Without a doubt, this Hamburg Metal institution immediately took the helm of Melodic Speed Metal when releasing their 5-Track-EP Helloween in December of 1985, the superb LP-debut Walls Of Jericho, as well as the two in 1987/88 unleashed masterpieces Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I/II. Some say they are the godfathers of this genre, who continue to inspire legions of genre-peers and newcomer-bands alike. Throughout their stunning 30-year career Helloween kept busy occupying the pole positions of renowned festival billings such as Brazilian ‚Rock in Rio, Japanese Loudpark Festival, the annually happening world’s biggest heavy-metal-open-air festival, the Wacken Open Air, or the Polish Woodstock, where 500.000 ecstatic fans celebrated Germany’s speed kings. On top of that, Helloween completed countless headlining world tours, made audiences in exotic landscapes such as Indonesian island Borneo or the Brazilian jungle metropolis Manaus go crazy, and literally took their breath away in La Paz, the world’s highest-altitude capitol (situated at 3.200 meters above sea level). Beyond that, they also played some spectacular shows alongside Metal giants Black Sabbath, Dio, Ozzy Osbourne and Slayer. Meanwhile, the five-piece has 14 studio releases and three live albums under their belt, which sold a combined eight million copies worldwide and banked 15 gold and six platinum awards in the process. The most recent release, Straight Out Of Hell, made a sensational #4 album chart entry in Germany (their highest German chart position thus far), gained another five top 10 chart entries throughout Europe and even crashed the US Billboard top 100. The Hellish Rock Part II-Tour in support of this chartbreaker led the Weenies through 39 countries in Europe, Asia and North America, booking over 100 sold out shows.
