Helloween - Keeper of The Seven Keys: Part 1 (1987)

There are few metal albums out there that has the same legendary pedigree as Helloween's two parter "Keeper of The Seven Keys". It is a duo of albums that more or less created the power metal genre and all its tropes, taking some of the elements from their debut record "Walls of Jericho" and dialing them up to eleven. It is two landmark records that have a permanent impact on metal in general, so let us now see how well they hold up today, starting with part 1.

The biggest difference for Helloween from debut to sophomore effort is the line-up change. Feeling it was difficult to handle both guitar and vocal duties, Kai Hansen stepped down as the singer, and a young man named Michael Kiske entered the frame. Michael is more or less exactly what you want in a power metal singer, he handles all the high notes extremely well, creating long and soaring notes that us mere mortals would only dream of making, and he can also follow the melodies with ease. Seriously, it is like Helloween did not hold a audition for the vocal job, but instead went down to a lab to manufacture the perfect specimen.

So with that sorted out, Kai could focus more on the guitar work, and that let him be more free in his expression. Together with his partner in crime, Michael Weikath, Kai is showing some brilliant guitar work throughout the record, from galloping riffs to sweeping picks. One of my favourite bits are in the chorus of "Twilight of The Gods", where we hear this fast zig zag pattern in the background, a technical goody that elevates the chorus. I also love all the heavy riffs in the monstrosity that is known as "Halloween", a 13 minute track that ends the album in epic fashion with tons of different moods, techniques, and even a reference to the beloved children's figure Charlie Brown. It is quite a homage to that holiday.

The biggest strength of "Keepers of The Seven Keys: Part 1" is just how tight the whole album sounds. With a play time of just under 37 minutes and a quantity of 8 tracks, Helloween makes sure no second is wasted in this album, filling it with either blazing speed ("I'm Alive"), emotional ballads ("A Tale That Wasn't Right"), or even some pure 80's goodness ("A Little Time" and the single "Future World"). Only down time is the intro and outro of the record, but everything in between is all business, portrayed by a band that has found that perfect recipe to create some nice heavy music.

The only thing I am a little petty about is that the band uses a bunch of sound effects throughout the record that does not really add anything useful, skewing the listeners concentration to the wrong spot. From an alarm clock and buzzer, to laughing children and robotic voices, these sound bites does not really serve any real purpose other adding some gimmick to the song, and I can absolutely handle one or two of those, but there are simply too many in this short of an album.

Oh well, a couple of sound snippets should not ruin an experience, and it does not so in this case. This first part of the "Keeper of The Seven Keys" saga is rock solid in every aspect, combining all of the great qualities that every power metal release should possess. It is fast, epic, a ton of fun, and tight as hell, really living up to the "No filler, all killer" motto. It is a fast start that sets the bar high for the second half of the double header, let us hope Helloween has not burned out all their energy too early.

Songs worthy of recognition: Halloween, I'm Alive, Twilight of The Gods, Future World

Rating: 9/10 Initiations

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More reviews of Helloween
Walls of Jericho
Keeper of The Seven Keys: Part 2
Pink Bubbles Go Ape
Chameleon
Master of The Rings
The Time of The Oath
Better Than Raw
The Dark Ride
Rabbit Don't Come Easy
Keeper of The Seven Keys: The Legacy
Gambling With The Devil
7 Sinners
Straight Out of Hell
My God-Given Right