Helloween

Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. The band has at times been called one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weikath and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. By the time Hansen left Helloween in 1989 to form Gamma Ray, the band had evolved into a five-piece, with Michael Kiske taking over as lead vocalist. Schwichtenberg and Kiske both parted ways with Helloween in 1993; Schwichtenberg died two years later as the result of suicide. Between then and 2016, there had been numerous line-up changes, leaving Grosskopf and Weikath as the only remaining original members. As a septet, their current lineup features all of the surviving members of the Keeper of the Seven Keys lineup (Hansen, Weikath, Kiske and Grosskopf), in addition to the remaining members from the Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy-era (singer Andi Deris, guitarist Sascha Gerstner and drummer Daniel Loble). Since its inception, Helloween has released 17 studio albums, five live albums, three EPs and 31 singles. The band was honored with 14 gold and six platinum awards and has sold more than 10 million records worldwide. Helloween has been referred to as the "fathers of power metal", as well as one of the so-called "big four" of the genre's early German scene, along with Grave Digger, Rage and Running Wild, and one of the "big four" bands of the entire genre, alongside Blind Guardian, Sabaton, and DragonForce. The staff of Loudwire named them the 34th-best metal band of all time.