Metal Mania Community

Anytime I hear "Follow The Sign" which is the last track of Keeper 1 I can't help but want to go and immediately listen to part II. The general consensus is that Keeper 1 has a better sound and production while Keeper 2 has the better songs. To be honest I love both albums equally. The band shows it’s maturity in it’s songwriting and many songs on this album would become a staple in their live set for years to come. Eagle Fly Free, Dr. Stein, I Want Out, and the title track Keeper of The Seven Keys are considered power metal classics. Cult tracks like March of Time show just how epic this album really is, and Rise n Fall shows off the band’s humor. Lots of crazy things went on during this time period. The band played the Donnington Monsters of Rock festival along with Iron Maiden, Kiss, and many other legendary bands, and Tommy Hansen was fired during the production which left Tommy Newton to finish. Also of note is the fact that Dr. Stein, which was originally supposed to be a b-side was added to the album, the song would become one of Helloween’s trademark tracks for the album. The b-side “Livin’ Ain’t No Crime” was actually supposed to be on the album instead. Keeper of The Seven Keys Part II is one of metal’s masterpieces and it’s universally agreed upon that this album is of legendary status and stands on it’s own. This would be the last album to feature Kai Hansen though, as he would leave in December of 1988 and Roland Grapow would join the band to do the Headbanger’s Ball tour in the states with Anthrax and Exodus.