HELLOWEEN Guitarist Posts End-Of-Tour Message

October 20, 2008

German metal veterans HELLOWEEN have just returned home after completing the Hellish Rock World Tour in support of their twelfth studio album, "Gambling with the Devil". The group's guitarist, Michael Weikath, has issued the following update:

"Back home, tired but satisfied, still suffering from jet lag, it's not easy to reflect the past 12 months: Countless impressions from great shows, enthusiastic fans, concert halls, hotels, airports, tour buses, sound checks, and interviews are spinning in our heads, making it very difficult to rest.

"Although we thought our last tour for the 'Legacy' album hab been a climax in the band's carreer, the Hellish Rock World Tour we did to promote our album 'Gambling With The Devil' turned out even better and surpassed our expectations.

"Once more, the tour led us all over the planet: We played 96 shows in 36 countries in Europe, America, Asia and Australia.

"We met many good friends from the past again, but also discovered some places we've never been to before, met new fans and made some friends.

"A very special 'THANK YOU' goes to our management and our crew, whose hard work made it all possible — and, of course, our partners in crime for this tour, our buddies of GAMMA RAY! It was fun touring with you guys; you definitely contributed your part to make this tour so special for all our fans!

"After we will have had some rest and our heads are clear again, we'll give it some thought of how to come up with something real special for the 25th anniversary of the band!"

HELLOWEEN guitarist Sascha Gerstner was interviewed by All Metal Music on on September 21, 2008 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City. Listen to the chat below.

"Gambling with the Devil" was released in October 2007 via SPV. The regular "Gambling with the Devil" album consisted of eleven songs (plus an intro, spoken by SAXON's Biff Byford) with a total playing time of 57 minutes and 40 seconds. For the band's many faithful fans, there was also a limited first edition (40,000 units in a digipak with an embossed and stamped slipcase released in Europe, and 10,000 units in a jewel case in the U.S.) with a bonus CD featuring two extra tracks, the video for the first single "As Long As I Fall", and a "making-of" of the video, including interview sequences.

Under the direction of producer Charlie Bauerfeind, HELLOWEEN recorded a total of 16 songs at the Mi Sueno studios in Tenerife. The focal point of this diverse album is a three-part epos consisting of the chapters "The Bells of the Seven Hells", "Falling to Pieces" and "I.M.E.", which represent the ambiguous album title that thematically covers all the songs. "At the end of the day, life is a gamble with the devil," singer Andi Deris explained. The cover artwork was designed by Martin Häusler ("Keeper of the Seven Keys – The Legacy" and "Live on 3 Continents") again.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).