When Helloween embarked on its Keeper of the Seven Keys journey in 1987 — and as a German power metal quintet force in 1985 that would storm the globe with its double bass drum fury — San Antonians had no idea their part of the world would experience two significant gaps between visits.
One: Helloween’s most recent stop was 2003 at a half-filled White Rabbit, ironically, on the Rabbit Don’t Come Easy tour
Two: the last time the band played here with vocalist Michael Kiske and guitarist / vocalist Kai Hansen was on the 1989 Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II trek.
Or to put it another way: 1989 saw Helloween touring in support of its third album, and 2003 was its 10th.
In the minds of San Antonians, 23 and 37 years ago may as well have equaled a trip around the moon.
But that all rectified itself Wednesday night at the Aztec Theatre as the pumpkins — who united in 2018 by bringing Kiske and Hansen back with original bassist Markus Grosskopf and original guitarist Michael Weikath, vocalist (and Kiske replacement) Andi Deris, guitarist Sascha Gerstner and drummer Dani Loble — celebrated their 40th anniversary on the second night of a 16-show North American jaunt coinciding with their 17th album Giants & Monsters.
Although the seven keys locked up the seven seas, perhaps the band realized it needed a united septuplet pumpkin front to be the gatekeepers of power metal. Lineup changes, ill will and egos were put aside eight years ago, and at the Aztec, another set of keys may as well have been on display: friendship, hope, togetherness, happiness, redemption, forgiveness and success resulted in a blistering and entertaining 2-hour, 15-minute showing that more than made up for the distant memories of prior visits.
But this wasn’t just any return.
Helloween’s triumphant resurrection in 2018 only saw six U.S. shows in five cities, none of them in Texas. Their comeback self-titled 2021 album brought them closer geographically as they played in Dallas, which is also where the 40th anniversary tour kicked off Tuesday.
A chance meeting with Hansen by the River Walk several hours before Wednesday’s show resulted in the original vocalist from 1985 debut album Walls of Jericho admitting he couldn’t remember his previous San Antonio stop but that “It’s been a while.”
That made the fact Kiske and Deris quickly reminded their Dallas audience of their 2023 visit but didn’t attempt to banter with the Aztec’s patrons as to just how overdue and welcome this occasion was a bit shocking. Also understandable given that the 2003 gig didn’t feature the band as we know it today.
Taking the stage after all of the album covers passed through time on the big screen, and with the help of the reaper introducing several songs, Helloween unleashed absolute power and fury in an unforgettable night.
Having played 2 hours and 40 minutes on the 2018 tour without a support act (ATM coverage here), Helloween this time brought along Finnish friends Beast In Black.
The beasts had planned to release their fourth album late in 2025. Instead, they collaborated with gaming company Blizzard Entertainment to celebrate the Diablo IV and Berserk crossovers tying into the game’s eighth season Belial’s Return, punctuated by their standalone soundtrack single “Enter the Behelit” (ATM footage below).
As a result, the quintet was without founder and guitarist Anton Kabanen, who’s sitting out the tour to finish writing the forthcoming album. Nevertheless, vocalist Yannis Papadopoulos, bassist Mate Molnar, drummer Atte Palokangas and touring guitarist Daniel Freyberg (ex-Children Of Bodom filling in for the recently departed Kasperi Heikkinen) squeezed in 10 powerful tracks in a 50-minute set (see setlist in 84-photo gallery). See more ATM footage below of “Die by the Blade.”
In addition to being able to hear and watch Helloween span most of its catalog live once again at last, the best component of the band’s resurgence is watching Kiske sing with Deris on songs the latter recorded solely when he replaced the former beginning with 1994’s Master of the Rings.
When ATM interviewed Kiske by phone in 2012 during his Unisonic days, the vocalist confessed he had not listened to any Helloween music that didn’t include him. Fast forward to 2018, and the fact the two singers have become best friends and thoroughly enjoy performing together on stage regardless of who originated the music is a godsend and proof egos can be put aside to make one’s lives healthier and more prosperous.
Whether they’re going back and forth on classics such as “Halloween” or acoustically before being joined electrically by the band on 1987 ballad “A Tale That Wasn’t Right” (ATM footage below), the singers’ joint efforts and enthusiasm were sights to behold that other bands with storied singer histories would never attempt (imagine Judas Priest’s, Motley Crue’s or Van Halen’s multiple vocalists trying to co-exist).
Kiske’s and Deris’ humor also came to the forefront when they began out-of-the-vault track “In the Middle of a Heartbeat.” With Kiske playing acoustic guitar to Deris’ vocals, Deris joked that Kiske “really fucked it up” in Dallas the night before. Deris then asked fans up front if there were any witnesses to that moment, and when he found a couple, Deris added with a smile, “I’m not making this up, right?”
The ‘80s Keeper material is always at the forefront of Helloween shows such as opener “March of Time”, “Future World,” “Halloween,” and “Dr. Stein” (setlist in photo gallery). But that’s only half the enjoyment.
The surprise inclusion of 14-minute track “King for a 1000 Years” from 2005’s Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy, which marked Loble’s first album with the group (ATM interview here), was a bombastic second tune even though the band shortened it by nearly four minutes to fit in as much as possible for the show’s duration.
Loble’s four bass drums took center stage during a crowd-infused drum solo and on the new album’s first single “Universe” (ATM footage below). Not to be outdone was the return of Part 1’s “Twilight of the Gods,” which had a certain audience member flirting with vocal loss a mere six songs in.
Helloween also marked its long-awaited return by breaking out Deris-era favorites “Hell Was Made in Heaven” and “Power” and dusting off “We Burn” and “Hey Lord” (ATM footage of the latter below).
Hansen, Weikath, Grosskopf and Gerstner yukked it up on stage while filling both levels of the 1,093-clad Aztec (according to a staffer) with killer riffs. Hansen also harked back to his first-album lead-vocal and guitar duties on “Ride the Sky” and “Heavy Metal is the Law” (ATM footage of the latter below).
Fortunately, the entire 13-minute rendition of 1987 MTV hit “Halloween,” the track that got American fans hooked on the band due to “Headbanger’s Ball” was included after the band skipped it altogether on the previous tour.
A bright orange “40” appeared on the screens with the zero morphing into a sinister pumpkin during the “Invitation” intro to “Eagle Fly Free,” another moment that confirmed the shot vocals of most diehards, before Helloween ended with a brief reprise of the 13-minute “Keeper of the Seven Keys” opus.
But make no mistake. It will not take 23 years for voices to recover. In fact, a trip to Las Vegas for the tour finale May 2 is already in order. Because a night like Wednesday’s bears repeat witnessing.
And that is the best trick o’ treat of them all.
