Giving the impression at times of a neoclassical heavy metal symphony, Michael Kiske’s fully-fleshed falsetto is a perfect companion. Although Kai Hansen’s gruff vocals fit “Walls of Jericho”s quasi-thrash approach, Helloween’s updated sound on “Keeper of the Seven Keys” is far more refined. The most evident change in the band’s sound since the debut is the introduction of vocalist Michael Kiske, whose high-pitched wails and falsettos would be integral in crafting the power metal formula. To modern ears, there is more of a traditional, anthemic heavy metal pomp at work, but from the album’s post-intro opener “I’m Alive” onward, Helloween’s best elements tend to be the ones that influenced the power genre later on. Melodies, often neoclassically-influenced guitar work and cheese enough to feed France for a year tend to be the basics, and “Keeper of the Seven Keys” is in no short supply of any ingredient. Love it or hate it, it’s likely you already have an idea of what the genre’s all about. Since the album’s release, power metal has become one of the most popular (and yet infamous funny how that works?) styles of metal out there. However, in spite of its significance and defacto ‘masterpiece’ status, it is not an album without some faults to keep it from achieving that bliss I’ve experienced with some of metal’s other god-tier albums. Even outside of its historical context, Helloween’s second album is a memorable, impressive record. With that being said, it is an essential bit of metal history, and regardless of contemporary opinion positive or negative, anyone any bit interested in the speedier, melodic side of the heavy metal spectrum would do well to give it a good, intent listen. It would be blind to say that power metal as a style of music had not been around for a few years before this, but never before had the genre been defined so overtly. 'Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I' - Helloween (8/10)Īlthough their first album “Walls of Jericho” has earned a well-deserved spot as a metal classic, it was Helloween's sophomoric release “Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I” and its like-titled sequel that engraved their place as the kings and overseers of power metal. Really, there couldn’t be a better way to sing about Halloween. The difference here is that the track is very consistent throughout, full of the band’s best riffs and greatest vocal performance on the album. At over 13 minutes, the song shifts through so many movements, it’s about as eclectic as the rest of the album. The track “Halloween” is actually a talking point in itself, being one of the most progressive epics in all of Metal at the time. The new vocalist is a welcome addition, but even he has some pitchy moments and questionable vocal melodies between the usually solid performance. The problem there is that the material is not very consistent, with their highs being fantastic and the lows just okay. The album is a very eclectic package despite only having 6 full songs, and one would not want for variety here. The aggression of their debut has been traded in for uplifting triumph. Kind of mixing their first album and Fates Warning’s output, Helloween play fast, technical and progressive music here, but also make room for softer, catchier numbers.
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