Herr Schatten wrote:
Helloween were my entry ticket into metal. A classmate gave me a tape of Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II and I was hooked.
The Keeper albums are as genre defining as it gets. Their early stuff is good, too, even though the sound production is quite horrible. Pink Bubbles go Ape has a bad reputation, but sound problems aside, I think it's a very solid release, and Someone's Crying is one of my favourite Helloween songs full stop. Chameleon is a confusing album from an obviously confused band, but it has some interesting experiments, and the cringe-worthy moments aren't actually as numerous as many fans claim.
The albums after Kiske's departure are a bit hit and miss. The best one is probably Better than Raw. I'm not really a huge fan of Deris' influence on the sound of the band. He is a solid singer, but his songwriting brought a little cheesiness into the band, and it never really felt like Helloween since.
In addition to Ingo's exceptional drumming, I'd like to emphasize Markus Großkopf's bass playing. He's often overlooked, but I genuinely think he's one of the best of his trade.
Btw, if you enjoy the Keeper albums, be sure to check out Land of the Free by Gamma Ray. It's like the sequel Helloween themselves have never been able to make.
Awesome thanks for the recco. I was thinking of going Gamma Ray but didn't know which album to pick. will cue that next.
currently listening to Stratovarius ''Black Diamond''. It's very good, but I don't get as big sense of progression from Yngwie (or even Tony Martin-era Sabbath for that matter) as I did with Helloween. but a bit more crystalised nonetheless, and very solid.