Official Helloween thread v. Pumpkins United

[TAC]

And somebody in the bottom right is trying desperately to photo bomb the picture, but they are too late

I just wish Kai and Markus were looking at the camera. Anyway, I got the money shot with Michael.

[devieira73]

I was surprised at the October 2017 start date for the tour as well.  I would like to think this means they are all heading into the studio early 2017 for a summer album release.  But I guess we will have to wait for more details.

Wow, this would be really awesome! And it would very interesting to see the diversity offered from both Deris and Kiske in the same album

[TAC]

I like that they paid homage to Ingo in the video.

[Mladen]

I wonder how they'll approach the show, the press release say it will be nearly three hours - will they do a mini-Avantasia with Kiske and Deris coming and going, or it's gonna be the Deris set, the Kiske set and then the inevitable duets in the encore? there are many combinations, and I hope both Halloween and Keeper of the Seven Keys will make the set. Also some love for the other Kiske albums would be nice, Kids of the Century and Giants could be two realistic choices.

All great tunes!

Yes. While Halloween and Keeper are classic tunes, Kids and Giants would absolutely floor me. Those songs are wonderful.

[MirrorMask]

Maybe they'll give in to the commercial temptation of doing a Greatest Hits, but spice it up with a couple of original songs, which sounds more realistic than Kiske taking part in the recording of a full album. One new song with Kiske, one new song with Deris, a duet and maybe a re-recorded version of a Walls of Jericho song.

Of course an entire new album would be wonderful, but I'm afraid it makes no sense to announce the tour and then a month later saying "oh, btw, we're also recording a new album!"

[Art]

Just bought my ticket to the Sao Paulo show! 

[NotePad]

If they played anything from Pink bubbles it would be Kids of the Century.

It would be a dream come true if Kiske sang some Deris era songs that sound like they were written for Kiske or a Keepers album, like Salvation or All Over The Nation's.

I wouldn't be surprised if Kiske made an appearance on the next Helloween record. But I'd be disappointed if he replaced Deris since I much prefer him. Ill take Time of The Oath and Master Of The Rings over Keepers 1&2 anyway. Those and albums like Gambling do Keepers style power metal better then the Keepers themselves. I know a lot of Deris haters will be coming out of the shadows now, and I'll argue them to death!

[MirrorMask]

You'll have an ally in me, Deris fanboy here! 

I always liked him, I think that coming after Kiske "ruined" his chances, but he's basically the most underrated singer in metal.

He has his own style without being anyone's clone, he's an accomplished songwriter, and, I cannot state this enough, he's an excellent frontman - one of the very best in heavy metal, he's an absolutely great entertainer and he's the main reason why I enjoy Helloween concerts.

Also, quality over quantity, and 10 St Angers don't make a Master of Puppets... bu Kiske in the end has been there for 6 years and four albums, two of them generally not liked. Deris he's there since 22 bloody years, he has surpassed Kiske in years of tenure and albums released more than once. Deris is the ultimate singer of Helloween, not Kiske, which of course doesn't take away from the fact that the Keepers always were and always will be the most important albums in the band's history.

[Evermind]

I'm not a Deris hater, in fact I like the man and Helloween put out some great albums with him as a frontman. I will be the first to admit it.

However, no album does "Keepers style power metal" better than those two Keeper albums, at least for me.

[NotePad]

If they do record anything new with Kiske, Weiki should write it, because he's the member writing the most classic  Helloween style material. Or Marcus. Even though I'm a huge Deris fan and prefer his stuff, a classic sounding song with Kiske would be awesome.

I'm almost certain that on their next album we will at least get an appearance by Kiske. Even if they did replace him for Andi, that ship has sailed. 15 years ago it would have been big but Helloween is different now. This tour is the way to go.

[MirrorMask]

Bouncing a bit 'cause I had weird ideas about the show while in the shower 

As awesome the lineup is, there's still the issue of the god-like status that Kiske will have, coronating more than 20 years of dreams by both those those who have seen him back in the day, and those who didn't. He's by far and away the biggest attraction of the tour, if Kai Hansen skips because he needs to bring the metal to Mars or something, people would still go to see Kiske.

So this puts Deris in a bit of disadvantage, he's still the house keeper and "master of ceremonies" so to speak, but for once he will not be the main attraction with the spotlight on him.

If they split the sets, letting Kiske sing his songs and then Deris sing his own... case one, Kiske starts and then people will be bored through the Deris songs. Deris starts, people will anticipate Kiske all the time.

The best solution is to approach it the Avantasia way, with singers coming and going, and they should alternate between 2-3 songs each.

Still, who goes first? Kiske opens with the first song, and everyone forget that Deris will be there as well. Deris opens up, and still people will want Kiske to show up asap. So the best solution is a duet.

On which song? they should go for HALLOWEEN.

First of all, it's a kickass and bold opener. You come to the show to see the enlarged line-up, Walls of Jericho inevitable intro and them BAM..... 13 minutes of german power metal straight in your face!!! It was insanely awesome when they did it in 2007, and to see Kiske and Deris coming out together would make  the HD awesomeness of 2007 a 4K awesomeness ten years later.

I can also picture half the song duties in my head: Deris would just shout at the beginning "Masquerade, masquerade!" with Kiske having the first verse, he can have the second. Deris also is more suited for the more sinister parts of the song, like the "I am the one, doom's in my hands" section... and what comes after, "I'll show you passion and glory - he is the snake" begs for a duet.

Then after Halloween they can alternate two-three songs each, Deris for me is still the house singer so he should be the one, after this imaginary duet, to say "Ladies and gentlemen please welcome back Michael Kiske". It feels weird to think the other way around, Kiske introducing Deris as first dialogue with the audience. And then they can swap songs back and forth - Keeper of the Seven Keys would work well as a set closer - and I guess the very last song will be another duet with I Want Out, with Kiske holding out the looooooooooong note at the last chorus while Deris sings it.


...am I daydreaming too much? 

[Evermind]

He's by far and away the biggest attraction of the tour, if Kai Hansen skips because he needs to bring the metal to Mars or something, people would still go to see Kiske.

I wouldn't mind if they'd open with Halloween. In fact, I wouldn't mind this at all. It's going to be damn awesome if they would.

[TAC]

Thinking about Kiske while in the shower. Nope. I have no issue with that at all!

[NotePad]

Why don't they ever play songs from Gambling With The Devil? Weiki says the Saints is too hard to play live, and I assume it's the same with a lot of the other songs. But is he just being lazy? This You'd think they could at least play Paint a New World or Final Fortune.

[jjrock88]

Paint a New World is a great tune, maybe the best off that album.  It would be cool to hear that one live but it's the same case with all bands with huge discographies, you just play the best of the best and/or whats in demand to hear live.

With next years reunion shows, it will be very interesting to see what songs make the set list.

[Samsara]

Yeah. Probably got to wait and see how they split it all up. I mean, I'm no fan of Pink Bubbles Go Ape or Chameleon, So I hope the Kiske material is Keeper 1 and 2 heavy. I'd imagine the rest would be a best of from the Deris years... Hopefully Dark Ride gets some love.

[jjrock88]

Dark Ride just might be my favorite Helloween disc of them all, so I hope they include some material.

If they are heavy on the Keeper albums for Kiske, and lean towards Master, Oath, Better then Raw and Dark Ride for Deris, I would be content for sure!

[Samsara]

Dark Ride just might be my favorite Helloween disc of them all, so I hope they include some material.

If they are heavy on the Keeper albums for Kiske, and lean towards Master, Oath, Better then Raw and Dark Ride for Deris, I would be content for sure!

Agreed 1000 percent on all of those.

[MirrorMask]

Why don't they ever play songs from Gambling With The Devil? Weiki says the Saints is too hard to play live, and I assume it's the same with a lot of the other songs. But is he just being lazy? This You'd think they could at least play Paint a New World or Final Fortune.

They still haven't released an album since Gambling with the Devil that I like more than it. Straight out of Hell comes close but it's more inconsistent. Gambling is one of their best albums, their best since 10 years, and they've played 2-3 songs max in the proper tour off it, it's a shame!

I wholeheartedly agree that Paint a New World and Final Fortune would be awesome songs to play live. I'd also like Kill It but the song title would probably just describe what would happen to Deris' voice. Also Dreambound is a wonderful track.

[Scorpion]

Dreambound and The Saints would be my picks for live songs from Gambling. I never thought that The Saints would be substantially more difficult than other Helloween songs, but I'm no guitarist.

[TAC]

Even though I have all of the Deris albums, I'm ashamed to say that other than a handful of tracks, I really cannot recognize references to the Deris material.

[Samsara]

Even though I have all of the Deris albums, I'm ashamed to say that other than a handful of tracks, I really cannot recognize references to the Deris material.

Im not big on em either, Tim. No shame. I have all the records, and like a few, but i dont know individual songs from the Deris catalog. Kiske, to me, will alwaya be Helloweens proper frontman, even if Deris has been in the band for 20+ years. Lol

And no disrespect to Andi. I just like Michael's voice more. It is more dynamic.

[wolfking]

Gambling has some strong tracks in the first half back the back half especially from IME is a bit hit or miss for me.  Never got the love for Dreambound.  The 2 bonus tracks however are 2 of the best IMO.  The first 5 songs however are amazing.

I'm a huge fan of 7 Sinners, really underrated that one.

[MirrorMask]

First picture of the reunited / enlarged band.

Deris is so happy to be there.
Kiske has that little smug smile with a "So, I heard you missed me, uh?" vibe.
Kai Hansen got the wrong reunion, he tought it was the Motley Crue one.

[TAC]

Kai Hansen got the wrong reunion, he tought it was the Motley Crue one.

[Mladen]

Dear God, Kai... 

[wolfking]

Kai's wigs are just getting worse and worse.

Sascha is also saying to himself, "I don't think I'm suppose to be here."

I'd really like to know what Deris thinks of all this too.  He probably always knew it was going to happen one day.

[MirrorMask]

Just don't ask me the details but I remember reading an interview - or it was a youtube video, I swear I can remember Deris talking about it and making gestures - where he said that he wasn't opposing at least an encore reunion, he would step out of the stage to let Kiske sings 2-3 songs.

Of course a whole co-starring tour is on a whole another level, he never said a bad thing about Kiske and he always seemed confident about his role and status in the band, so if he survived 20 years with the Kiske-only "extremists", I think he will survive a tour with the spotlight entirely on Michi.

[Mladen]

Deris seems like a down-to-Earth guy to me. I would think he as a Helloween fan is very excited about this reunion and thinks of it as a great event.

[wolfking]

Just don't ask me the details but I remember reading an interview - or it was a youtube video, I swear I can remember Deris talking about it and making gestures - where he said that he wasn't opposing at least an encore reunion, he would step out of the stage to let Kiske sings 2-3 songs.

Of course a whole co-starring tour is on a whole another level, he never said a bad thing about Kiske and he always seemed confident about his role and status in the band, so if he survived 20 years with the Kiske-only "extremists", I think he will survive a tour with the spotlight entirely on Michi.

Yeah, I never thought his place in the band was under threat and if he is positive about this, then all seems cool.

I don't think Michael would ever join the band full time again anyway.

[TAC]

I can't believe he is working with Weikath again.

[Polarbear]

Haven't seen Helloween live in ages, but i have to see them on this tour!

I'm secretly hoping that they don't divide the show into "Deris" and "Kiske" sets. I want them all to be on stage at the same time.

Imagine Kiske and Deris singing something like, If i Could Fly or Light the Universe together!

[MirrorMask]

All duets would be overkill, I think they should do a mini-Avantasia and have them rotating continously, Kiske sings 2 songs, Deris 2 others, then the occasional duet, and so on.

[wolfking]

All duets would be overkill, I think they should do a mini-Avantasia and have them rotating continously, Kiske sings 2 songs, Deris 2 others, then the occasional duet, and so on.

Great idea.

[Polarbear]

All duets would be overkill, I think they should do a mini-Avantasia and have them rotating continously, Kiske sings 2 songs, Deris 2 others, then the occasional duet, and so on.

Great idea.

That sounds pretty realistic. I'd love to see something like this.

1. Starlight (Kiske)
2. Eagle Fly Free (Kiske)
3. Open Your Life (Deris)
4. Sole Survivor (Deris)
5. Born on Judgement Day (Both)

6. A Little Time (Kiske)
7. Dr. Stein (Kiske)
8. A Handful of Pain (Deris)
9. As Long As i Fall (Deris)
10. The Dark Ride (Both)

11. Ride The Sky (Kiske)
12. I Want Out (Kiske)
13. Who is Mr. Madman? (Deris)
14. Wake Up the Mountain (Deris)
15. A King for a 1000 Years (Both)

Encore;
16. If i Could Fly (Both)
17. A Tale That Wasn't Right (Both)
18. Light The Universe (Both)
19. Keeper of the Seven Keys (Both)