Having first gained national attention back in the mid-80's with their breakthrough release "Keeper of the Seven Keys," which to this day is still recognized as one of the all-time metal classics, Germany's "Helloween" has been a model of consistency and perseverance that many of today's heavy metal practitioners would do well to follow.

Originally formed in 1984, the band started out as a quartet that included Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath on guitars, Marcus Groskopf on bass and Ingo Schwictenberg on drums. Hansen was also the original vocalist for their earliest recordings, which consisted of a self-titled EP in 1985, the full length "Walls of Jericho," and another EP entitled "Judas." Known for their high-speed power metal aggression, played with a high-level of musicianship, this band was Europe's answer to America's successful thrash metal acts of the time.

1987 was a breakthrough year for the band, with the critically acclaimed "Keeper of the Seven Keys" record, which featured the addition of a fifth member, and new vocalist, Michael Kiske. With Hansen switching over to guitar for that album, and soon after departing for his new project, the still successful "Gamma Ray," "Helloween" already had a step up on big time success. With a slightly refined sound, a more melodic approach, and a vocalist that brought immediate comparisons to "Iron Maiden's" Bruce Dickinson, big time hits like "I'm Alive" and "Future World" brought major results and the band was fast becoming a success.

When they followed up with the "Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II" concept album in '88, it appeared the world was theirs for the taking. This record saw the band conquering new areas of progression with their refined melodic/speed metal style, and spawned the massive metal radio hits "I Want Out," "Dr. Stein" and "Eagle Fly Free," while capping the year off with a successful appearance at the Donington Monsters of Rock Festival.

But something happened shortly thereafter. Something even the band members couldn't predict at the time. It all just ended - abruptly and suddenly. First, key songwriter Hansen took off to start "Gamma Ray." Then longtime drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg was booted out of the band shortly before committing suicide. There were also internal rumblings about the band's musical direction that would eventually boil over into inner conflicts between the members themselves. Most significantly, this involved Kiske, who apparently was seeing himself in too much of a star quality persona to fit in with the traditional concept the band had at first laid out. But the brunt of their problems emanated from their disputes with their label, Noise Records, and ultimately made it so that the band could no longer release records domestically anymore. This killed them, and needless to say, their popularity changed to obscurity as a result.

After a brief layoff, that saw the release of "The Best, The Rest & The Rare" as something of a stopgap in 1990, they would come back to make music. The major problem was where and how, and binding legal matters they found themselves wrapped up in, which really hurt their status at the time. In the U.S. market, where they made such an impact before, nobody knew much about the situation with "Helloween." All the media hype, and steady rolling progress they earned only a few short years earlier, quickly came undone.

The early 90's would see the release of two unheralded recordings through EMI Records, both of which were decent, but nothing close to the superior quality of before. "The Pink Bubbles Go Ape" (1991) and "Chameleon" (1993), in retrospect, probably were better left unknown to most of their loyal fans. Both were available as imports, but for fans that shelled out the excessive amounts to pick either of them up, they were probably equally as quick to put them back down in disgust. The weaker songwriting that coincided with their changing style, along with inner turmoil, soon came to a head after the release of "Chameleon" in '93.

Now gone from the fold was longtime vocalist Kiske, who subsequently put out a much lighter solo album called "Instant Clarity." It wasn't an amicable split, however, since each party was quick to offer a jab at the others for breakup. But as luck would have it, this "break" would be just what the band needed to recharge its batteries and start again, after a brief absence.

In 1994 they did just that, breaking free of their prior label commitments, and bursting back on the scene with a thunderous new record for Castle/Raw Power, the outstanding "Master Of The Rings." This was also their first U.S. release in several years. The album featured a still settling young vocalist, formerly of "Pink Cream 69," Andi Deris. Deris' vocals were something of a departure from Kiske's, yet he held a certain appeal with his own style that lent a unique quality to the new material. Now fans could once again listen to this classic band and not have to completely empty their wallets in the process! "Master of the Rings" would be the first in an ongoing line of recordings from this "new" version of "Helloween," or perhaps better described as the "2nd Stage" for the band, which at that point also included new guitarist Roland Grapow, and drummer Uli Kusch.

1996 saw the release of their follow up, "Time Of The Oath," again through Castle Records. The album did well throughout the world, where it sold in excess of a million copies, but here, as with many traditional metal acts, sales were moderate at best. But the main thing was the band could once again release their material to various markets. The availability of these albums reaffirmed that "Helloween" was indeed still around, and had no intention of going anywhere. Unfortunately, scarce media support and lack of promotion characterized the release of their first full live album, and last for Castle Records, "High Live" in '97. The disc featured much of the material from their "2nd Stage," and a handful of early classics, but the overall concept was to bring the new music to the fans-music from this newly reformed band with only two of the original members, Groskopf and Weikath. But thanks to their determination, and the presence of mind to know what the fans expected, "Helloween" was again a force to be reckoned with in the metal world.

In early '98, "Helloween" released their latest, and perhaps most accomplished, effort since the early "Keepers" classics, with "Better Than Raw" through VelVel Records. This, an album filled with their usual melodic/power metal, takes a few more chances than in the past. Having always been diverse from song to song, ". . .Raw" finds them at their most musically ambitious, trying new tricks and setting new standards of excellence for heavy metal music. Now, having worked together for a number of years, it's obvious the band's developed well as a unit, which is reflected in both their playing and ambitious attitude toward the music and fans. Already receiving rave reviews in a number of metal publications, "Better Than Raw" could finally be the one album that pushes their popularity past the point where they can return to America for a long overdue, full scale, tour. When that finally happens (it's been projected to materialize sometime near the year 2,000), it will mark the first time the band's played on an American stage since taking part in the "Headbanger's Ball Tour" all the way back in 1989! It's been a long, hard road back for this group, that started out nearly a decade and a half ago. But where lesser bands packed it in ages ago, the true character of "Helloween's" members allowed them to shrug off the desperate times, and come better than ever, to face the new challenges that await them.