MICHAEL KISKE Loves Having 'Two And A Half' Lead Singers In HELLOWEEN: 'I Never Wanna Do It Differently Anymore'

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

HELLOWEEN singer Michael Kiske spoke to Australia's Metal-Roos about the progress of the new LP recording sessions, saying (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's pretty evolved already — lots of songs. And since we've got two main singers and a half, we're kind of figuring out what sounds best and what's working for each vocalist best. So it's fun. It's always fun. It was last time [when we made 2021's 'Helloween' album]. We let Dennis Ward, who's the creative producer, so to speak — I don't know how you call it; he's helping with the creative process and whatever — often he gives suggestions. He knows both singers very well."

Kiske continued: "The band is very chaotic, so we always need someone there to organize things a little bit and stuff. So he usually does suggest something and then we try it out, and if it sounds great and feels great, cool. But sometimes it happens that I don't feel comfortable or Andi [Deris, HELLOWEEN co-vocalist] feels like I should give it a try, and then we do that. I mean, we will have a few situations where we both are going to do that, just to have an idea, what does it sound like? It's not a competition or anything like that, but there are certain things that Andi does way better, and then there are other things where I can shine. You just have to figure it out.

When the interviewer suggested that "that's the upside of having two singers" in a band, Michael concurred. "I love it. I love it," he said. "When the first idea like that [sharing lead vocals] came up, I was, like, 'Well, that's weird.' When the first thoughts of doing some kind of a reunion [came up], I thought something like — which is stupid, looking at it now — but I thought that they wanted to maybe do like a 'Keeper Of Seven Keys' tour or whatever, just with me and whatever, but you can't do that. You can't design another HELLOWEEN as a competition for the HELLOWEEN that existed the years before. So it was a great idea. And the only way to do it, it's everyone together. And now I love it, because not everything is on my shoulder. You can share everything, and especially live. If you get sick, if one [singer] gets sick, you can just swap songs over or you can just change the setlist a little. You throw out two songs of the singer who's not doing well, put two songs of the other singer in and even share... I mean, Andi and I, we communicate with eyes on stage. Sometimes, when somebody is sick, you just, on the fly, move parts over to the other person. And you can still make a good show, even though one [of the singers] is fucked. Same with Kai [Hansen, HELLOWEEN guitarist and vocalist] — Kai can be can be taking over vocal parts as well, which is a lot easier… And you don't have to sing that much either. If I would have to do a complete two-and-a-half [set], or like in 2017 we did more than three hours — I mean, we had a lot of video footage being played in the shows — but if you do that all on your own, it's kind of demanding; it really wears out. And that way it's an easy journey. I love it. I never wanna do it differently anymore."

In a separate interview with Australia's The Rockpit, Kiske stated about HELLOWEEN's upcoming LP: "We're working on it. We're right on it. We're getting this done. I will be flying to Tenerife [Spain] 3rd of January to start working on vocals [at Mi Sueño Studio, owned by Deris], trying to figure out vocal parts. Sometimes they still have to do lyrics, but then figuring out who does what and trying things out. I'm looking forward to it, because it's really cold and gray and dark here [in Germany] at the moment. So I don't mind flying over there for a couple of weeks."

Earlier this month, Deris was asked by The Metal Command how the material for HELLOWEEN's next album compares to that on "Helloween". He said: "I'd say it's much more easy listening, because there's less constructed stuff on it. It's more flowing with the wind, so to say. It's very, very positive, so I would rather say it's more happy, happy HELLOWEEN than the other album. I think it's a bit more… yeah, the flow is, for my taste, not as edgy as the last album, which was cool — I like edgy stuff — but we should have more or less some counterpart to edgy, more exhausting things. The last album, for me, was great to listen through — it was edgy, it was heavy, it was complicated here and there — but after listening to it, then I needed a pause. It was exhausting. After [listening to 'Helloween'], I needed some break, put it that way. I loved it, and I still love it, but it's demanding. I think the next album will be much more easy listening, I think much more enjoyable to sing along [to]; there are lots of parts in there. So I would rather describe it as a more happy, happy HELLOWEEN album. That would be the best description."

Andi continued: "It's hard to describe, because there are lots of speedy and heavy things on it. But when I listen through it, I feel good. I mean, that's a good sign. Not that I felt bad when I listened to the last album — that's not what I mean. It's fun. I listen to it, and it's fun. Definitely."

Regarding what he and his HELLOWEEN bandmates learned from the making of "Helloween" that they improved upon this time around, Andi said: "Yeah, I think the main keyword would be confidence. The last album, we had to get to know each other in that new setup, lineup, how to work with [each other], how to work here and blah, blah, blah, and this time we just realized, okay, actually everybody has such great ideas; just don't control each other. We don't need to actually stick in a studio for pre-production for two months because everybody did it for himself. Let's just listen to it and say, 'Wow, cool.' So this time we've been some lazy backs, actually, and just said, you know, pre-production we just do ourselves back at home, everybody in his own studio, and we just take the technique we are given. Internet is great, and you can have live sessions online, and that made life so much easier because everybody is just relieved that you [are] still at home. You still work hard, but you're at home. And as we all know, when you're at home, work doesn't hurt that much as being back in the studio again somewhere in the world, but not with your family. And nowadays you can actually have your family life, you have your eight, nine hours per day in the studio, you yourself decide when you make a break or when you go and have a meal with your lady or go down to the beach, in my case. That makes life so much easier and much more enjoyable than sitting in a fricking studio again and again and again, each and every day for two months, just for a pre-production, which you could easily do at home together. So this time, I have to say there's confidence that we earned for each other that helped a lot to make things even more easygoing. And I think that's exactly what you listen, when you go through the songs and you listen to them — you feel that easiness: 'Wow. Wow. Okay, cool.' I love it. So that's the way to go."

He then clarified: "I don't wanna say that I want to be back at home when I'm on tour. So I hate the idea of laser shows or something like that. As long as I can walk, I want to be on stage. But production-wise, I have to say I love the technique we have nowadays."

Regarding how HELLOWEEN has managed to pull off the seemingly impossible by keeping all seven members of the band happy — Kiske and Hansen along with Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Daniel Löble — Andi said: "I think the only thing you need to accept [is] that you are different people. I think that's the main problem we had back in the days because everybody actually expected the other to be and react and have the same opinion [as] yourself. And when you are realizing, okay, we are all different people, so you have to accept that everybody probably has a different point of view, at least a millimeter to the left or millimeter to right. And you have to sit down and actually find a compromise. If you accept that everybody is different, that's not a bad thing. You just have to accept that you yourself may fail here and there, and maybe the other one is right. And when you're getting older, you have decades of comparisons, and you realize, 'Okay, here I fucked up, there I fucked up, here I wasn't right, here I wasn't right.' You need that experience, and when you have that, you are a little bit more humble, because you know you did things wrong or you know you haven't been right back in the days here and there and blah, blah, blah. So, if you take that at a base, everything works out fine. And you just sit down with that knowledge and try to find a solution, which is good enough for all here in the room. And, yeah, that went down super the last few years, I mean, no problem at all. Even if somebody was pissed off, completely pissed off for whatever reason, again, that somebody did not react like he did back in the days, like with aggression or something like that, but in normal words and said, 'Hey, I have a little problem here. You said this and that and blah, blah, blah. And how did you mean that?' And then here comes the explanation and you go, like, 'Oh, okay, all good. Thanks.'"

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 last 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 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.

HELLOWEEN released a new live album, "Live At Budokan", on December 13, 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). The colossal effort immortalizes HELLOWEEN's September 16, 2023 performance at Tokyo's legendary Nippon Budokan.

"Live At Budokan" is available in a plethora of formats: 2CD-digipak and 3LP vinyl in trifold with the first print run of both coming as "deluxe edition" including embossed cover artwork, as well as Blu-ray, DVD and digital. Each version is meticulously crafted to suit the metal community's diverse tastes, ensuring every fan can relive the raw, unfiltered energy of HELLOWEEN in their preferred medium.

This release celebrates the grand finale of HELLOWEEN's epic world tour from 2022 to 2023. Spanning over 30 countries on three continents, the tour was nothing short of a triumph, drawing massive crowds and showcasing the band's undying appeal, the sold-out concert in Tokyo is the crowning glory of the cycle.