"I Want Out" is a song by the 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 ...

from the album ''

Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2 ''Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II'' is the third studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1988. The album sold well, and success bloomed all over Europe, Asia, and even the United States. The album went gold in Germany and ...

'', that was released as a single in 1988. It was written by

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 ...

, who said in an interview that it was a hint of him really wanting "out" of the band. Musically, the song is characterised by a recognisable introduction and

Michael Kiske Michael Kiske (born January 24, 1968) is a German singer and lead vocalist for the German power metal band Helloween. Kiske has released four solo albums, two albums with the hard rock band Unisonic, has participated on various metal and rock ...

's trademark high pitched singing in the chorus. It is also

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

-influenced (especially the rebellious lyrics) in contrast to other Helloween songs, or Hansen's post-Helloween work. The promovideo was shown on MTV and was directed by

Storm Thorgerson Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English graphic designer and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other a ...

. It is one of the Helloween's most recognizable songs, and is often performed live by Helloween and both Hansen's and Kiske's current bands

Gamma Ray A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...

and Unisonic. The song was covered by

HammerFall HammerFall is a Swedish power metal band from Gothenburg. The band was formed in 1993 by ex-Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak. History Early days (1993–1996) HammerFall was formed when rhythm guitarist Oscar Dronjak quit Ceremonial ...

Sonata Arctica Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. Created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, they later changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal. The current lineup ...

Avalanch Avalanch is a Spanish heavy metal band formed in Asturias in 1993. Led by composer, producer and guitar player Alberto Rionda, the band has released nine studio albums, plus a handful of compilations, DVDs and English versions of their works ...

and

Skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

Track listing

All songs written by

, except where noted.

Credits

- lead vocals *

- lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals *

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 ...

- lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals *

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 guitar *

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

Charts

Cover versions

HammerFall

"I Want Out" was released as a cover-single by the Swedish metal band

on 31 August 1999. It is the second single released from their album ''

Legacy of Kings ''Legacy of Kings'' is the second album created by the Swedish heavy metal band HammerFall. It was released on 28 September 1998 by Nuclear Blast.The enhanced CD release includes the music video for the track "Let the Hammer Fall", a photo gall ...

''. It is notable for Kai Hansen's appearance on guitar, lead vocals (along with Hammerfall's vocalist

Joacim Cans Joacim Cans (born 19 February 1970 in Mora) is a Swedish singer, best known as the lead vocalist of heavy metal band HammerFall. He is the only member aside from founder and guitarist Oscar Dronjak to appear on all of the band's albums. Cans at ...

) and keyboards.

Track listing

Personnel

- lead and backing vocals *

Oscar Dronjak Oscar Fredrick Dronjak (born 20 January 1972) is a Swedish guitarist and founder of the heavy metal band HammerFall. Prior to the success of HammerFall, he also played and released albums with the death metal acts Ceremonial Oath and Crystal A ...

- guitar and backing vocals *

Stefan Elmgren Stefan Elmgren (born 17 May 1974) is the former guitarist of the Swedish power metal band HammerFall from 1997 to 2008. History Before becoming a member of HammerFall, he was the guitarist in the band Highlander. Elmgren has also worked with his s ...

- lead guitar *

Magnus Rosén Klas Magnus Rosén is a Swedish musician, born 1963 in Gothenburg. He was the bassist of Swedish band HammerFall from 1997 to 2007. Magnus Rosén started to play bass when he was 15 years old. after playing bass for three years he went on his fir ...

- bass guitar *Patrik Räfling - drums

Additional personnel

*Track 1: Vocals, guitar and keyboards by Kai Hansen, backing vocals by

Udo Dirkschneider Udo Dirkschneider (born 6 April 1952) is a German singer and songwriter who rose to fame with German heavy metal band Accept. After leaving the band in 1987, he formed U.D.O., with which he has also enjoyed commercial success. Biography Fo ...

. *Track 2: Lead guitar by William J. Tsamis. *Track 3: Drums by AC, backing vocals by Kai Hansen.

Chart Positions

Charts

Release information

Limited edition red 7" vinyl single with "I Want Out" on side A and "At the End of the Rainbow" on side B.

Others

*In 2000,

released a cover version of this song on two of their EPs, ''

Successor Successor may refer to: * An entity that comes after another (see Succession (disambiguation)) Film and TV * ''The Successor'' (film), a 1996 film including Laura Girling * ''The Successor'' (TV program), a 2007 Israeli television program Mus ...

'' and '' Takatalvi''. It was also released on the Helloween tribute album '' The Keepers of Jericho - Part I''. *Skylark also covered the song, in the same tribute album, with female vocals. *Eddy Antonini from the Italian

band

also performs a cover of this song along with several guest musicians on his solo album ''When Water Became Ice''. *

, Kai Hansen's current band, also performs the song. *In 2006, the Australian band

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

performed this song live at the Metro Theater in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. *The Spanish power metal band

performed a live cover on their ''

Días De Gloria Días De Gloria is the first live-album by the Spanish power metal band Avalanch, recorded during the promotional tour of Llanto De Un Héroe in Avilés 1999 and released in 2000. Includes a bonus track which is a studio version of ''Save Me'' a ...

'' album. *The Australian power metal band Winterstorm performed this song on their "teaser" demo ''...begun'' and continue to play it at various live shows. *The Swedish progressive metal band

Seventh Wonder Seventh Wonder is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 2000. History Seventh Wonder was formed in 2000 by bass player Andreas Blomqvist, guitarist Johan Liefvendahl and drummer Johnny Sandin after their previous band fell ...

performed the song in 2010, during their final concert with Johnny Sandin as drummer. As a surprise to him, they asked him to leave the drum set in the middle of the song and perform vocals in the final section. *The band Driving Mrs. Satan released a folk singer-style cover of the song in 2013. *In 2012, Kiske's and Hansen's band, Unisonic, included a live performance of the song at the

Loud Park Festival The was a heavy metal festival held annually at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City or Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, Japan. It was one of the biggest heavy metal festivals in Japan. The festival has featured both Japanese and international p ...

on their ''

Ignition Ignition may refer to: Science and technology * Firelighting, the human act of creating a fire for warmth, cooking and other uses * Combustion, an exothermic chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant * Fusion ignition, the point at which a ...

'' EP. *The Russian power metal band

Epidemia Epidemia (russian: Эпидемия, sometimes referred to as 'Epi' by fans) is a Russian power metal band famous for doing the Elven Manuscript metal opera in 2004. It was formed by guitarist Yuri "Juron" Melisov in 1993, with the first songs ...

at least onc
performed
the song at a concert *The Swedish power metal band ShadowQuest covered this song on their second album Gallows of Eden, released in 2020.

References

{{authority control 1988 singles Helloween songs Songs written by Kai Hansen 1988 songs