Keeper of the Seven Keys I
Keeper of The Seven Keys I is widely considered to be one of the most, if not the most influential album in the european powermetal scene. The Birth of power metal. This album is the first of two albums that would change the metal scene forever. In fact Keeper of The Seven Keys I (along with Keeper of The Seven Keys II) is considered one of the godfathers of modern day european powermetal albums. Refining their previous thrash/speed metal attack that was evident on Walls of Jericho, Helloween unveiled a glossy yet powerful melodic sheen to their sound here, thanks to top notch production values courtesy of Tommy Newton & Tommy Hansen, as well as the arrival of 18 year old vocalist Michael Kiske. It was perhaps the addition of Kiske that best helped take this band to the next level, as it was his soaring, Geoff Tate inspired high-pitched vocals that really added an element of class and accessibility to Helloween’s sound. The first part of what became a trilogy, Keeper of the Seven Keys I is full of metal anthems, catchy rockers, and progressive tinged epic power metal rave-ups. The combination of soaring vocal harmonies, twin guitar work, pounding double bass drums, and lyrics dealing with fantasty and science fiction provided the framework for what would become the European power metal genre.
Hansen really dominated this album as far as songwriting is concerned having written having written 5 tracks and co writing one track. Kiske also appears for the first time , and was the missing piece of the puzzle for a band that quickly went to stardom with this album’s release. Kiske’s clear and melodic vocals perfectly fit with the guitarplaying of Hansen and Weikath and his voice helped the band expand their already evident songwriting talent.
The album contains many classic tracks, from the raging “I’m Alive”, the speedy “Twilight of the Gods”, the catchy rockers “Future World” and “A Little Time”, the ballad “A Tale That Wasn’t Right”, to the epic, 13 minute classic “Haloween”, which did more for battling dual guitar solos than perhaps any other metal song up to that point.
There is a limited edition version of this album that throws “Judas” in between a “Tale That Wasn’t Right” and “Future World”. Its a limited edition CD Noise released in 1993.
Track listing:
1. Initiation (Hansen) 1:21
2. I’m Alive (Hansen) 3:23
3. A Little Time (Kiske) 3:59
4. Twilight Of The Gods (Hansen) 4:29
5. A Tale That Wasn’t Right (Weikath) 5:15
6. Future World (Hansen) 4:02
7. Halloween (Hansen) 13:18
8. Follow The Sign (Hansen/Weikath) 1:46
Total Running Time: 37:05
All Songs arranged by Helloween
Produced By Tommy Newton and Tommy Hansen
Engineered By Tommy Newton and Tommy Hansen
Mixed by Tommy Hansen for “Sick My Duck” Productions
Recorded and Mixed at Horus Sound Studio, Hannover, Nov/Dec 1986/Jan 1987
Emulator Played by Tommy Hansen
Cover Design by Edda and Uwe Karczewski, Hamburg
Front cover concept by K. Hansen & Limb
Photos by Jurgen Muller
Markus Grosskopf (Bass)
Kai Hansen (Guitars)
Ingo Schwichtenberg (Drums)
Michael Weikath (Guitars)
Michael Kiske (Vocals)
