliberation it was settled, I was going to Berlin for three days, Hamburg for one and Amsterdam for three.
Even though I gave myself two days in Berlin and Amsterdam to sightsee and party, the truth of the matter was that I was going to Europe for one singular reason, and that was to see Tobias Sammet and Avantasia. I am of the opinion that Tobias Sammet is the greatest song writer and Avantasia the best musical production in the world today, but perhaps I have already made the point clear with my now four Music In Reviews on the topic of Avantasia:
After spending two days in Berlin just wandering, Monday the 22nd arrived and I was pumped. I debated whether I should wear the Canadian flag as a sash or not, I thought it might seem arrogant to wave around my flag as if that made me important; on the other hand I wanted the world to know how far I had traveled to see Avantasia. I wanted Tobias and Avantasia to know he had fans in Canada and at least one of them was willing to dedicate his first vacation to seeing them. In the end I did wear the Canadian flag and it was a good call.
Representing Canada, America and Scotland
at Temporom in Berlin,
Upon arriving at Tempodrom while waiting in line a very loud man in a wheel chair called me over. Referring to me as “Canada” he introduced himself as “Scotland.” Also there was a woman with a blonde Mohawk “America” and two fine polish gentlemen. During the show Tobias took notice of all the international visitors Berlin had that night. Tobias told the crowd he was going to speak in English for the rest of the night since there were people from Poland, Sweden, Norway, Australia and Britain. I guess he didn’t see my flag but I did yell out “Canada!” when he was listing out flags in the crowd. Still it was pretty cool of Tobias to accommodate all us non-Germans like that; he did not have to do that on my account.
When it began, it was dreamlike. I had seen countless live performances of Avantasia on DVD and online but it was something far away and unreal, then the band emerged, and then he appeared, Tobias Sammet was there, in person. Earth’s greatest song writer was on stage, ten feet from me. It was best moment of my life.
Tobias Sammet, earth's greatest song writer stands before me. Wow.
Not knowing the new album it took a moment before a song I knew well was played, Bob Cately appeared and performed one of my favorite songs “The Story Ain’t Over.”
Avantasia - The Story Ain't Over
Bob Cately was particularly worthy to note since the former front man of Magnum is now sixty-five years old, and he never missed a word and he sang amazingly. During the Sammet/Cately duet “In Quest For” Sammet forgot the words and Cately sang his first part for him. Tobi forgot the words to a song he always sings, that he wrote, and was bailed out by sixty-five year old Bob Cately who does not normally sing that part and did not write the song; how embarrassing; also how very charming and entertaining. Tobi is only human after all and he has written several hundred songs by now, he allowed to make a mistake now and then, and what a professional Cately is.
Tobias forgets the fucking words.
Avantasia - In Quest For
They ended with “The Seven Angels” and “Sign of the Cross” it was incredible and easily the best show I had ever seen and easily the best night of my life, only it was going to get better.
Avantasia - The Seven Angels
After the show I was hanging out with Ariel, my new American friend with the blond Mohawk, when we were approached by a handsome man with wavy blonde hair who said to me.
“Dude your Canadian? Canadian guys are the best dudes. I’m from Sweden and I play hockey, a lot of my best friends are Canadian.”
I believe my response was “Thank you.”
“We’re going to Halford’s it is a Judas Priest themed bar. Do you want to get drunk with us?”
“Of course I do!”
Of course I wanted to get drunk with two awesome Swedish dudes, a Dutch guy, and an American girl at a bar named after Rob Halford of Judas Priest. I had to catch a train to Hamburg at 8:00am the next day, but fuck it, this is why I came to Deutschland, to rock out with Tobias Sammet and Avantasia and party with other Avantasia fans of which we are seriously lacking here in Canada.
We went our separate ways to get ready and met back up at Tempodrom. I returned and met up with my new Dutch friend Fabian who was waiting outside the concert hall with a small crowd hoping to get autographs from Tobi and Michael Kiske. Fabian and I were no more than six/seven feet from Tobias and Michael when they appeared. They both covered their mouths and entered the cab quickly, evidently they were both sick, though you would never have known that from the performances they had just given. Evidently neither signed anything and they were gone as quickly as they appeared. Still it was cool just to see them.
My only shot of Halford's before
the batteries died in my camera.
We had a few beers at the Swedes hotel room and were talking so loudly on the balcony someone called the cops on us. Later while waiting on the street for a cab that same person threw an egg at us. It was a Monday and we were loud, and it was funny, funny because none of us got hit by the egg. Halford’s was a blast, and after a few steins of beer and several shots of Jagermeister I was good and drunk, so much so I slept in. I awoke at 6:45 leaving me only a little more than an hour to get my ass to the hauptbahnhof and catch my train to Hamburg. I rose to my feet and found all my stuff neatly packed away and a suit of clothes laid out for me to wear, evidently while I was black out drunk I had anticipated sleeping in and did all the necessary prep work to get going in the morning. Good work drunk Colin, you’ve never let me down.
After Tempodrom and the fantastic time I had after the show with Fabian, Ariel, Victor and... god I can’t remember the other awesome Swedish dude’s name, anyway after Halford’s and everything you might think Hamburg could not possible eclipse the sheer happiness I experienced in Berlin. That’s what I thought anyway.
The concert hall Avantasia was playing in Hamburg was Grosse Fahrenheit 36 located in Reeperbahn. Two things I didn’t know, Reeperbahn is the sex district of Hamburg and Hamburg is the sex capital of Germany. There were so many strip clubs, sex shops and brothels!
Avantasia's Team Sweden and
Team Canada
While waiting in line for the concert and after drawing forth my Canadian flag I made two brand new friends from Sweden, Emil and Linus. I guess one lesson to take away from this story is that Swedish people are fucking cool. Also a very tall gentleman approached me and introduced himself, he was from Ottawa. Shang Pei Rui (probably not his real name) had very similar plans to my own, he was at Tempodrom the day before and evidently he had heard someone else yell out “Canada” when Tobias was listing out foreign countries present that night. All of a sudden Avantasia’s Team Canada was not just me anymore. Avantasia fans of Canada you are not alone, there is at least two of us!
Avantasia fans of Canada,
you are not alone.
Hamburg was the better show, the crowd was hot blooded and the band just performed that much stronger. And what a crowd! We had a fine collection of foreigners, Team Canada and Team Sweden were joined by a mother daughter combo from Australia, a father daughter combo from Norway, a kindly older British couple, and also a twenty year old German girl was hanging out with my Dutch friend Fabian. Combine all of that with an awesome crowd of fine German metal fans and Grosse Fahrenheit 36 became alive. The best concert I have ever been too and I’ve been to many now.
One notable moment during the show Eric Martin (Mr. Big) the only American in Avantasia took notice of my Canadian flag and gave me a thumbs up, which was very cool. To be honest I didn’t really know who Eric Martin was before Tempodrom. He was the new guy in Avantasia, along with Ronnie Atkins (Pretty Maids), and I was unsure how I felt about him singing “Promise Land” at first but he rocked out and sang great so he is a bad ass in my opinion.
We were all suppose to hang out after the show, Team Sweden, Team Canada, Fabian and whoever the hell else felt like it, but somehow I lose Team Sweden and while Fabian is busy talking to girls (which is important of course) the other half of Team Canada bids me farewell, which was fair he had to catch a flight the next morning. So then there was three Fabian, the young German girl (I’ve forgotten her name) and myself. Fabian informs me that the two girls serving alcohol at the venue agreed to hang out with us later at a bar named Cobra, I am very sceptical, because in my life no girl has ever kept their word about meeting up with anyone; no literally, not one; but hey I got nowhere to go, so why not. But first thing is first our young German friend wants to meet Tobias, as she has plans to marry him, so the three of us wait in the back alley behind Grosse Fahrenheit 36.
After a while someone exits the back door, Eric Martin is smoking a cigarette, he notices us and decides to come over and hang out for a half hour. Eric turns out to be one of the nicest human beings I have ever met. He had the nicest things to say about everyone in Avantasia and his generally enthusiasm was delightful. At one point Bob Cately appears with his medical assistant (Mr. Cately has a medical assistant not because he is sick but because he is 65) and they get into a van to leave, Eric turns to us and says;
“Let’s be obnoxious South American fans!”
So Eric Martin, Fabian and I start pounding on the windows of the van while it is driving away shouting at Mr. Cately who looks exactly half amused with us.
In a short period of time we are joined by other Avantasia all of which are German except for the father daughter combo from Norway I mentioned early.
After saying some more great things about Avantasia, life and everything Eric declares “do you guys want to meet Ronnie? Let’s get Ronnie out here!” and like a big kid Eric runs off and returns with Ronnie Atkins. And that’s how I met Ronnie Atkins.
Ronnie was very dignified. He was a tall proud respectful Danish gentleman, who was short with his answers and quick to the point of things. He had a flare of wit about him and everything about him screamed ‘rock star’ which is appropriate because he is. Ronnie however did not share Eric Martin boundless enthusiasm and spent a solid five to ten minutes with us lingering Avantasia fans before wishing us a good night. Cool guy.
We hang out with our fellow Avantasia fans for a while having some great conversations, but by the time 1:00am rolls around Fabian and I are ready to head to Cobra. Our young German friend, the girl of the revolution, as she was dubbed by Eric Martin, is insistent on waiting until Tobias shows up, after all she is a very ambition and intends to marry him. But Fabian and I know Tobias is not feeling well and if he does appear out the back door here he will probably jump into a cab and not say anything to anyone. It is time to go so we say goodbye to the girl of the revolution and head to Cobra.
We find the bar without too much trouble and get a couple of beers. A very drunk German fellow begins talking to us and he has some curious questions about Canada, since I am still wearing the flag over my shoulder it garners some attention. After explaining the differences between Canada and the United States and other quirky things about Canada this fine German cameraman says to me.
“It must be nice being from a country you can be proud of.”
I ask for an explanation and he tells me how it is hard being German since they have so much guilt from their history, referring to world war two of course. I tell him that’s bullshit, it has been over seventy years and Germany is awesome! If for no other reason Avantasia!
But seriously German is really cool. It is a nation of hard working professionals, innovation, creativity, music, art, beer and a great football. There are a lot of things to like about Germany.
I also informed him how awful the whole world is, not just Germany during the middle of the twentieth century. I tell him about segregation, the Japanese labour camps, the turning away of all Jewish refugees and all the general brutal racisism coming out of Canada and the States at that time. Germany was never more evil than any other nation, they just crossed a terrible line before any of the rest of us did. But then again Japan and the rape of Nanking rivals any evil every done by anyone. Stalin in Russia killed more people than Hitler’s holocaust. American slavery was a holocaust in its own right. I have strong Irish roots and what the English did to them was terrible, granted I also have strong English roots. If we keep pushing guilt around very quickly everyone has blood on their hands. This German cameraman gave me a hug after everything I said and then he said to me
“This is a good flag, let’s wave your flag.”
So we waved my flag and my new friend told strangers how great of a guy I was, which is, you know, very flattering. Meanwhile some tattooed cutie on the other side of the bar starts to cheer at the sight of the Maple Leaf. The bartender informs me that girl is from Canada and I might want to go over there and introduce myself, so I do. She was from Calgary; small world.
Then the craziest thing happens, the two girls from Grosse Fahrenheit 36, they show up! Such a thing has never happened before in the entire history of North America.
My new found German friend disappears, but he was pretty drunk so it might have been time for him to venture home, I was sad to see him go but this did free me up to talk to two good looking German girls. Jay and Lily were their names and they were wonderful human beings. While I sat and talked to Lily (the blonde one) an interesting subject matter comes up, Canada, which isn’t surprising I still got the flag tied to me, and she says,
“It must be nice being from a country where you can wave your flag and not be called a Nazi.”
This shit again? I wanted to tell Lily that she was wrong. That if she walked down the streets of Calgary no one would call her a Nazi, but I know some asshole would. Maybe only one in a hundred people would consider that a worthwhile joke and maybe only one in two would have the crass indignity to verbally attack a stranger like that, but someone would.
I give a similar speech to Lily that I gave to my cameraman friend and she thinks I’m a great guy. Back home most women would rather step on my face than look at me, but in Germany, by virtue of simply not being a prejudice asshole I am considered a wonderful man. Lily and Jay had to work the next day so they could not stay long and sometime after 3:00am they left.
I sat with Fabian at the bar drinking our beers and I wanted nothing more than to stay one more day in Hamburg. I wanted to hang out with Lily and Jay once more and get to know them better. I would have liked to once more hang out with Fabian who proved to be a hell of a friend, not only was he infinitely useful at gathering people together, but he was just a great guy.
Fabian and I finished our beers and decided to call it a night, it felt like we were calling it quits early, but it was 3:30 in the morning. We walked the streets of Reeperbahn where the prostitutes are militant, found some taxis and went our separate ways.
And that was the best day of my entire life.
Not surprisingly Amsterdam also proved to be a lot of fun but nothing could compete with my last night in Berlin or my single day in Hamburg. The powers of metal did much more than send me on a quest across the Atlantic Ocean; it brought a collection of friends who had never met before together. The random choice to purchase rock concert tickets online in another country has proven to be the single best thing I have every done.
“Ages of fire - Aeon of darkness, fear and hate Wake up my creatures Stand up you bringers of man's fate No one can kill us We cannot die, a death one knows Mankind is sleeping My victory near, their end so close I know your secrets I know it all”
After the departure of Kai Hansen from Helloween, singer Michael Kiske would only stay on for another two albums, “Pink Bubbles Go Ape” and “Chameleon.” Around the same time drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg was dejected from the band, tragically Schwichtenberg suffered from schizophrenia and an addiction to alcohol and drugs which led the poor man to suicide. Guitarist Michael Weikath and bassist Markus Grosskopf would march on still carrying the banner of Helloween.
The departure of Kiske would prove problematic since his face and voice had become synonymous with Helloween so the replacement had to be someone special. The man they would recruit was Andi Deris a very talented singer, and more importantly he is very “metal.” In some funny ways Helloween experienced what Van Halen experienced when David Lee Roth left and was replaced with Sammy Hagar. Everyone likes Sammy Hagar but most people liked David Lee Roth as lead singer of Van Halen more, intense and needless arguments ensued. Meanwhile for Helloween, everyone likes Andi Deris as a singer but everyone likes Michael Kiske more and intense and needless arguments ensued. I am of the popular opinion that Kiske is the better singer both in and out of Helloween the guy is just amazing, however I really do enjoy Deris’s voice. The two singers are fundamentally different in their range and style but it makes for a variety in Helloween that I believe was advantageous.
What made Helloween famous was the Keeper’s albums. The albums that came after, which I am sure are decent never made the same impact as “The Keeper of the Seven Keys” but there was room to grow and a mythology that could be expanded if only they dared go there. In 2005 Helloween released a double CD set titled “The Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy.”
Unlike “The Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 & 2” the over arching narrative in the legacy has more continuity from one song to the next, themes such as devil worship, quests for immortality, betrayal, and sorcery reoccur. Furthermore there is a direct narrative from the song “Keeper of the Seven Keys” and the primary song of this third addition to the mythology “The King for A 1000 Years.” After being sealed away by the keeper of the seven keys the devil and his minions have been waiting biding their time to return and ruin mankind, and suddenly we have continuity.
The leap from the keeper’s sage in 1987-88 to 2005’s legacy was plenty of time for Helloween to change, and looking at the multiple members involved in the band’s history it is easy to see why Helloween changed. Music had changed too, metal music had gotten heavier and harder and Helloween had in so many ways mimicked this and for a song about a hateful Satan rising up from hell and threatening all mankind, heavy is a good thing.
Another interesting detail is the differences in narrative style from “Keeper of the Seven Keys” to “The King for A 1000 Years,” in “Keeper of the Seven Keys” the entire story follows the hero fighting the devil, who won’t let us be, while in “The King for A 1000 Years” the story follows Satan and his efforts to break through to our world, most notably through the corruption of humans.
“Say you want to live forever Minus one day Say you will obey and I I will show - I will show I will show your Reich of gold And I will show - I will show I will show you friend and foe”
What a great line, “say you want to live forever, minus one day,” this is very much the kind of backhanded crooked deal we have come to expect from the devil of our modern culture. Though I still need to look further into Helloween’s discography I suspect that “Keepers of the Seven Keys – The Legacy” along with the song “The King for A 1000 Years” is Andi Deris’s best work and Helloween’s best work since the keeper’s sage in the eighties. It helps that “The King for a 100 Years” and “The Keeper of the Seven Keys – The Legacy” tie back to the memorable albums of the eighties, and perhaps it speaks of Weikath’s creativity since he wrote the two best songs from the series, the last two. Perhaps Weikath revisiting “The Keeper of the Seven Keys” reignited some of the passion he had for the genre of heavy metal demonic fantasy adventure. Whatever the creative reason, it is these three songs “Halloween,” “Keeper of the Seven Keys,” and “The King for A 1000 Years” that really made me fall in love with Helloween. Everything you need to know about Helloween is being told to you in these three songs, the theme and stylization of Helloween’s music and how it changed over the years, also who was involved in each song explains a lot of that. Helloween is a band that has had many talented men come and go but thanks to Weikath and Grosskopf there has remained a unique consistency of metal spirit that can and will stand the test of time.
If there is one sure fire why to win my heart it is with a long fantasy adventure rock ballad, which is exactly what “Keeper of the Seven Keys” is, a thirteen minute musical epic. The song’s opening jumps right into the fantasy theme and never deviates far.
“Put on your armour Ragged after fights Hold up your sword You're leaving the light. Make yourself ready For the lords of the Dark They'll watch your way So be cautious, quiet and hark”
There are so many lyrics in this song, it’s practically a book, and they hit so many fantasy references, “will o’ the wisps, “dwarves of darkness,” “guided by spells,” and “the seas of hatred and sin,” all silly stuff but also awesome. The second time I listened to “Keeper of the Seven Keys” I was listening to the lyrics casually and I thought I heard, “kill that Satan who won’t let us be” and I thought “wait a minute is this song about killing the devil?” The answer was yes, big time yes, “Keeper of the Seven Keys” is one hundred percent about fighting and killing the devil. Typically in fantasy epics the big bad guy is some sort of lord of darkness and rarely something as culturally significant as Satan, but in incorporating the devil the song reaches an additional level of dramatic.
“Keeper of the Seven Keys” relates to the song “Halloween” in a few ways. First “Keeper of the Seven Keys” is the title track to Helloween’s second and third album “Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 & 2” so in a way all the tracks on both albums lead to the swan song that is “Keeper of the Seven Keys,” even though “Save Us” is technically the last tack. “Halloween” was the focus point of part one and “Keeper of the Seven Keys” was the focus point of part two, however the over arching theme of the two albums is a little disjointed, there are songs that fall into the Halloween theme really nicely like “Dr. Stein” an obvious Frankenstein homage, but a majority of the songs stand alone and do not fit into any story being revealed to us in either of these two big epic tracks. “Halloween” flows into “Keeper of the Seven Keys” through the presence of the devil in both songs, the devil is haunting Halloween in the first song and is a full blown antagonist in the second.
But the story of fighting the devil in a fantasy world is not the only narrative going on between these two songs, the story of Helloween is unfolding before us as well. I think I was right to call Kai Hansen the leader of Helloween as I did in the last review, he was a primary song writer, lead guitarist, and lead singer on the first album, but there is a great change occurring on the second installment on the Keeper’s saga. Rhythm and lead guitarist Michael Weikath takes over the song writing department on part two of the Keeper of the Seven Keys, having written five of the ten tracks on the album and three of the four hit tracks including “Keeper of the Seven Keys.” Interestingly the only hit song on the second album written by Hansen is “I Want Out” which is a song that clearly hints at how Hansen wants out of the band. No one is really sure why Kai Hansen was so unhappy in Helloween, the band he had help create, but he was upset enough to write a song about it so he must have been something serious. Seems a shame that Hansen felt that way and everyone in Helloween seemed surprised by the development and departure of Hansen after their third album. Hansen was only around for a short time in the most memorable band he would ever be a part of, he came and conquered, he was part of the two best Helloween albums, which were in turn two of the best rock/metal albums ever to come out of Germany.
When we look from “Halloween” to “Keeper of the Seven Keys” we see a transition in Helloween. “Halloween” is a song written by Kai Hansen with new lead singer Michael Kiske capturing all the raw intentions and emotions of the young band. “Keeper of the Seven Keys” takes the band into a fantastic new direction of fantasy and adventure and is written by Michael Weikath the ongoing creative leader of the band hereafter, Weikath along with bassist Markus Grosskopf are the only two members of the band to be with Hellowen since the beginning to the current day. The Keeper’s sage was a two piece set and important changes occurred within Helloween between the first and second installments; these albums are valuable records in the ongoing history of classic rock.
The story does not end there though; there is a third part to this trilogy.
I am working backwards discovering German rock music.
When I discovered Avantasia I learned all about front man Tobias Sammet, and knowning him I learned about his band Edguy. Sammet becomes my hero and through him I learned about Michael Kiske, Toby’s hero. Learning what an incredible singer Kiske is I learned about Helloween.
Helloween was formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kai Hansen who performed the important roles of lead guitarist and lead singer. After only one album “Walls of Jericho” Hansen decided that performing the duties of both singer and guitarist was too much for him to handle during live performances, so they decided to invest in a lead singer. This is a reoccurring challenge for many musicians; in fact Tobias Sammet himself originally played bass and sang before deciding that was becoming too challenging to do both live all the time. The man they would find to sing for Helloween would be Sammet’s hero Michael Kiske, and yeah, that was a good idea.
Helloween’s second album “The Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1” would be a huge leap forward for the band both in artistic development and commercial success. Kiske’s voice added that certain something that changed Helloween from a decent rock band to the stuff of legends. Also the song writing as a whole advanced a few steps forward from “Walls of Jericho,” so much so that the Keeper’s albums are the landmark of Helloween’s career, nothing that came after would ever be quite as good. The Keeper’s albums would make Helloween one of the largest driving forces of the rock scene in Europe, especially Germany.
The name of the band “Helloween” is clearly a play on words from the holiday “Halloween” this is neither subtle or particularly cleaver, but having said that, “Helloween” is as good a name as any. The point I am attempting to raise here is the men of Helloween did not forget what brought them to the dance, they did not forget the theme of their rock band, the theme of dark, hellish, Halloween. Appropriately the central narrative song from “Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1” is a track called “Halloween.”
“In the streets on Halloween There's something going on No way to escape the power unknown In the streets on Halloween The spirits will arise Make your choice, it's hell or paradise Ah--it's Halloween Ah--it's Halloween”
The title of this song caused some confusion for me when I first discovered it as I thought the chorus might have been saying “Ah—we’re Helloween” which would have been effective I am certain but ultimately is completely incorrect. If you are going to combine hell and Halloween you expect the devil to show up right?
“I'll show you passion and glory He is the snake I'll give you power and abundance He's the corrupter of man Save me from the evil one Give me strength to carry on I will fight for all mankind's Deliverance and peace of mind”
Not only is this last set of lyrics giving us the much needed references to Satan but there are key expressions here that tie in directly to the next two Helloween songs I want to talk about. “Halloween” is the just the first part of a trilogy you see, a trilogy that defines Helloween in my opinion.
It is such a contrast comparing the video/radio edit of “Halloween” to the studio version, the radio edit is a meager five and a half minutes, where as the full version is thirteen. “Halloween” in its intended form is an operatic metal song about mysticism and devil worship, it sets the stage for the rest of the Trilogy, and it even set the stage for the rest of Helloween’s career. “Halloween” despite appearing shallow in concept is actually the beginning of a grand musical opera; it is the first piece of the Keeper’s Trilogy, but also the first flagship song of the band Helloween.
