Keeper of the Seven Keys
Encyclopedia
Keeper of the Seven Keys is a four-part album series by Helloween
, composed of the band's second, third, and eleventh full-length studio albums and their latest live album.
power metal
/heavy metal
band Helloween
, released in 1987. It is considered to be one of Helloween's best albums, as well credited by many to be the birth of power metal and also including elements made popular suring the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
. "Future World" was released as a single and a music video was made for "Halloween." The band originally planned to release Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 and Part 2
as a double album, but their record label refused, insisting that the albums be released separately.
The album was re-released in 1993 as a double-CD with Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2. It included the bonus tracks "Don't Run for Cover", "Living Ain't No Crime", and "Savage".
power metal
band Helloween
, released in 1988. The album capitalized on the success of Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 and picks up where it left off. Michael Weikath
starts to come back into the picture as one of the premier songwriters in the band writing some of the most popular tracks to date. The album is one of the most influential power metal albums of all time, and many say that it really shows off the band's talent during this period. Success bloomed all over Europe, Asia and even the United States. The album went gold in Germany and reached #108 in the US.
The album starts off with a short instrumental "Invitation". The second track, "Eagle Fly Free" became a trademark of the band after this album. "You Always Walk Alone" is a song written by Michael Kiske
, then a new member of the band. "Rise And Fall" is more a classic metal
-sounding song played at breakneck speed and comical lyrics. "We Got The Right" is the sole power ballad of the album. "Save Us'" and "March of Time" were written by founder Kai Hansen
.
The album contains two singles, which are "Dr. Stein
" and "I Want Out
". "Dr. Stein" has a very long and moody solo
, played with a blues
tinge, very unlike other solos in the album as well as an organ solo. "I Want Out" remains one of the band's most popular songs, and has been covered by Gamma Ray
, HammerFall
, LORD
and Sonata Arctica
. This song was written by Kai Hansen, and it's rumored to have to do with how he felt about Helloween, that maybe the band wasn't his anymore. The title track is the longest song of the album. Michael Weikath
's "Eagle Fly Free", one of the well known songs of the album has also covered, as Kai Hansen
's "I Want Out", by bands like Vision Divine
, and Bassinvaders
.
The album was re-released in 1993 as a double-CD with Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1. It included the bonus tracks "Don't Run for Cover", "Living Ain't No Crime", and "Savage".
band Helloween
, released October 31, 2005. The musicians, Andi Deris
(vocals), Michael Weikath
(guitar), Markus Grosskopf
(bass), Sascha Gerstner
(guitar) and new addition Dani Löble (drums, ex-Rawhead Rexx
), see this recording in direct context with their 1987 and 1988 classics Keeper Of The Seven Keys parts I and II. The album is a double CD with nearly 80 minutes playing time and comes in a digipack with 6 flaps. Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy leans more towards the genre of Progressive metal
than the previous album, Rabbit Don't Come Easy
, which was much more of a Power metal
album. It was produced by Charlie Bauerfeind
(Blind Guardian, Halford, Rage) and features Blackmore's Night
singer Candice Night
on the track "Light The Universe".
This album was heavily criticized for being released on two CDs, since without the Japanese bonus track, it all fits onto one 80-minute CD.
by the Power metal
band Helloween
released in February 2007, recorded in São Paulo (Brazil), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Tokyo (Japan).
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
, composed of the band's second, third, and eleventh full-length studio albums and their latest live album.
Part 1
Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 is the second studio album from GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
/heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
, released in 1987. It is considered to be one of Helloween's best albums, as well credited by many to be the birth of power metal and also including elements made popular suring the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
. "Future World" was released as a single and a music video was made for "Halloween." The band originally planned to release Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 and Part 2
Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2
*"Save Us" was not included on the original LP: appears on the NOISE Records release.*Tracks 1 and 2 also appear on the "Dr. Stein" single*Track 3 also appears on the "I Want Out" single*Tracks 4 and 5 also appear on the Treasure Chest compilation...
as a double album, but their record label refused, insisting that the albums be released separately.
The album was re-released in 1993 as a double-CD with Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2. It included the bonus tracks "Don't Run for Cover", "Living Ain't No Crime", and "Savage".
Part 2
Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2 is the third studio album by GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
, released in 1988. The album capitalized on the success of Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 and picks up where it left off. Michael Weikath
Michael Weikath
Michael Ingo Joachim Weikath is the guitarist of the German Power metal band Helloween."Weiki" was born in Hamburg, Germany. He is one of the Helloween founding members, along with the musicians Kai Hansen , Markus Grosskopf and Ingo Schwichtenberg . Along with Grosskopf he is the only other...
starts to come back into the picture as one of the premier songwriters in the band writing some of the most popular tracks to date. The album is one of the most influential power metal albums of all time, and many say that it really shows off the band's talent during this period. Success bloomed all over Europe, Asia and even the United States. The album went gold in Germany and reached #108 in the US.
The album starts off with a short instrumental "Invitation". The second track, "Eagle Fly Free" became a trademark of the band after this album. "You Always Walk Alone" is a song written by Michael Kiske
Michael Kiske
Michael Kiske is a singer best known as the lead vocalist for the German power metal band Helloween, from 1986 to 1993. From 1996 up to 2009, Kiske recorded four solo albums, participated on various metal and rock related projects, while he also performed with numerous bands as a guest vocalist...
, then a new member of the band. "Rise And Fall" is more a classic metal
Classic metal
Traditional heavy metal, also known as classic metal or simply heavy metal, is the seminal genre of heavy metal music before the genre "evolved and splintered into many different styles and subgenres."- Terminology:...
-sounding song played at breakneck speed and comical lyrics. "We Got The Right" is the sole power ballad of the album. "Save Us'" and "March of Time" were written by founder Kai Hansen
Kai Hansen
Kai Michael Hansen is a power metal guitarist and vocalist.Hansen is the founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray, and the co-founder and former member of German metal band Helloween. He is a prominent figure in power metal, and has sold millions of albums worldwide...
.
The album contains two singles, which are "Dr. Stein
Dr. Stein
"Dr. Stein" is a song by the German power metal band Helloween.The song is from the album Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2. It remains one of the band's most popular songs, and is played live at virtually every Helloween concert....
" and "I Want Out
I Want Out
"I Want Out" is a song by the German heavy metal band Helloween from the album Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2, that was released as a single in 1988....
". "Dr. Stein" has a very long and moody solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
, played with a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
tinge, very unlike other solos in the album as well as an organ solo. "I Want Out" remains one of the band's most popular songs, and has been covered by Gamma Ray
Gamma Ray (band)
Gamma Ray is a power metal band from Hamburg, northern Germany, founded and fronted by Kai Hansen after his departure from the German power metal Helloween. Hansen is the current lead vocalist, guitarist as well as the chief songwriter of Gamma Ray. The band is known as one of the most prominent...
, HammerFall
HammerFall
HammerFall is a power metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1993 by ex-Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak.- Early days :...
, LORD
Lord (band)
Lord is a heavy metal band from Wollongong, Australia. The group began as a solo project for "Lord Tim" Grose of Dungeon in 2003 and expanded into a complete band when Dungeon broke up in 2005. They have released three albums and an EP to date. Lord has appeared with major acts that include...
and Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica are a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, originally assembled in 1995. Their later works contain several elements typical of progressive metal.....
. This song was written by Kai Hansen, and it's rumored to have to do with how he felt about Helloween, that maybe the band wasn't his anymore. The title track is the longest song of the album. Michael Weikath
Michael Weikath
Michael Ingo Joachim Weikath is the guitarist of the German Power metal band Helloween."Weiki" was born in Hamburg, Germany. He is one of the Helloween founding members, along with the musicians Kai Hansen , Markus Grosskopf and Ingo Schwichtenberg . Along with Grosskopf he is the only other...
's "Eagle Fly Free", one of the well known songs of the album has also covered, as Kai Hansen
Kai Hansen
Kai Michael Hansen is a power metal guitarist and vocalist.Hansen is the founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray, and the co-founder and former member of German metal band Helloween. He is a prominent figure in power metal, and has sold millions of albums worldwide...
's "I Want Out", by bands like Vision Divine
Vision Divine
Vision Divine is a progressive power metal band formed in Italy in 1998.-History:Originally a solo project from Olaf Thörsen...
, and Bassinvaders
Bassinvaders
Bassinvaders is the bass guitar focused side-project of Helloween bassist Markus Grosskopf....
.
The album was re-released in 1993 as a double-CD with Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1. It included the bonus tracks "Don't Run for Cover", "Living Ain't No Crime", and "Savage".
The Legacy
Keeper of the Seven Keys – The Legacy is the twelfth studio album by German power metalPower metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
, released October 31, 2005. The musicians, Andi Deris
Andi Deris
Andreas "Andi" Deris is the vocalist and the main songwriter for power metal band Helloween, and co-founder and former lead singer of German melodic metal band Pink Cream 69...
(vocals), Michael Weikath
Michael Weikath
Michael Ingo Joachim Weikath is the guitarist of the German Power metal band Helloween."Weiki" was born in Hamburg, Germany. He is one of the Helloween founding members, along with the musicians Kai Hansen , Markus Grosskopf and Ingo Schwichtenberg . Along with Grosskopf he is the only other...
(guitar), Markus Grosskopf
Markus Grosskopf
Markus Großkopf, born 21 September 1965 in Hamburg, Germany, is the bass guitarist, and one of only two remaining original members of the German power metal band Helloween...
(bass), Sascha Gerstner
Sascha Gerstner
Sascha Gerstner is a German musician and photographer, currently playing guitar in German Power Metal act Helloween.-Biography:...
(guitar) and new addition Dani Löble (drums, ex-Rawhead Rexx
Rawhead Rexx
Rawhead Rexx are a German power metal/heavy metal band. The current members are guitarist and vocalist Juergen Volk, bass player "Face" and drummer Vito Cecere....
), see this recording in direct context with their 1987 and 1988 classics Keeper Of The Seven Keys parts I and II. The album is a double CD with nearly 80 minutes playing time and comes in a digipack with 6 flaps. Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy leans more towards the genre of Progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
than the previous album, Rabbit Don't Come Easy
Rabbit Don't Come Easy
Rabbit Don't Come Easy is the tenth album by the German power metal/heavy metal band Helloween. It is something of a return to the roots for the band. Rabbit Don't Come Easy combines many old classic Helloween elements with newer sounds and a modern production.No drummer is listed in the band...
, which was much more of a Power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
album. It was produced by Charlie Bauerfeind
Charlie Bauerfeind
Charlie Bauerfeind is a German sound engineer and producer who has worked mostly with power metal bands such as Angra, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Primal Fear, Rage, HammerFall and Saxon....
(Blind Guardian, Halford, Rage) and features Blackmore's Night
Blackmore's Night
Blackmore's Night is an English-American traditional folk rock duo led by Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night .-Early:...
singer Candice Night
Candice Night
Candice Night is an American vocalist/songwriter and the musical partner of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. She is the lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, and lyricist for the traditional folk rock project, Blackmore's Night since its origins in 1997.-Biography:Born in Hauppauge, Long Island, New...
on the track "Light The Universe".
This album was heavily criticized for being released on two CDs, since without the Japanese bonus track, it all fits onto one 80-minute CD.
The Legacy World Tour 2005/2006
Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy World Tour 2005/2006 is a live albumLive album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
by the Power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
released in February 2007, recorded in São Paulo (Brazil), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Tokyo (Japan).