Celebrate Helloween’s 40th Anniversary With The Mammoth Career Spanning Anthology March of Time (The Best of 40 Years)
Helloween celebrate their 40th anniversary with a brand new, deluxe, career spanning anthology titled March of Time (The Best of 40 Years) out March 28th via BMG.
Not many bands can lay claim to creating an entire genre, much less a movement that has continued to flourish for over four decades, but German heroes Helloween did exactly that. Combining the speed of thrash, the twin-guitar approach of NWOBHM, and the hymnal melodies of European folk music, Helloween paved their own path, creating a genre that would resonate for decades afterward: the mighty, dragon-slaying style known as power metal and every band that has raised a sword to honour and glory owes their life to this band, who are now celebrating 40 years of existence and still thriving.
Formed by Kai Hansen, Michael Weikath, Markus Grosskopf and Ingo Schwichtenberg, Helloween burst onto the scene in 1985 with their self-titled EP and quickly found fame as the leading lights of the German metal movement. Stepping down from the mic, guitarist Kai Hansen brought in 18-year-old Michael Kiske to front the band, and it wasn’t long before they’d created what would become their first true classic, Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I. It was 1988’s second installment, Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II, that made them a name on both sides of the Atlantic though and got them support slots with Iron Maiden, Ozzy and the Scorpions.
It wasn’t all rosy though and troubles lay ahead. In 1989 Kai Hansen left the band to form Gamma Ray, and Helloween tried commercial rock for size with ‘Pink Bubbles Go Ape’. After 1993’s divisive ‘Chameleon’, they parted ways with drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg, who would sadly pass away two years later. Michael Kiske left the fold soon after. Helloween had come to a crossroads and needed to settle, and choose a directrion. They did.
1994 came with newly recruited Pink Cream 69 vocalist Andi Deris in the band and the release of what would become another classic, Master Of The Rings, signalling a return to form and the beginning of a new golden age. An age that brought forth 1996’s ‘The Time Of The Oath’, 1998’s ‘Better Than Raw’, and 2000’s brooding ‘The Dark Ride. Albums that inspired a whole new generation to form bands, resulting in the glorious second wave of European power metal.
The band finally truly settled in terms of line up in the early 2000s when guitarist Sascha Gerstner (2002) and drummer Dani Löble (2005) arrived to replace the departing band members Roland Grapow and Uli Kusch. The final changes in the band, creating the cohesive unit that still remains today. In 2016, Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske returned to the band increasing their numbers to 7 as they celebrated their entire history with the now famed Pumpkins United Tour. 69 Shows in 32 countries on three continents, selling out arenas and headlining the biggest festivals such as at Wacken, Rock Fest Barcelona or co-headlining Rock in Rio, their performances attracted more than one million fans and underpinned the status of Helloween. It was nothing short of a triumph for the band, and for fans alike.
Inspired by the tour and it’s success, Helloween went back into the studio again, this time to create their monumental self-titled 16th studio album. It was an album that reached several No. 1 and top 10 positions all over the world. With over 10 million albums sold, Helloween are one of Europe’s most valuable exports, and they show no signs of slowing down. Here in their 40th year of existence, March of Time arrives to celebrate Helloween, all they have achieved and the huge impact they have had on heavy metal over the last 4 decades.
Such a momentous occasion deserves to be marked in equally momentous fashion and that’s where March of Time (The Best of 40 Years) comes in. Proudly presented by BMG, this mammoth release delivers a thrilling ride through the entirety of Helloween’s history with 42 handpicked tracks from their earliest days, all the way through to today. The 42 tracks are curated by the band and remastered by Sascha “Busy” Bühren, mastering engineer of the band´s self-titled No 1 album Helloween from 2021 and will be available on digital formats, in a triple CD digisleeve with booklet and the stunning deluxe limited edition 5 red vinyl box set which also includes an art print and puzzle.
Get your preorders in by following this link.
Check out the huge tracklist below:
1. Walls of Jericho/Ride the Sky – CD1/LP1A
2. Metal Invaders – CD1/LP1A
3. Victim of Fate – CD1/LP1A
4. How Many Tears – CD1/LP1A
5. Eagle Fly Free – CD1/LP1B
6. Halloween – CD1/LP1B
7. A Tale That Wasn’t Right – CD1/LP1B
8. Future World – CD1/LP2A
9. March of Time – CD1/LP2A
10. Dr. Stein – CD1/LP2A
11. Keeper of the Seven Keys – CD1/LP2B
12. I Want Out – CD2/LP2A
13. Kids of the Century – CD2/LP2B
14 . Number One – CD2/LP2B
15 . Windmill – CD2/LP3A
16. Sole Survivor – CD2/LP3A
17. Perfect Gentleman – CD2/LP3A
18. In the Middle of a Heartbeat – CD2/LP3A
19. Why? – CD2/LP3A
20. Forever and One (Neverland) – CD2/LP3B
21. Power – CD2/LP3B
22. Steel Tormentor – CD2/LP3B
23. Hey Lord! – CD2/LP3B
24. I Can – CD2/LP3B
25. If I Could Fly – CD2/LP4A
26. Mr. Torture – CD2/LP4A
27. Hell Was Made In Heaven – CD2/LP4A
28. Light The Universe – CD2/LP4A
29. The Invisible Man – CD3/LP4A
30. As Long As I Fall – CD3/LP4B
31. Kill It – CD3/LP4B
32. Where the Sinners go – CD3/LP4B
33. Are You Metal? – CD3/LP4B
34. Nabataea – CD3/LP4B
35. Straight out of Hell – CD3/LP5A
36. Waiting for The Thunder – CD3/LP5A
37. Heroes – CD3/LP5A
38. My God given Right – CD3/LP5A
39. Pumpkins United – CD3/LP5A
40. Best Time – CD3/LP5B
41. Fear of the Fallen – CD3/LP5B
42. Skyfall – CD3/LP5B
