''Helloween'' is the debut EP by German

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...

. It was released on 29 April 1985 on

Noise Records Noise Records is a German heavy metal record label founded in 1983 by German music industry personality Karl-Ulrich Walterbach as an expansion of his company Modern Music Records. It was sold to the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001 and ceased any ...

Background

Although it is a

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...

rather than a

album, the record is significant as the first effort by the group that would redefine the power metal genre. ''Helloween'' was followed up later that same year by the band's first full-length album, '' Walls of Jericho''.

Track listing

Notes

*The "Happy Happy Halloween" intro piece from "Starlight" is taken from the 1982 film '' Halloween III: Season of the Witch'' *The surprise track on the picture disc re-release features vocalist Michael Kiske, which is his first recording with Helloween. The EP was released in December 1986 in conjunction to his introduction in the band. The "White Christmas" piece features Kiske,

Michael Weikath Michael Ingo Joachim "Weiki" Weikath (born 7 August 1962) is a German musician, best known as a founding member and one of the guitarists of pioneering power metal band Helloween. Biography Weikath was born in Hamburg and was musical from a ...

and

Kai Hansen Kai Michael Hansen (born 17 January 1963) is a German musician who is the founder, lead guitarist and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also one of the co-founders of metal band Helloween, which he rejoined in 2016. He is a prominent ...

on vocals, while the "I'll Be Your Santa Claus" piece features only Kiske on vocals *A 1997 unofficial cassette release by Moon Records titles the album as ''Judas'' with a different album cover, and features the songs "How Many Tears", "Perfect Gentleman" and "Steel Tormentor" *A 1998 unofficial CD release by Agat Company contains the 1996 single ''Power'' *A 2017 Malaysian CD release features the songs "Don't Run for Cover" and "Judas"

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

–

Markus Grosskopf Markus Grosskopf (born 21 September 1965) is a German musician who is the bass guitarist, backing vocalist and a founding member of the power metal band Helloween. Biography Grosskopf started playing bass at the age of 15 when he became friend ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Ingo Schwichtenberg Ingo "Mr. Smile" Schwichtenberg (18 May 1965 – 8 March 1995) was a German drummer and one of the founding members of the power metal band Helloween. Biography Helloween guitarist Roland Grapow said about Schwichtenberg in an interview 1999: ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Production

* Recorded January – February 1985 at Musiclab Studio,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

* Produced by

* Engineered and mixed by

Harris Johns Harris Johns is a European music producer, active since the late-1970s in the heavy metal and punk scene, working for a lot of big-name bands, such as Helloween, Coroner, Tankard, Sodom, Voivod, Kreator, Exumer, Ratos de Porão, Slime, Daily Te ...

(who also contributes the devil laugh on "Victim of Fate") * Cover design by Uwe Karczewski,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helloween (Album) Helloween albums 1985 EPs Noise Records EPs Albums produced by Harris Johns