Helloween

Helloween are a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Hamburg, widely regarded as one of the founding acts of the power metal genre. The original lineup featured singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, guitarist Michael Weikath, bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. After Hansen's departure in the late 1980s, the band brought in singer Michael Kiske, and their two «Keeper of the Seven Keys» albums became defining releases of the genre, shaping the melodic, fast, keyboard-tinged style that countless later power metal bands would follow.

The band went through a turbulent period in the early 1990s marked by lineup changes and mixed critical reception, before stabilizing with singer Andi Deris joining in 1994, a partnership that has anchored the band's most enduring modern era. Albums like «Master of the Rings» and «The Time of the Oath» — the latter dedicated to former drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg after his death in 1995 — helped restore Helloween's standing and cemented their reputation for anthemic choruses and high-energy musicianship.

Helloween's catalogue includes genre staples such as «I Want Out», «Halloween», «Eagle Fly Free», «Dr. Stein» and «Keeper of the Seven Keys», and the band remains one of the most influential and recognizable names in European heavy and power metal, with a legacy that includes a notable reunion of past and present members in later years.