helloween - keeper of the seven keys pt.II

the second record i found in that final bin at the record fair in kiel was the second part of the "keeper of the seven keys" saga by german power metal heros helloween. i kind of felt compelled to get the second part after i won an auction for a coloured copy of the first part on a whim on ebay. it just doesen't felt right to leave part one alone on the shelf.

so when i pulled this copy out of the bin i was pleasantly surprised at the great condition and the reasonable price. the seller even lowered the whole price for the two records without me bargaining about it. the band's third album was released in 1988 and is their best selling to this day. musically one gets what the first part was foreshadowing. classic power/heavy metal with another epic piece.

the thirteen minutes and a half long song "keeper of the seven keys" is the centrepiece of the album and is in keeping with part one and its lengthy "halloween" song. all in all i think i enjoy part one a bit more than part two. especially "dr. stein" is too much of a goofy song to me and when there is one thing in music i really loathe besides reggae, than it is ridiculous bands and their songs. yeah, i am humourless like that.

still i like to spin the record occasionally. i am not really sure if i got a first press here. discogs shows me two versions that came out in 1988, mine included, but does not give information which came first. anyway, i like the tour advertisement on the printed dust sleeve. must have been cool shows with iron maiden back in the day. that reminds me that i will see helloween re-united on wacken festival this year. looking forward to it. noise records. 1988.

helloween - keeper of the seven keys pt. I

before i bought this record of helloween i heard zero music of the band. the name was prominent of course, because helloween is a big name in the power metal scene but to be honest, that kind of metal was never my favourite. i mean, i do enjoy my regular dosage of iron maiden but in my perspective this something different. maiden plays in their very own league above the rest.

so what made me buy this record in the first place? well, it was a mixture of eighties colour vinyl and the cheap availability. i came across this auction on ebay and thought if i could get this for a steal, why the hell not? in the end i won this for something like fifteen bucks. this was approximately a tenner under the usual discogs going rate. so it is not that rare or sought after but i am happy with the purchase nevertheless.

originally the blue copies came with a poster of the "pumpkins fly free" tour in 1988. mine is missing that poster which probably explains the low price. anyway, i am not too keen on getting the poster. the nice blue vinyl will do. musically i think this is pretty entertaining power metal. i like the record from start to finish and i see why this was one of their best selling records and gave way to the band's first u.s. tour.

"keeper of the seven keys" was actually planned as a double album. unfortunately the label thought this would lead to the diminishing in sales and that is why helloween split up the album in part one and part two. i really like the artwork, adds a mystical touch to the record. the album was actually released in 1987 and my copy is part of a re-press from a year later. noise records. 1987/1988.