HELLOWEEN To Reissue Classic Early Albums

Igniting HELLOWEEN's 40th-anniversary celebration, the German power metal pioneers will re-release their early albums represented by BMG. Remastered by Sascha "Busy" Bühren, mastering engineer of the band's self-titled No 1 album "Helloween" from 2021, the albums will contain additional bonus tracks and the original artwork restored.

HELLOWEEN guitarist and founding member Michael Weikath comments: "It was important for us to present our fans the work of the early days in a contemporary acoustic and visual form. Sascha did an exceptional job and adapted the recordings to today's quality standards."

The first batch of albums, released July 26, 2024, contains some real heavyweights, rightly described as genre-defining milestones:

* "Walls Of Jericho" is the debut full-length studio album by the German power metal band, initially released in 1985 . It is the only full-length album featuring Kai Hansen as the lead vocalist. On 2 CDs, this classic also contains the songs of the mini-LP from 1985 and several bonus tracks.

* "Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I" is the band's second studio album, released in 1987. It marks the first appearance of vocalist Michael Kiske and is considered the album that created the genre of European-style power metal.

* The band's third studio album, "Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II" from 1988 was hugely successful worldwide and went gold in Germany. It includes the singles "Dr. Stein" and "I Want Out", the latter remains the band's best known song until today.

Further release dates are:

August 30, 2024

* "Pink Bubbles Go Ape"
* "Chameleon"
* "Master Of The Rings"

September 27, 2024

* "Time Of The Oath"
* "Better Than Raw"
* "Metal Jukebox"

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This past February, he reunited expanded classic lineup of HELLOWEEN signed with Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM) for the release of their next studio album. The band will enter the studio this summer to begin work on the follow-up to 2021's acclaimed self-titled effort, with plans to issue the LP in 2025.

After playing 60 extremely emotional shows in support of their chart-topping album "Helloween", returning singer Michael Kiske and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen along with Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Daniel Löble are now working on material for their next album.

HELLOWEEN's recent "United Forces" world tour took the band to 26 countries on three continents, bringing together more than 800,000 fans. The trek included sold-out headline shows in Los Angeles, New York and São Paulo, as well as highlights like the show at the Prague O2 Arena, the Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, or in front of 14,000 metalheads in Santiago de Chile and HELLOWEEN's first-ever sold-out concert at the iconic Budokan in Tokyo, Japan — the Holy Grail and the ultimate accolade for every rock band. Without a doubt, there were tears in everyone's eyes at the bombastic Hell & Heaven festival in Mexico City, which closed the tour.

Upon its release in June 2021, "Helloween" landed in the Top 10 in more than 10 countries, including Germany, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. The cover artwork for the LP was painted by artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, SOULFLY, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and SODOM, among others.

Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind and Dennis Ward, the latest HELLOWEEN LP was recorded in part at the H.O.M.E. Studios in Hamburg (where everything started in 1984). The same recording console used for such HELLOWEEN albums as "Master Of The Rings", "Time Of The Oath" and "Better Than Raw" was utilized to record the band's new material. The effort was mixed at the Valhalla Studios of Ronald Prent (IRON MAIDEN, DEF LEPPARD, RAMMSTEIN).

"Helloween" saw the legendary German power metallers going "back to the roots," with the band recording fully analog and Daniel Löble playing the drum kit previously used by HELLOWEEN's original drummer, the late Ingo Schwichtenberg, on the legendary "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" recordings.

The "Pumpkins United" tour marked the first time Kiske had played live with HELLOWEEN since 1993. Hansen, who departed HELLOWEEN in 1988, had been joining the band onstage on various tours and festival appearances throughout the years. The set featured several duets with Kiske and his replacement, Deris, along with many rarely played songs, including "Kids Of The Century", "Rise And Fall" and "Livin' Ain't No Crime". Hansen — who fronted HELLOWEEN until late 1986 — sang a medley of several early HELLOWEEN classics, including "Ride The Sky", "Judas", "Starlight" and "Heavy Metal (Is The Law)".