24. Grim Reaper
Armored Saint
HelloweenSeptember 24, 1987
The Living Room, ProvidenceSetlists:
Grim ReaperRock You to Hell
Night of the Vampire
Lust for Freedom
Rock Me 'till I Die
Fear No Evil
Dead on Arrival
See You in Hell
Armored SaintMarch of the Saint
Underdogs
Human Vulture
Chemical Euphoria
Isolation
Can U Deliver
Mad House
Helloween:I'm Alive
Future World
Twilight Of The Gods
A Tale That Wasn't Right
Halloween
There is Pro Shot footage that aired on MTV from Minneapolis:
Grim ReaperArmored SaintHelloweenHere's a tour ad from Cleveland:
So, it's rare when an album comes along and literally and permanently changes your musical direction. Helloween's Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt.1 was that. I cannot begin to tell you what an effect it had on me. Practically a perfect album with everything I love about music. I first heard it in the summer of 1987 upon its release after seeing THIS magazine at a friend's house.
Anyway, it was announced that they were touring as the third band on a bill that was headlined by Grim Reaper with Armored Saint as Special Guest.
We also found out that during the afternoon of the show, all three bands would be doing an in-store at Strawberries in Downtown Providence. So we went. I literally ignored both Armored Saint and Grim Reaper and went right to Helloween's table. I remember how young Michael Kiske looked. I asked him how old he was and he said he was 19. Wow! I had just turned 19 two days earlier.
Here's some pics:
After the session we were walking around killing time when we see some of the Helloween guys coming out of a Dunkin' Donuts!
That's me, arm in arm with Michael. Damn if Markus and Kai could've looked at the camera!
And...the show!!!
...and the late great Ingo, one of Power Metal's pioneer drummers.
We went for Helloween, but decided to stay for a couple of songs from Armored Saint. I was blown away! We stayed for their entire set.
I actually had March Of the Saint, and I thought it was OK. I skipped Delirious Nomad, and hadn't yet tried Raising Fear, which is what they were promoting in 1987. Obviously I had no idea how much I would've loved them. I really wished I stopped by their table earlier in the day, or snapped a few pics. I would've loved to have a pic of Dave Prichard sitting there.