Rabbits may not come easy in our days but the pumpkin men from Germany indeed proved to possess this special skill, were my thoughts after leaving the Sporting Hall on a misty Saturday night. There are times when you have to reconsider your relationship with your 'back-then' favorite bands. Yup, time does tell who's capable of drawing the thin red line between progression and history, creativity and ethics, future and past. I believe the Helloween gig was a lesson well learned for those who decided to attend this special event. Not only for the band's great performance - even if I would not describe this experience as the ultimate one - but also (or mainly) for what bands, thought by many as 'ghosts' of themselves - are still offering to our beloved music.

Well, it's not weird for me to be working on a Saturday afternoon. Hence, I was late enough to miss Greek Prog_Power Metal act Fragile Vastness' show. My info from other guys attending their performance sums it up to a good 45' show, with an amazing (musically speaking, I suppose) female keyboard player. I was also told that they did a grand cover version of the Savatage classic Gutter Ballet. Sorry guys, I'll try to be 'sharp' next time!

Gazing around during the 'kit-kat' break prior to the main act's show, I was pleased to see 2,000 - 2,500 'happy-happy-Helloween' metalheads starving for their favorite band to walk on the stage. It's true that the whole atmosphere was great. The band's latest album - Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy - proves to be worth the risk (not comparable, of course, to those two albums) plus the general idea of a Heloween gig always tends to bring out a good 'spirit'. These two factors - plus a grand glass of semi-cold beer - made me nervous enough to await for this 'pumpkins-fly-free' concert.

The stage was a good attraction. Various Keeper...Legacy artwork themes were backing the stage, with two 'wizards/magicians/album cover figures/whatever' dolls holding the two front edges, plus the drum kit was on a raised platform with two even higher mini-platforms on either side. On the complete background, a huge Keeper...Legacy banner filled the picture. If it wasn't for the inappropriate music by the DJ (XYZ on a Helloween concert? What's next? A Cannibal Corpse tune while waiting for Rush to hit the stage?) the adrenaline was starting to get high, as the lights went dim and...

(Present tense)...the fist notes of the AC_DC classic For Those About To Rock (AC_DC music applies to any concert, no questions asked) spread like a disease all over the Hall. The audience goes crazy and two 'dark' figures step on top of the small platforms on the rear edge! The King For A 1000 Years is the perfect starter and the band takes command of the stage with high energy, ready to be delivered to the demonized crowd. Frontman Andi Deris' outfit strongly reminds me of Saxon's mainman Biff Byford (meaning great!) while guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner place themselves on the left and the right respectively. Bass extraordinaire Markus Grosskopf (maybe my favorite four-string man of all time) doesn't need a certain point for standing, since he runs everywhere on stage doing whatever with his headbanging around all the time.

13:54 after the opening storm, it's time for a 1988 classic to set the place on fire. Eagle fly freeeeeee... and it's not clearly stated if we'll survive the blitzkrieg! The sound is nearly great - somehow weird for a 30-year-old basketball court like this - with a minor plea regarding the vocals level in the mix at times. What the hell? Deris grabs us by the balls and - even if he has nothing to prove to anyone after all these years - delivers a solid performance (throughout the whole set, with a small exception mentioned later), supported by an intense onstage behavior with lots of give-and-take with the audience. Hell Was Made In Heaven comes next - from the Rabbits... (2003) album - it's not my much-loved tune, but who cares? Markus brings top-class bass techniques and I still wonder why this musician is not recognized at the certain level he no-doubt deserves. Shit...

Sascha Gerstner is a bizarre figure. He's extremely tall - applicable for next year's Dio lineup - and has a beautiful physiognomy on a 'model' level. He's clearly skilled as a musician and seems to get along really well with the rest of the team. He's the 'dark' man compared to the others but when it comes to tracks like the 1988 Keeper Of The Seven Keys anthem he can convince everyone 'bout his scope. You can imagine the eerie during these 13+ minutes.
'Jumping' further back to the Keeper...I (1987) album, it was time for A Tale That Wasn't Right. The atmosphere was great, the sound was immense and Deris delivered a good performance during this one. Still, I'd prefer the band didn't play this one. Sorry, this is my poor opinion. Not to be misunderstood, nothing went wrong during this song. Deris 'updated' some melodies so as to meet his requirements and received a warm applause at the end of it. All musicians were excellent and the response was overwhelming for this classic.

Helloween is fun and both solo intermezzos proved it. First it was the lights focusing at drummer Dani Loeble (ex-Rawhead Rexx, Blaze). Dani took a first round of skin-crushing and then...Grosskopf appeared on the rear left platform with a kid's 'tiny' drum set, ready to deliver sonic chaos a la Muppet Show's Animal! You should have heard the laughter allover! Loeble pushed it hard with a second drum solo round and Grosskopf answered with an even more naive break! Loeble 'broke loose' during the final round and Grosskopf attacked with a 'nursery school drummer' rhythm, while he ended it up by throwing the whole kit (not more than 5kg in total...) at the front of the stage! Holy shit, this guy's a lunatic and we love him (guitar solo comedy coming up below)!

The trilogy of the following tracks - Occasion Avenue, Mr. Torture and If I could Fly - proved the following basic principle: Helloween is fairly judged as one of the best Heavy Metal bands ever. Why? You should see the fans' faces, the band's power, the music's supremacy, the melodies' superiority. All these, for three tunes of the post-Kiske era...

Up next: the guitar solo. Sascha prepares to bombard us with six-string nuclear power when... Dani Loeble appears on front with a three-years-old kid electric toy guitar (size XXS). What the hell? Gerstner bursts fire and Loeble answers with a pre-tuned horrible-sound lead. The roof would fall with 2,500 people laughing their asses out! Gerstner kranks it up with a Lynch-ish high-octane lead and Loeble bangs back with another 'pre-nursery school' solo. Gerstner gives it a final shot - in a Schon-isque vein now - and Loeble attacks with the most childish sound I'll ever hear in my miserable life! Tons of applause for both 'leads' shake the court! Huge!

Back to basics with Power, one of the best Helloween 90's tunes for sure. Deris is brilliant, his vocal leads are outstanding and the crowd sings along every single chorus word. This tune is a Helloween classic now; confirmed. Still, the next one needs no introduction. Future World a classic since the first day of its commercial release, 19 years ago. Astonishing guitars, a thunderous rhythm section and Deris' terrific vocals turned the arena into a large mosh pit with even pyrotechnics featured! During this song, Deris introduces the band and then let the fans take control of the singing parts. Splendid! The Invisible Man - off the band's latest work - is an average track for me, but this did not prevent the crowd from dancing along to the notable song's rhythm. This was the last tune of the 'normal' show.

Of course the band would be back for the usual encore, starting off with the Mrs God single; the groove caught us in the vibe and the part was now at its peak! Yet, things got out of control during I Want Out - now, isn't this what we should call an 'all-time-classic'? - with the whole Sporting Hall singing along this song for freedom. A wide smile across the members' faces confirmed what a helluva show this was for virtually everyone. Running backstage, one piece was missing for the pumpkin pie to be completely 'swallowed'. Dr. Stein grows funny creatures... was Deris' 'information' and I was glad to see the whole venue shaking to the chorus' harmonies. It was nearly after two hours that the band waved 'goodbye' and received a deafening applause for their performance and much more.

Michael Weikath's name was only mentioned once in this review. Till now. And this, because there's a separate paragraph needed. Well, many things have been said for this man all these years. I may have my personal beliefs as well; this, of course, does not mean the guy is not - still - the silent force behind the band. Simple but ample, calm but 'shouting', Weikath leaves most of the room for the rest of the band while 'secretly' smiling for the success Helloween still comprise. It's times like his A Tale... guitar solo that we must bow before his musical potentials. Talkin' 'bout Michael Weikath the musician.

When I got my Keeper...I vinyl copy back in 1987 I was twelve years old. I didn't see much of 30+ years old guys like me in the audience. Isn't this a good thing? 2000 fans - most of them between 17-23 - discovered Helloween's 'magic' many years after the monumental Keeper... original releases, supporting the band till now (and for long on, I guess). It's - most of all - Deris, Grosskopf and Weikath who have succeeded in this and they deserve such recognition. I have heard various opinions about the latest album but have not heard anyone 'till now say that Keeper...Legacy sucks. Have you?
By all means, a great 'pumpkin' evening. Salute!