German power metallers Helloween were quite a big band already at this point, on their third album tour. This is their debut live album (a.k.a. 'I Want Out Live' in Japan and USA), and it was recorded in Scotland and England in November 1988.

But the length of it?!?! Seven songs... That's about half of their club set during that time! Well, their shorter festival set was rather similar, but this was recorded at clubs. The show opener 'Eagle Fly Free' (and the intro 'Invitation') are missing, and this picks up on the second song proper. Missing are many gems, such as 'A Tale That Wasn't Right', 'Halloween' and 'Keeper of the Seven Keys', and even their obscure single B-side 'Livin' Ain't no Crime', which was on their setlist for some peculiar reason. We also get two last songs of the set. What can be a reason for this? I mean if this was a double vinyl/CD set, and its original price would have been around the same as this single CD release (which I recall was sold for a price of a full-length album anyway), why cut it so radically? Maybe the recordings went wrong or something, it's impossible to say. One thing is sure: This rocks!

Even though it omits the power blast of 'Eagle Fly Free', 'A Little Time' sounds more powerful than on the album. Spacious (some reverb) live environment makes it all sound kind of fresh. Actually everything is louder here, except for some lead guitar bits and backing vocals, which sound like a few young and shy boys. Close your eyes and it's easy to imagine you actually went back in time to 1988. If you can smell and feel the sweat, then there's no-one else to blame, huh?! Audience isn't loud at all during the songs, and now we hear the band more, which is okay by me. There's some speeches/musician antics between the songs, maybe a tad too long at times.

Six out of seven songs come from the two 'Keeper of the Seven Keys' album (released in 1987 and 1988), while the last is from the band's 1985 speed metal debut 'Walls of Jericho'. So, it's not a selection of very fast tracks, but more melodic ones. I love both 'Keeper' platters, and they were the first Helloween releases I ever heard, so I have no problem with the track listing. Except for "why not the whole show" trait. One thing: Mr. Hansen had some tight backing vocals on 'How Many Tears', but not even one verse alone, which I find a bit weird, as he did the vocals on the original recording. Generally speaking about live versions, some parts sound better here than on those three albums, and some sound worse. Then there certainly is some extra to be expected in some of the songs, right? Yeah, and it happens on 'Future World', which has some extended rock 'n' rolling in it and already that crowd-singing bits.

Thinking about mistakes and possibility about fixing them afterwards in studio, the vocals by Michael Kiske are absolutely FANTASTIC! Probably not note-perfect, but the guy knows his trade. His skills are godly, plus he sounds unique with his high-pitched and clean yet not wheezy. Guitars by Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath are nicely raw here and there; screeching and shredding galore! Well, all solos surely ain't note-perfect, so I think there was no studio reworking happening with this live. Room for some stream of consciousness for whizs. The rhythm section with Markus Großkopf on bass (fucking wicked and fast stuff from him) and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg (he was both tight and loose, if you catch my drift) was top-notch. The band were in a bloody tight shape, in short. This live recording sounds great, even today; I'm listening to 1989 CD release.

This is Kai Hansen's last official recording in Helloween. Next year, the band is uniting for some tour dates with him and Mr. Kiske, and I bet they are recording something, hopefully in video format too. Anyway, no matter how long or short this album is, this is a must for pumpkinheads (that's Helloween fans for normal people) and those who enjoy live albums. And instruments sound more powerful here than on those albums, don't forget that! This is legendary metal live!!! And it is immortal.

Rating: 9 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
12/21/2016 20:04