Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part I by Helloween

Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part I, the second studio album from Hamburg's Helloween, stormed out of Noise Records in 1987, and it's the record credited with inventing European-style power metal. Tommy Newton produced it, and it introduced a new singer, Michael Kiske, whose soaring voice lifted the band into the stratosphere while Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath traded guitar lines, Markus Grosskopf held down the bass and Ingo Schwichtenberg drove the drums at full gallop.

It's metal at full sprint with a sense of wonder: twin guitars racing through melodic runs, choruses built for arenas full of raised fists, and a cheerful, larger-than-life spirit. "I'm Alive" is the track that took hold on the countdowns.

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