The German group Helloween is considered to be the ancestor of Europower. This band is, in fact, a "hybrid" of two bands from Hamburg - Ironfirst and Powerfool, who worked in the style of heavy metal.
The first composition of the Halloween quartet
Four guys came together to form Helloween: Michael Weikat (guitar), Markus Grosskopf (bass), Ingo Schwichtenberg (drums) and Kai Hansen (vocals). The last two later left the group.
The name of the group, according to one version, was borrowed from the corresponding holiday, but the version that the musicians simply experimented with the word hell, that is, “hell”, is more likely.
After signing a contract with Noise Records, the quartet made itself known by recording several tracks for the Death Metal compilation. A little later, stand-alone albums were released: Helloween and Walls of Jericho. The energetic, fast "metal" tempo was successfully combined with the beauty of the melody, producing a deafening effect.
Line-up changes and Helloween's peak success
It soon became clear that Hansen was experiencing significant difficulties in his work, because he had to combine vocals with playing the guitar. Therefore, the group was replenished with a new soloist, who was engaged exclusively in vocals - 18-year-old Michael Kiske.
The team really benefited from such an update. The album Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I created the effect of an exploding bomb - Helloween became an "icon" of power. The album also had a second part, which included the hit I Want Out.
Start of problems
Despite the successes, relations within the group could not be called smooth. Kai Hansen found the loss of the band's vocalist status humiliating, and in 1989 the musician left the band. But he was also the composer of the group. Hansen took on another project, and Roland Grapov took his place.
The troubles didn't end there. The band decided to work under a more established label, but Noise didn't like it. Proceedings began, including litigation.
Nevertheless, the musicians achieved a new contract - they signed an agreement with EMI. Immediately after that, the guys recorded the album Pink Bubbles Go Ape.
Zealous "metalists" felt deceived. The disappointment of the fans was facilitated by the fact that the Helloween group "changed itself" - the album's songs were soft, epic, even humorous.
The dissatisfaction of the "fans" did not stop the musicians from softening the style, and then they released the Chameleon project, even more far from pure heavy metal.
The components of the album were the most diverse, there was a combination of styles and directions, there was not only power, which glorified the group!
In the meantime, intra-group conflict grew. At first, the band had to part ways with Ingo Schwichtenberg because of his drug addiction. Then Michael Kiske was also fired.
End of experiments
In 1994, the band signed a contract with the Castle Communications label and new musicians - Uli Kusch (drums) and Andy Deris (vocals). The band decided to take no more chances and stop experimenting, creating a real hard rock album Master of the Rings.
The reputation among the "fans" was restored, but the success was overshadowed by the tragic news - Schwichtenberg, who was unable to get rid of drug addiction, committed suicide under the wheels of a train.
In memory of him, the guys released the album The Time of the Oath - one of their most outstanding projects. Then came the double album High Live, followed by Better Than Raw two years later.
The Dark Ride was the last album that Grapov and Kush participated in. The two decided to create another project, and Sasha Gerstner and Mark Cross took the vacant seats.
The latter, however, stayed in the group for a very short time, giving way to drummer Stefan Schwartzman. The new line-up recorded the disc Rabbit Don't Come Easy, which was in the world charts.
Helloween toured the US in 1989.
Since 2005, the band changed its label to SPV, and also fired Shvartsman from his line-up, who did not cope well with complex drum parts and, moreover, differed from other members in his musical tastes.
After the appearance of a new drummer Dani Loeble, a new album, Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legasy, was released, which was quite successful.
For the 25th anniversary, the Helloween group released the Unarmed compilation, which included 12 hits in new arrangements, symphonic and acoustic arrangements were added. And in 2010, heavy metal again showed itself at full power in the album 7 Sinners.
Helloween today
2017 is marked by a grandiose tour in which Hansen and Kiske took part. For several months, the Helloween group traveled around the world and gave unusually bright shows with an audience of thousands of spectators.
The group is not going to give up positions - it is popular even now. Today it has seven musicians, including Kiske and Hansen. In the fall of this 2020, a new tour is expected.
The band has its own official website and Instagram page, where power metal "fans" can always find out the latest news and admire the photos of their favorites. Helloween is an everlasting power metal star!
The Helloween team in 2021
Helloween presented the LP of the same name in mid-June 2021. Three vocalists of the group took part in the recording of the collection. The musicians noted that with the release of the disc they opened a new stage in the band's creative biography.
Recall that the team has been “storming” the heavy music scene for more than 35 years. The album was a continuation of the band's reunion tour, which the guys managed to hold even before the coronavirus pandemic. The record was produced by C. Bauerfeind.
