Walls of Jericho

by Helloween

Overview

Helloween followed up their very popular self-titled mini-LP with 1986's even more accomplished Walls of Jericho, a disc that saw the quartet from Hamburg, Germany, outperforming expectations and quickly defining their sonic identity. The instrumental title track soon gives way to amazingly mature and complex compositions like "Ride the Sky," "Phantoms of Death," and the awesome "How Many Tears" (even more ambitious 13-minute epics would soon follow). And although these were heavily reliant on Iron Maiden for inspiration, it was Helloween's speed metal innovations that clearly helped make the songs so special and influential for future bands. Even the album's lyrically challenged, somewhat one-dimensional moments ("Warrior," "Metal Invaders") usually succeed, thanks to the group's uncontainable energy. On the downside, the album continued to expose Kai Hansen's limitations as a singer, but the band would soon remedy this disadvantage by bringing on teenage phenom Michael Kiske as lead vocalist. [The CD reissue of Walls of Jericho offers a complete recap of Helloween's first incarnation by combining it with their eponymous mini-LP and the Judas EP in chronological order.] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

Product Details

Release Date:	07/26/2024
Label:	BMG Rights Management
UPC:	4099964053838

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Helloween   Primary Artist
James "Could Ya" Hardway   Emulator
Kai Hansen   Guitar,Vocals
Ingo Schwichtenberg   Drums
Michael Weikath   Guitar
Markus Grosskopf   Bass,Bass
James Hardway   Emulator

Technical Credits

Charly Bauerfeind   Remixing
Dirk Steffens   Remixing
Jan Nemec   Mixing,Engineer
Kai Hansen   Composer,Group Member
Ingo Schwichtenberg   Group Member
Michael Weikath   Composer,Group Member,Cover Art Concept
Harris Johns   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Helloween   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Remixing
Uwe Karczewski   Design,Cover Design
Edda Karczewski   Design,Cover Design
Peter Vahlefeld   Artwork,Typography,Typesetting,Layout Design
Markus Grosskopf   Group Member
Harris "I Don't Know" Johns   Mixing,Engineer
Traditional   Composer