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HELLOWEEN BAND PAGE
 HELLOWEEN
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CURRENT NAME
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Helloween | |
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FORMER NAMES
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- | |
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ORIGIN
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Germany | |
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STATUS
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Active | |
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FORMED IN
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1983 | |
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LABEL
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Steamhammer Records | |
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GENRE
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Power metal | |
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STYLE
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- | |
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LYRICAL THEME
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- | |
| BAND ADDED | 2005-08-26, 00:00 | |
| LAST UPDATE | 2008-10-26, 06:05 | |
| Band biography |
In 1984 they recorded 2 songs for the Noise compilation "Death Metal". In 1985 they recorded their self entitled debut EP with five tracks. The same year they also released their first fill-length album called "Walls Of Jericho". In 1986 they released a single EP called Judas. Kai found it hard to sing and play at the same time and the band now started looking for a new vocalist. The band once considered former Tyran Pace vocalist Ralf Scheepers but they soon find Michael Kiske from a local band called Ill Prophecy.
Helloween wanted to record a double album but their label Noise said no and instead they released "Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part 1" which was a huge success to be followed by the even more successful second part in 1988. After the release of part two Kai left the band and with a tour coming up former Rampage guitarist Roland Grapow replaced him. In 1989 they also released a live album called "Live In The UK" (for Europe) / "Keepers Live" (Japan) / I Want Out Live (USA).
In 1990 Helloween wanted to sign with a bigger label namely EMI Records. They signed the deal with them but their former label Noise filed a suit against them since they had broken their contract. The band members said that the reason for them breaking the contract with Noise was that everybody except for the band was making money. In 1991 their next album called "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" was released. The album was not very popular among fans or the media and the relationships within the band were getting tense.
In 1993 Helloween released what many fans call their worst album ever namely "Chamelion". The tensions were even worse then before which led to the departure of Ingo. In 1994 the band signed a new deal with Castle Communications and recruited a new vocalist called Andi Deris from Pink Cream 69, one of Weiki's favorite bands. Uli Kusch also joined the band as the new drummer. This year they also released "Master Of The Rings" which was given great reviews and for the first time since the Keeper times the band members were getting along with each other.
In 1996 their new album "The Time Of The Oath" was released. This was also the year of tragedy since their former member Ingo Schwichtenberg jumped in front of a train to commit suicide. Ingo suffered from schizophrenia and refused to take his medication. Because of this he started using both drugs and alcohol which was the reason why he was more or less fired in 1993. During 1996 and 1997 both Kiske, Grapow and Deris released solo albums on their own. In 1998 a best-of set of four cd's was released called "The Pumpkin Box". In March they also released a brand new album called "Better Than Raw". 1999 saw new solo albums from the band members as well as the new album "Metal Jukebox" with cover songs. In 2000 they recorded the new album "The Dark Ride" which was released on October 30th in Europe, followed by a tour.
In early August 2004 the band signed a new contract with the German label Steamhammer Records / SPV after a short period on Nuclear Blast.
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| Buy Helloween albums |
| Official releases Add | ||
9 / 10 Read our review here | ||
| Tour dates / gigs |
