955. Helloween / Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1. 1987. 5/5

As related in my review of Walls of Jericho, back in 1987 our school hosted an exchange student from Norway called Hans. He had brought with him his own musical interests, one of which was a band called Marillion, which never really caught on with me but found acceptance amongst others. What did pique my interest was two albums he had on one cassette, that I quickly got a copy of once I had heard them. Both were by a band called Helloween which until that time I had never heard of. On Side A was the album Walls of Jericho. On Side B was an album that had the endearing title of Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I. These two albums changed the way I felt about music in a profound and amazing way.

There are some quite startling changes between the way the music sounds between these two albums, and it almost quite literally comes down to the vocals of the two lead singers. Kai Hansen sang on both the initial EP and on Walls of Jericho. The songs were fast and heavy, true speed metal, and Kai's vocals exacerbated this, with those screams that would become so much a part of his early repertoire. There was no time for rest, this was an album that pushed the boundaries and used all of the skills of the band. But it was Kai's voice in the live setting, along with playing guitar, that led to the band looking for a lead singer to come into the mix. Enter Michael Kiske, the man with The Voice, and with it and his own writing ideas there was an almost immediate maturing of the music, without losing the intensity and the intrinsic heaviness of the material. With it however was a barrier, at least in my mind. Kai's version of the earlier songs always sound better, Michael doesn't quite have the grind that is necessary for those songs. The songs here though had a less speed metal approach, instead moving forth into newer waters, into a genre of metal that perhaps this album and the follow up created, that of power metal.
The album opens with the instrumental stage-setting "Initiation", which segues straight into "I'm Alive", which bursts forth with enthusiasm and an immediate impact of Kiske's amazing vocal talent. Straight away it all sounded so easy to sing, and he had those higher notes flowing freely. The music is terrific. It has those harmony guitars, which from here begin to produce that Helloween patented "happy guitars" sound which became their trademark. Yes, the tempo has slowed from the frantic output of the previous album, and this is noticeable for the majority of this album. Into the second song "A Little Time", and we also have ticking clocks, alarms and other such elements being thrown into the songs. We also have the first real support vocals coming through, backing up the lead vocalist in support of the song. Even the brilliant "Twilight of the Gods" has its tempo reeled in. If this had been performed 18 months earlier, it would have been at twice the pace that this is played at. That's not to say that the tempo is slow here, but it is certainly modified from those songs that came before this album. But the harmony vocals here, along with the harmony guitars, just make this a pleasure to listen to and sing along to. The rhythm of Ingo's drums and Marcus' bass line are winners here again, especially underneath the solo sections of the song. Brilliant.
The one downside of this album is that the song "A Tale That Wasn't Right" could possibly be held accountable for creating the 'power metal ballad', that awful indictment upon the genre. True, the song is a love story, and has those connotations, and the style of the song is what was followed, the template of you will. The problem with this in the long run is that this song is just awesome in the way it is written and performed. Kiske's amazing vocals over the acoustically played guitar, the pitiful wailing electric guitar into the chorus and solo, and the mournful harmony vocals backing up the lead. Yes, that IS the problem, because the fact it is so good is why it was then copied - and everything that followed from it from every other power metal band just comes across as crap, because they can't match how wonderful this sounds. So damn you Michael Weikath and co, you created the bloody power metal ballad.
The second side of the album is opened up by the single and perennial set list classic "Future World", which now finds itself played by two bands everywhere in the world. Again, it is not as frantic as it may have been even those few short months earlier, but it has become folklore amongst the Helloween community, and a crowd favourite sing-along song at all Helloween concerts. This is followed by what is now popularly known as the first part of the Keepers Trilogy, the epic "Halloween", the 13 minutes plus monster that perhaps best spans the two early generations of Helloween, incorporating their longer and faster tracks that have blistering guitar solos and harmonies with the maturing aspect of willing to use the quieter set and lesser paced aspects while giving Kiske his chance to showcase that amazing vocal range and emoting ability. This song has it all, sewn together in perfect order and dropped onto the vinyl in a pristine condition to exhilarate fans everywhere. Each member of the band has their chance to shine here, and each does it with perfection.
The closing segue of "Follow the Sign" seems slightly out of place by the time you reach the end of the album. A quiet instrumental piece with a few spoken words that only runs for a little under two minutes, it seems a strange way to finish off an album. That is, until you are aware of the fact that this was originally supposed to be the first album of a double album, with Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II that second album. This, "Follow the Sign" should have paved the way to moved straight into "Invitation" and then "Eagle Fly Free" from that album. Of course, once both albums were released, you could actually do that anyway.

Perhaps if you were not growing up in this era, this album may not be as important or influential to you as it was to me. This was one of those defining moment in music for me. The music bounds from the speakers, and Michael's vocals pound your senses with immediate effect. It isn't as heavy as their previous work, but it is the forerunner to all that came after it in this genre. To me it still brings back amazing memories from that time of my life, and I still smile every time I put it on. You can't ask for anything more on an album than that.

Rating:  "Make your choice, it's hell or paradise".   5/5