As noted on the Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II entry, this is the album I was more familiar with as it was released in my final year of college. I never did purchase the LP back then, and only acquired it on CD a decade later. For whatever reason, at the time, this kind of European power metal wasn't working for me, and I sold it. Even though I didn't own it, our local radio station in Lubbock had a pretty decent metal show on Sunday night (if I recall) and they played 'I'm Alive' and 'Halloween' quite a bit. Especially surprising given that the latter is 13+ minutes long. As noted before, Helloween aren't particularly heavy, and there's more than a passing resemblance to Iron Maiden at this stage. It's faster and more neo-classically influenced, but less varied. Many point to this album as the birth of the style that continues in full force to this very day throughout Europe. I enjoyed a +1 listen last night, likely a nostalgia bump from my last days in college, not that I treasured that experience much. Beyond my music collection, that is to say.
Ownership: LP: 1987 RCA/Noise (USA). Single sleeve with lyric inner bag and hype sticker on the cover. Purchased from my local seller friend who I'm now designating as JL and will retrofit his name going back to my first encounter with him in late April. I recently bought a whole lot more from him, and that's likely to continue for a couple of more years.
12//06; 10/11/22 (new entry)
Exactly my story with this one, Tom! Final year of college, never purchased the LP upon release (as I was into more extreme forms of metal & hardcore then), only got it on CD a decade later. Gets the occasional spinning once every three years or so...
ReplyDeleteHope you're doing well my friend.
Doing great! And same wishes for you. Very interesting that our 1987 experience was similar, half a world away! :-)
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