HELLOWEEN — Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II (review)

HELLOWEEN — Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II album cover Album · 1988 · Power Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
sixpence-guy
It is my honor and pleasure to be the first to review this metal masterpiece. The influence this album has had on power metal as a genre cannot be calculated.

I wrote a track-by-track analysis of the album, but after finishing, I realized that isn't needed here. All that needs to be said is this is probably the greatest power metal album ever recorded, and every power metal album that has followed is merely a shadow of this great album.

Why is it the greatest power metal album? Helloween were among the first, if not the first, to marry speed metal and NWOBHM, making them one of the originators of power metal. They were faster than Iron Maiden and more melodic than Metallica. The musicians and vocalist in the band were also among the very best in metal. In "Eagle Fly Free," each member of the band gets a chance to solo, even the drummer, with every solo exceptional and sounding like it belongs.

With the addition of Michael Kiske, the band began forming this sound with Keeper Part 1, but they really found their way with Keeper Part 2. The songs were are melodic, and the rhythms are more aggressive.

The band mastered the metal anthem with "I Want Out" and the commercial single with "Dr. Stein." Then, there are the power metal classics "Eagle Fly Free," "March of Time" and "Save Us." These songs are the template for every power metal anthem that followed. And, then, to top it off, the band records a prog metal classic in the 13+ minute title track.

You can hear the influence of this album in Avantasia, Sonata Arctica, and Dragonland among dozens of others, and it still holds up today. If there were a university course in heavy metal, Keeper of the Seven Keys would be required listening.
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