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Classic Review: Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II
Helloween
www.helloween.org
Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II

Label: Noise Records
Year released: 1988
Duration: 49:23
Tracks: 9
Genre: Power Metal

Rating:
4/5


Review online: August 13, 2008
Reviewed by: Larry Griffin
Readers' Rating
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Rated 4.62/5 (92.44%) (90 Votes)
Review

This is the second part of Helloween's Keeper saga, originally intended to be tacked onto the first one as a double disc, but that just didn't happen. This one was written more by Weikath than by Hansen, who would leave after this album was finished, and it is overall more progressive and calculated than the first, although it is also less aggressive and speedy. Michael Kiske remains his charismatic self, with a few songs here that let him show off his pipes to their full extent, and you can pretty much just go read my review for the first one if you want a musical description, because none of that has changed here at all.

We kick things off with "Eagle Fly Free," and it is probably the best song the band ever wrote with Michael Kiske at the helm, with a nice double bass kick and a huge, uplifting chorus that soars way up to the stratosphere and then comes back down and hits you in the face. "You Always Walk Alone" is a groovier number with a more complex vocal performance, and then "Rise and Fall" and "Dr. Stein" are sillier, bouncier numbers with catchy choruses and goofy sound effects, pretty much standard Helloween camp. "We Got the Right" has a hugely over-dramatic performance from Kiske, but I can't help but like it anyway, and then "March of Time" just completely smokes, with a killer riff and a triumphant chorus to boot. "I Want Out" is a radio-friendly number that will stick with you, and the title track has a lot of good moments that just never really gel together into a good whole song. Overall, this is about on the same level of quality as the first, but Helloween is one of those rare bands that got better as they aged, so seek out their later material if you want a better representation of their quality.

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