HELLOWEEN - Heroes (OFFICIAL LIVE BOOTLEG)

HELLOWEEN

"UNDISPUTEDLY, HELLOWEEN ARE ONE OF GERMANY’S MOST RESPECTED METAL EXPORTS AND CONSIDERED THE FOUNDERS OF GERMAN MELODIC SPEED METAL. AS GODFATHERS OF THE GENRE, THEY HAVE GROWN TO BECOME ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL METAL BANDS IN THE WORLD. IN A CAREER REACHING BACK AS FAR AS 1984, HELLOWEEN HAVE PERFORMED AT INNUMERABLE METAL FESTIVALS AROUND THE GLOBE SUCH AS ROCK IN RIO, LOUDPARK, WACKEN, OR THE WOODSTOCK IN POLAND, WHICH THEY HEADLINED IN FRONT OF OVER 500,000 FANS. THE BAND HAS DELIVERED COUNTLESS HEADLINER WORLD TOURS, SPECTACULAR SHOWS WITH THE LIKES OF IRON MAIDEN, BLACK SABBATH, DIO, SLAYER, OR OZZY OSBOURNE JUST TO NAME A FEW, AND PLAYED AT EXOTIC LOCATIONS IN BORNEO, INDONESIA, MANAUS, BRAZIL, OR AT OVER 3,200 M IN THE WORLD’S HIGHEST CAPITAL LA PAZ, BOLIVA. THE BAND’S SPECTACULAR SHOW AT THE »MONSTERS OF ROCK« FESTIVAL IN CASTLE DONINGTON IN FRONT OF OVER 100,000 METAL HEADS IN 1988 WAS JUST AS MEMORABLE AS THE MASSIVE MTV »HEADBANGER’S BALL« US TOUR WITH ANTHRAX AND EXODUS. SO FAR, HELLOWEEN HAVE RELEASED FOURTEEN STUDIO AND THREE LIVE ALBUMS, INCLUDING THE GENRE MASTERPIECES »KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS« PART I & II IN THE LATE 80S. IN TOTAL, HELLOWEEN HAVE SOLD OVER EIGHT MILLION RECORDS AND RECEIVED FOURTEEN GOLD AND SIX PLATINUM AWARDS. WITHOUT THEM, CONTEMPORARY ACTS SUCH AS EDGUY, SABATON, BLIND GUARDIAN, OR EVEN AVENGED SEVENFOLD WOULD PROBABLY NOT SOUND THE WAY THEY DO. FOR 30 YEARS NOW, THE BAND HAS BEEN DELIGHTING THEIR FANS WITH FANTASTIC RIFFS, GREAT SONGS, AND HAUNTING MELODIES. HELLOWEEN’S LATEST ALBUM »STRAIGHT OUT OF HELL« CHARTED AT A SENSATIONAL #4, MARKING THEIR HIGHEST GERMAN CHART ENTRY EVER. ADDITIONALLY, THE ALBUM ACHIEVED FIVE TOP TEN ENTRIES IN EUROPE AND ENTERED THE US BILLBOARD TOP 100. THE »HELLISH ROCK PART II« TOUR TOOK THE BAND TO 39 COUNTRIES IN EUROPE, ASIA, AND AMERICA WITH FAR MORE THAN 100 MOSTLY SOLD-OUT SHOWS.

FLASHBACK.

NOISE RECORDS, IN 1984 A RATHER SMALL LABEL, PUBLISHES TWO HELLOWEEN SONGS (»OERNST OF LIFE« AND »METAL INVADERS«) BEFORE SIGNING THE YOUNG BAND AND RELEASING THEIR FIRST EP »HELLOWEEN«, FOLLOWED BY THEIR FIRST STUDIO ALBUM »WALLS OF JERICHO«. DURING THE BAND’S FIRST EXTENSIVE TOUR, SINGER KAI HANSEN EXPERIENCES TROUBLE SINGING AND PLAYING GUITAR AT THE SAME TIME, MAKING IT NECESSARY TO REPLACE THE LEAD SINGER’S POSITION WITH MICHAEL KISKE – AT THE TIME ONLY 18-YEARS-OLD AND GIFTED WITH A VOICE WHICH LATER EARNED HIM ICONIC STATUS IN THE METAL SCENE. THE FOLLOWING ALBUM, »KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS PART I«, BECOMES THE METAL SENSATION OF 1987 WITH IMPRESSIVE REACTIONS FROM FANS IN JAPAN AND THE US, AS WELL AS LEADING TO AN INVITATION TO THE LEGENDARY MTV »HEADBANGER’S BALL« TOUR. 1988’S »KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS PART II« DELIVERS THE TOP TEN SINGLE »DR. STEIN«. BOTH “KEEPER ALBUMS” ARE AMONG THE MOST SUCCESSFUL GERMAN METAL ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, AND, UNTIL TODAY, ARE CONSIDERED MILESTONES OF POWER METAL.

AFTER SOME DARK YEARS OF LEGAL DISPUTES WITH THEIR RECORD LABEL, THE DEPARTURE OF GUITARIST KAI HANSEN, RATHER EXPERIMENTAL MUSICAL OUTPUT, AND THE TRAGIC SUICIDE OF FOUNDING MEMBER AND FORMER DRUMMER INGO SCHWICHTENBERG IN 1995, THE BAND RECRUITS FORMER PINK CREAM 69 VOCALIST ANDI DERIS IN 1994 TO START A NEW CHAPTER. THE BIG SELLERS »MASTER OF THE RINGS«, »TIME OF THE OATH« AND »BETTER THAN RAW« FOLLOW, ACCOMPANIED BY MAJOR WORLD TOURS AND HUGE FESTIVAL APPEARANCES. WITH DERIS, HELLOWEEN BECOME ABSOLUTE SUPERSTARS IN JAPAN WITH OVER TEN SINGLES IN THE LOCAL TOP TEN.

FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF »THE DARK RIDE«, A DECISION WAS MADE FOR KAI HANSEN’S SUCCESSOR ROLAND GRAPOW AND ULI KUSCH, WHO HAD REPLACED INGO SCHWICHTENBERG, TO LEAVE THE BAND, WHEREUPON THEY WENT ON WITH THEIR PREVIOUSLY CRAFTED MUSICAL SIDE PROJECT. NEW GUITARIST SASCHA GERSTNER COMES ON BOARD IN TIME TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE NEXT ALBUM »RABBIT DON´T COME EASY« (2003) AND DRUMMER MIKKEY DEE (MOTÖRHEAD) STEPS IN FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE STUDIO WORK. AFTER EXTENSIVE TOURING IN SOUTH AMERICA, GIGS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND NUMEROUS EUROPEAN SHOWS, THE PREPARATIONS FOR »KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS – THE LEGACY« COMMENCE. DANI LÖBLE JOINS THE BAND AS THE NEW MAN ON DRUMS, FINALLY PUTTING THE CHANGES IN LINE-UP TO REST. THE FOLLOWING WORLD TOUR IS RECORDED ON CD & DVD, TITLED »KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS – THE LEGACY WORLD TOUR 2005/2006, LIVE ON 3 CONTINENTS«, DISPLAYING BREATHTAKING PERFORMANCES FROM SÃO PAULO, TOKYO, AND SOFIA AND PREPARING THE STAGE FOR 2007’S »GAMBLING WITH THE DEVIL«, AS WELL AS FOR LIVE SHOWS WITH SPECIAL GUESTS GAMMA RAY ON THE »HELLISH ROCK« TOUR. IN 2010, »7 SINNERS« MARKS HELLOWEEN’S 13TH STUDIO RELEASE, PRESENTING A HEAVIER AND MORE METAL SIDE THAN EVER BEFORE.

SINCE 2005, THE BAND’S STEADY LINE-UP CONSISTS OF ANDI DERIS (VOCALS), MICHAEL WEIKATH (GUITAR), MARKUS GROSSKOPF (BASS), SASCHA GERSTNER(GUITAR) AND DANIEL LÖBLE (DRUMS). 2015 SEES THE BAND’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY FEATURING THE PUBLICATION OF THE FIRST BOOK IN THE BAND’S CAREER EVER. THE DOWNRIGHT ‘HELLOWEEN BIBLE’ CALLED “HELLBOOK” IS GUARANTEED TO BECOME A SOUGHT AFTER FAN ITEM AS WELL AS THE ONLY OFFICIAL REFERENCE BOOK TO DATE. AFTER THREE DECADES OF REPRESENTING PURE METAL, HELLOWEEN OBVIOUSLY ARE FAR FROM RUNNING OUT OF STEAM: A FOLLOWING OF CLOSE TO TWO MILLION FANS ON FACEBOOK, AND THEIR UNABATED JOY OF PLAYING MUSIC MASSIVELY UP THE ANTE FOR 2015 WITH THE RELEASE OF HELLOWEEN’S15TH STUDIO ALBUM. – NO DOUBT: THE GERMAN PUMPKINS’ SINGULAR SUCCESS STORY WILL DEFINITELY BE CONTINUED ...

HELLOWEEN - Heroes (OFFICIAL LIVE BOOTLEG)