Helloween

Germany's soon to be most influential band, Helloween, made its recording debut with this eponymous release, which in typical Noise Records fashion was an EP/mini-LP hybrid. At its inception, the Kai Hansen-led quartet was little more than a raw, Teutonic version of Iron Maiden on speed. But though they mostly relied on sheer youthful energy to overcome their technical limitations, anyone paying attention could have seen the band's immense potential even then. On to the music: With its goofy intro (chipmunk voices intoning "happy, happy Helloween"), opener "Starlight" served as both a blatant tribute to Accept and as a rough blueprint for the band's future direction. Full-throttle moshers ("Murderer," "Warrior") and more ambitious metal anthems ("Ride the Sky," "Cry for Freedom") round out the disc and, while these might seem quite primitive by today's production and performance standards, they were way ahead of their time in 1985 -- especially coming from four young punks from Hamburg. (The Helloween mini-LP was later combined with the Walls of Jericho album for CD reissue.) ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide