1280. Various Artists / The Keepers of Jericho: A Tribute to Helloween. 2000. 4/5

‘Another tribute album’ you may well be saying to yourself, or very loudly at your listening device. And that would be a fair comment. Surprisingly enough, it doesn’t end here either. But this was the era for such albums. Many of those artists from the 1980’s had had a rough time in the 1990’s, some losing their way and others just barely holding on. So this was an era where albums began to pop up with bands being able to express their thanks for those 80’s bands that had influenced THEM on their rise to prominence. And in doing so, in many cases, it gave them a lifeline and a way back into the metal music scene. Helloween probably didn’t need that by this time. They had managed to rekindle their fire and were riding the crest of a wave, still putting out albums that kept them at the top of the power metal movement that was still thriving throughout Europe. And in doing so, they had certainly been one of the biggest influencers of that movement. And from the mid-to-late 1990’s there was a plethora of bands of this genre that had begun to break through who all looked up to Helloween as the Godfathers of Power Metal. So no doubt, when this project was being put together, they had a flood of these artists who were ready and willing to participate, and give their own spin on some of Helloween’s classic songs. As it turns out, there were so many bands, and so many songs, that the success of this album actually then perpetuated into a second album. But to start with, let’s take a look at “The Keepers of Jericho – A Tribute to Helloween”.

The album opens with “Guardians” by Rhapsody. Rhapsody, or Rhapsody of Fire as they became known as after this album, are well versed in the power metal genre, and they give this highly underrated song a wonderful kick along both musically and vocally. The original is amazing but to be fair feels as though they are all tripping over themselves to go as fast as they can. Here, Rhapsody sticks perfectly to the tempo they set, and the lyrics are sung without flowing into each other, and they add those wonderful keys and synths to create a perfect rendition of this track. It opens the album in perfect momentum. “I Want Out” by Sonata Arctica follows. This is another great version of a great song. Being so well known, they have stuck to the basics here, unlike what they did on the Scorpions tribute album with their version of “Still Loving You”. This adds their own flavour to the track, but they change very little, and that works in this instance. “A Little Time” by Heavens Gate is another wonderful power metal take on one of the tracks that created the genre. Then we have “Ride the Sky” performed by Metalium. This is a key component of Helloween, one of their greatest, so you couldn’t stuff this up or your career is over. Metalium do not stuff this up. Again, it is a very faithful rendition of the original, with greater emphasis on the double kick and the vocals that hit all the right notes. It still sends shivers down the spine, even though it isn’t Helloween performing it.
“I’m Alive” gets a touch up from Luca Turilli, the guitarist from Rhapsody, but here he gets a crack on his own. I love how they add the power metal orchestral keyboards into the mix, giving this song a depth throughout that really highlights the great parts of this song. Then we have “Judas” by Morifade. This is the first of one of the greatest stand alone tracks ever. How this didn’t make an album is astounding. This version retains the original’s very heavy focus along with vocals that complement it all along. Another great version. Following this is “Eagle Fly Free” from Vision Divine. Now this is another song you can’t mess with too much because of its awesomeness, and they are faithful to this, by sticking true to the guitar/bass/drum heavy start, and throwing in the extra synth parts in through the middle, and with both vocalists contributing throughout it gives it a great character building on the original.
“Savage” by Brainstorm is the second of three amazing non-album tracks of the original version of the band. And this is amazing. The over-the-top tempo with brilliant double kick is just fantastic. They rip in and switch this up to an incredible speed and do so without losing the brilliance of the original. Just magnificent. The version of “Future World” by Labyrinth has similar requirements like “I Want Out”, you don’t want to stray too far from the original due to its popularity. And again, this is done really well. Sticking to the path of the original track and nailing the landing.
“Save Us” by Cydonia gives us the third of the three great non-album tracks, and this is again performed to a state of excellence, retaining all of the energy and pace of the original and emphasising the power metal virtues of the keys and synths to add a modern flavour to the track. A great job done here, even vocally by changing it up in the verses which makes a difference. Then “Victim of Fate” by Squealer offers another version of a song that evens out the speed of the track compared to the original, which gives it its point of difference from the original as well. I love what they do in the middle of the track, keeping more music in the song and more drum work than Helloween’s version. Another great performance.
Then comes “Halloween” by Dark Moor. What do you do when you are tasked with covering an absolute classic of the genre, a thirteen-minute monster that cannot be replicated in the brilliance that the original came with? Well, you turn it into a symphonic metal masterpiece, utilising your female lead vocalist to perfection, and those wonderful elements that make symphonic metal a joy to listen to. This is an amazing version of this already amazing song. You can’t beat the perfection of the original, but as a cover version, a TRIBUTE version of the song, this is just bloody fantastic.
“How Many Tears” by Secret Sphere then closes out the album. Like every other song on this album, in order to create a wonderful tribute, you can’t change too much about the structure and you have to perform the song perfectly. This is another that is almost impossible to recreate to the same standard as the original, and while this version is fine, is does fall short of the standard of the other bands on this tribute album. It just lacks the amazingness of that original track. Well, you can’t have a tribute album that is 100% brilliant can you. This is still a really good version, it really is, especially the middle section of the song. But it just misses the mark in the first third and the final third.

Tribute albums are often things that I have fallen across accidently rather than have been advised of their existence prior to their release and sit anxiously awaiting their arrival. That was certainly the case for this album. It was only after discovering one of the songs on a different platform that I realised that this album was created in the first place. This was back in the ‘file sharing’ days and was the only chance I had to both listen to this album and then own a copy of it.
And I enjoyed this album. Because there is so much passion put in by the bands who create their own vision of the songs it is fun to listen to and sing along with. They are, for the most part, played with a far more ‘power metal’ vibe than the original songs possess, but it emphasises how important Helloween’s early material was to the creation of what power metal became during the 1990’s decade. And all of the songs here come from the first three albums and the original EP, along with the three standalone tracks that accompanied them. So everything you get here is an awesome amazing 5/5 track. No filler, just all freaking killer!
I spent some time looking for a copy of this album on CD, mostly to no success. The odd copy I found was at such an exorbitant price that I refused to pay it. Finally, just four months ago, when looking through Andy Dowling’s Discogs store I found a copy at the far more enjoyable price of $12 and purchased it immediately. And it is this copy that I have been listening to in the Metal Cavern for this review. And it has been glorious. The album sounds amazing. And there are no barriers to me listening to it at any time.
With all tribute albums however, eventually you rediscover that it is the original versions you crave, to go back and listen to the ‘real’ band's albums and remind yourself of how good they still are. And that still rings true with Helloween. It is impossible to out-Helloween Helloween. But as a red-hot attempt at that goes, this is pretty damned good. Indeed, it is a top five of all time tribute album. There is not a bad version of a song on this album, and it comes across as like listening to a Helloween best of album, except the versions have been reviewed and updated. I have never tired of listening to this album, and now that I have my CD copy of it, I have been listening to it even more. I’ve enjoyed every second of listening to this while reviewing this album, and it will continue to get an airing in the Metal Cavern in the future.