FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL… HELLOWEEN DOUBLE HEADER!
Happy, Happy Helloween, Helloween, Helloween… 🎃 17 Years Ago, The Keeper of the Seven Keys returned to reveal the Legacy. What did this album mean to you? - E.N Wells
On October 31, 2005, Helloween released their eleventh full-length studio album Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy via Victor Records in Japan. It was the first album with new and current drummer Dani Löble.
The album is a continuation to their 1987 and 1988 albums Keeper of the Seven Keys, Parts I and II. The album is a double CD with nearly 80 minutes playing time and comes in a digipack with 6 flaps. It was produced by Charlie Bauerfeind (Blind Guardian, Halford, Rage) and features Blackmores Night singer Candice Night on the track Light The Universe. The album’s opening track, King for 1000 Years is, to date, the longest song released by the band.
Background:
2005 saw yet another line-up change, following the Rabbits on the Run tour, as it became apparent that Helloween and Stefan Schwarzmann did not share the same musical vision. As further noted by the band, he had some trouble performing fast drum parts, so he was replaced by Daniel Löble, the former drummer of German Metal band Rawhead Rexx.
A change in record company also followed as they inked a deal with German label SPV. Any fears that what had now become a revolving door of band members would affect the quality of their new album were laid to rest as Helloween's new studio album, titled Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy, was released on October 28, 2005 in Germany, and November 8 in the US to commercial and critical acclaim.
The album had a pre-release single, Mrs. God, as well as a video for the track. The track Light the Universe was released as a single on November 22, featuring Candice Night of Blackmore's Night on guest vocals (as previously noted). She also appears in the video clip for that track.
When asked about what inspired them to make a third Keeper album, bassist Markus Grosskopf said; “Actually there was somebody from the Japanese record company who told Weiki (Michael Weikath, guitarist) how happy he is with the new line up. He said something like 'That line up is really strong, with that line up you can make “A Keeper” album' just to say how strong that line up is, that's the explanation. And the record company started thinking 'Why don't you do so?' ...then we thought 'Well, why don't we try it with that line up?' But then we decided to do it very different and not to copy, the actual thing was not to copy that old stuff, the good old stuff, but doing something new... And it deserves the name, even if some people think it doesn't.”
The intro of the song Occasion Avenue uses samples from Halloween, Eagle Fly Free and Keeper of the Seven Keys with Michael Kiske on vocals. One of the samples is a clip from a previously unreleased live version of Keys with Kiske singing the first part of the chorus and the crowd joining in.
While on tour in support of Legacy, Helloween filmed and recorded shows in São Paulo (Brazil), Sofia (Bulgaria), and Tokyo (Japan) for their live album Keeper of the Seven Keys – The Legacy World Tour 2005/2006.
Critical Reception:
In his review, AllMusic’s Greg Prato wrote of Keeper - The Legacy; “In the world of Heavy Netal, 1988 may be best remembered as the year that Prog Metal was born, thanks to such popular and enduring releases as Metallica's ...And Justice for All, Queensrÿche's Operation: Mindcrime, and Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. But predating all of these aforementioned titles by a year was Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 1 by Germany's Helloween. Influenced equally by Maiden and Judas Priest, the group specialized in both anthemic metal (with operatic vocals) and tricky musical bits -- as evidenced by the epic track Halloween, which received quite a few spins on Headbangers Ball as an edited version. Although the group issued a second installment of Keeper of the Seven Keys a year later, they were not able to keep pace with the other Prog Metallists -- despite carving out a lengthy career for themselves (with countless lineup switches). Come 2005, the group -- whose only recognizable bandmember is guitarist Michael Weikath -- returned to what put them on the map in the first place, issuing Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy. A sprawling double-disc set, all the musical elements from the earlier Keeper releases are back in place, as evidenced by a pair of lengthy tracks, The King for a 1,000 Years and Occasion Avenue, as well as the leadoff single, Mrs. God. While it probably won't help touch off another "Prog Metal movement" like Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 1 did, longtime Helloween fans won't be let down with the latest Keeper installment.”
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
Pictured below is the original North American CD release and the Mrs. God Digipak CD single.
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