Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy
When you decide to name an album Keeper of the Seven Keys you have to be absolutely sure that it will equal or better than the two legendary metal records with the same name. However, like all things, what a legacy implies is dependent on the object it refers to. In the case of Helloween’s Keeper of the Seven Keys albums in the late 80s, one would remember some astounding feats of technical and melodic guitar playing, soaring vocal lines, accessible songs with tons of hooks, and a rather curious blend of humor, triumph and drama. Keeper of the Seven Keys – The Legacy is a diamond. Musically there are lots of things going on there. The guitars have a very sharp sound in some songs like “The Invisible Man”, “Occasion Avenue” and in other songs like “The King for a Thousand Years”, “My Life for One More Day”, “Silent Rain” they remind us of the Helloween classic guitars we can listen in the first two Keepers but with more modern sound. Also there are some exceptional solos, products of really good inspiration. The guitar solo during the keyboard break on “Invisible Man” will likely take fans of that band back to the magic that was “Tears of Taragon”. Michael Weikath consistently maintains his simpler rock influenced approach to soloing, his lead highlight being found on audience fanfare “Get it up”. Dani Löble is a rather pleasant surprise, matching Uli Kusch in terms of technical ability on the kit and surpassing him in sound quality. Just listen to the unrelenting assault of rapid double bass work and lightning fills, yet also note the consistency and drive that he brings to each song, and Markus Grosskopf is as usual perfect at his parts but in this album finally he does some interesting solos ( Be it the humorous slap bass riff in “Mrs. God”, the raunchy bass intro to “The Invisible Man”, or the charming melodic fills found on “Light the Universe” he contradicts the mostly false cliché that heavy metal neglects his instrument).
Naturally Andi Deris’ characteristic approach to lyrical wittiness and self-analysis is still heavy present. Be it his near slap-stick humor approach in “Mrs. God”, the resurrected video game intro from Master of the Rings in “Come Alive”, his vocal delivery is consistent, though obviously quite different from the clean husky tone exhibited by Michael Kiske. His most technically impressive performance can be found on the opening epic “King for a Thousand Years”, although other tracks such as “Shade in the Shadow” and “Born on Judgment Day” are shinning examples of his strong command over the emotional dimension of the album.
This is a new classic, one that all power metal fans should invest in. This band has weathered many storms, but has never wavered in its effort to bring great metal to all open ears, and have now found themselves back at the top of their game. Two songs left out from the disc, as “Revolution” (written by Markus and as Japanese bonus track) and “Run (The Name Of Your Enemy)” (Gerstner/Deris).
Tracklist:
Disc One
1. “The King for a 1000 Years” (Helloween/Deris) – 13:54
2. “The Invisible Man” (Gerstner) – 7:17
3. “Born on Judgment Day” (Weikath) – 6:14
4. “Pleasure Drone” (Gerstner) – 4:08
5. “Mrs. God” (Deris) – 2:55
6. “Silent Rain” (Gerstner/Deris) – 4:21
Disc Two
1. “Occasion Avenue” (Deris) – 11:04
2. “Light the Universe” (Deris) – 5:00
3. “Do You Know What You’re Fighting For?” (Weikath) – 4:45
4. “Come Alive” (Deris) – 3:20
5. “The Shade in the Shadow” (Deris) – 3:24
6. “Get It Up” (Weikath) – 4:13
7. “My Life for One More Day” (Grosskopf/Deris) – 6:51
Recorded at Mi Sueño Music, Tenerife December 2004 – June 2005
Produced and mixed by Charlie Bauerfeind for S.C. & Services S.L.
Design and cover artwork by Martin Häusler
Photography by Mathias Bothor
Candice Night guest vocal on “Light the Universe”
Backing vocals by Oliver Hartmann & Olaf Senkbeil
Keyboards by Friedel Amon
Additional Keyboards by Andi Deris & Sascha Gerstner
Andi Deris – vocals
Michael Weikath – guitars
Markus Grosskopf – bass
Sascha Gerstner – guitars
Daniel ‘Dani’ Löble – drums
