Walls of Jericho
Helloween’s first full length album comes in the form of Walls Of Jericho, although they released the 5 track Mini LP simply titled Helloween, Walls Of Jericho was the album that started to put the band on the map. This album showcases the raw untapped talent that the band possessed at the time. The production wasn’t too shabby and the awesome, melodic, and fast guitarplaying of Michael Weikath and Kai Hansen dominates this release and shows the signs of great things to come. At the time of this album’s release Helloween were basically a cult band in the underground metal scene in Germany along with such bands such as Grave Digger, Running Wild, and Rage.
Walls Of Jericho even had an impact on the underground metal scene in the states. By 1985’s standards this was a refreshing change from the “Hair Metal” stuff that was killing the real headbangers. Music of the 80’s in that style needed a kick in its own tail to remind the world that Metal was as much an attitude as a musical form. Although Walls Of Jericho is not considered Helloween’s best album by any stretch of the imagination, it certainly influenced more people than one might think. Yet there is something special about these early tracks as you are getting the picture from the beginning and experiencing the band at their start. Songs like “Murderer” and “Starlight” are still performed some twenty years later by the lineup that has changed a number of times since the began. Overall this album shows the beginning of a long and storied career the band has had, and shows the early signs of greatness the band will achieve.
Recorded and Mixed at MusicLab Studio, Berlin September/October 1985
Engineered and mixed by Harris Johns
Emulator II played by James Hardaway
Front cover concept by Michael Weikath
Cover design by Edda and Uwe Karczewski, Hamburg
Layout & Typo by Peter Vahlefeld
Produced by Harris Johns and HELLOWEEN
Track listing:
1. Starlight (Weikath/Hansen) 5:17
2. Murderer (Hansen) 4:26
3. Warrior (Hansen) 4:00
4. Victim Of Fate (Hansen) 6:37
5. Cry For Freedom (Weikath/Hansen) 6:02
6. Walls Of Jericho (Weikath/Hansen) 0:53
7. Ride The Sky (Hansen) 5:51
8. Reptile (Weikath) 3:44
9. Guardians (Weikath) 4:19
10. Phantoms Of Death (Hansen) 6:34
11. Metal Invaders (Hansen) 4:10
12. Gorgar (Weikath/Hansen) 3:55
13. Heavy Metal (Is The Law) (Weikath/Hansen) 3:51
14. How Many Tears (Weikath) 7:15
15. Judas (Hansen) 4:39
All songs written and arranged by HELLOWEEN
Published by Wintrop/Maldoror Musikveriag
Ingo Schwichtenberg (Drums)
Michael Weikath (Guitars)
Markus Grosskopf (Bass)
Kai Hansen (Guitars/Vocals)
