Helloween , Germany, by Michael Weikath , Markus Grosskopf , Kai Hansen , and Ingo Schwichtenberg . After a self-titled EP and the release of their first album, Walls of Jericho (1985), the band expanded to a quintet with the addition of new vocalist Michael Kiske , who was only 18 years old. With Kiske in the band, Hansen focused solely on guitar.
With this lineup, the band released the two albums *Keeper of the Seven Keys* (1987 and 1988), which elevated Helloween to the status of a major rock band and one of the creators of power metal. After this peak, Hansen left the band for various reasons, including musical differences, formed Gamma Ray , and was replaced by Roland Grapow . Helloween's next two albums were commercial and critical failures, leading to Schwichtenberg's dismissal and Kiske's departure. In their places came drummer Uli Kusch , who had previously worked with Gamma Ray, and vocalist Andi Deris , who had been invited to join the band in 1991. With Kiske's departure, Deris accepted the position.
The band then released several commercial and critical successes, such as Master of the Rings (1994), The Time of the Oath (1996), Better Than Raw (1998), and The Dark Ride (2000), returning to the spotlight. In 2001, the band agreed that Grapow and Kusch were not as committed to Helloween and dismissed both members. They were replaced by guitarist Sasha Gerstner and drummer Mark Cross , who wouldn't even record the entire next album, Rabbit Don't Come Easy (2003), due to health reasons. In 2005, the band hired drummer Daniel Löble .
The lineup of Weikath, Grosskopf, Deris, Gerstner and Löble released five albums: Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy (2005), Gambling with the Devil (2007), 7 Sinners (2010), Straight Out of Hell (2013) and My God-Given Right (2015).
In 2017, Helloween announced the surprising Pumpkins United tour, which kept the current 5 members and also brought back Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske. With the 7 members, the band performed shows all over the world and in 2021 released a new album, simply called Helloween .
Helloween has released 14 studio albums and sold over 5 million albums worldwide. One of the biggest German metal bands, Helloween is known as the father of power metal.
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