“Just hope nobody dies,” Michael Kiske, Helloween singer, mutters with a nervous laugh. It’s a casual sentence, maybe even a joke on the surface. But the pause afterward betrays the weight beneath it. The weight that creeps in when your band is celebrating four decades while the generation of musicians you grew up with slowly vanishes.
“I gotta get used to the music scene that I grew up with is vanishing,” he says. “You know, Michael Jackson, Prince… they’re all gone. It’s gonna get worse in the next 10 years. Nothing’s gonna be there anymore that I grew up with. I don’t even know if we are.”
There’s no drama in his voice, just quiet awareness. “At the moment it looks nice. And it all looks good, but who knows if we are gonna do this for ten more years. Can be over in five, who knows?”
Then comes a chuckle, and a bit of steel. “We have one guy who’s been living on the edge his entire life, where I worry sometimes,” he says, with fondness and honesty. “But somehow, he’s really tough. I don’t know how he can take it. But so far, he can.”
Michael Kiske on Upcoming Helloween Album, “Giants and Monsters”
That tightrope between survival and collapse, that sense of pushing forward even as shadows gather, feels etched into every note of Helloween’s new album, “Giants and Monsters.” What emerged wasn’t a concept album, at least not by design. But as the songs came together, a thread revealed itself: the idea that each of us carries a giant inside, a potential for greatness, while monsters – fear, distraction, doubt, the sheer chaos of modern life – circle and try to keep the giant buried.
“It was not something that we made a choice about,” Kiske reflects. “Just people writing their songs, writing their lyrics, and it ended up to be like that. It shows where the band is at, that we’re kind of in the same mood, in the same kind of mode, which is good. But I think… We’re children of our time. Like everybody is. And you are influenced by the insanity that goes down.”
But if the lyrics turn deep into the soul, the music still soars skyward.
Despite its introspective undercurrent, “Giants and Monsters” delivers plenty of that unmistakable happy happy Helloween energy; an upbeat, melodic blaze that the band helped pioneer with “Keeper of the Seven Keys” in the late ’80s. Tracks like “Universe (Gravity for Hearts)” and “Savior of the World” burst with that signature double-bass propulsion, harmonized guitars slicing through cosmic imagery like it’s 1988 all over again.
Then there’s the swagger. The Andi Deris-penned “A Little is a Little Too Much” and “Hand of God,” written by guitarist Sascha Gerstner, flirt with that groovy, ‘90s hard rock strut, the same vibe Michael Weikath once cheekily described as their Alice Cooper phase. It’s a texture Helloween doesn’t always explore, but when they do, you know it’s going to be the single.
As for Kiske himself, his favorites are a little less expected. “My personal favorite is definitely ‘Into the Sun.’ I think that’s really powerful,” he says. “‘Under the Moonlight,’ for instance, turned out to be much cooler than we all thought in the beginning. It kinda developed in this vibe.” There’s a warmth in his tone, half pride, half surprise, that suggests these songs grew in the studio the way real things often do: organically, unpredictably, and with just the right amount of magic.
How Giants And Monsters Shows The Pumpkins Truly United
That creative evolution marks a noticeable shift from the band’s last studio effort, the self-titled “Helloween” album in 2021, which introduced the expanded lineup but was, in Kiske’s words, more guarded. “When we did the first record,” he says, “of course people are more isolated, more protective, every individual, there’s more insecurity.”
It was understandable. After decades apart and a storied history filled with both triumph and tension, the reunion came with emotional baggage and creative hesitations. “You are more protecting your songs and stuff like that,” Kiske admits. “But this is over. We belong, we passed that phase.”
Now, with “Giants and Monsters,” the band isn’t just coexisting; they’re collaborating. “It is just more organic now,” he explains. “They’re more throwing bits to each other and throwing ideas around.” You can hear it too; in the flow of the record, the interplay of styles, the way the songs feel less like compromises and more like conversations.
Celebrating 40 Years of Helloween on the Road
Of course, an album like “Giants and Monsters” isn’t meant to stay confined to speakers. It’s heading to the stage, and Helloween are bringing it to life, while at the same time celebrating the monumental 40 years of the band.
In a rare move, the band reached out directly to fans ahead of the tour to shape the setlist. “We were asking the fans if there are any particular songs that they would like to hear live,” Kiske shares. “Surprisingly, most of the songs that they wanted to hear we play live anyway. I guess we were not so wrong with the choices we did before.”
Still, the fans’ input didn’t go unnoticed. “There were a bunch of songs that we had either never played or haven’t played for ages, so there are gonna be some of those in there.” And it’s not just the setlist getting a refresh. “Of course there will be a whole new stage set,” Kiske says. “I’ve only seen it on the computer, like a 3D design. And that looked great. It was different from what we had before.”
When asked about the layout of the new stage and how it compares to Iron Maiden’s recent shift to a heavily digital, screen-based show, his response is instant: “It’s too much for me,” he says. “The problem I have with this, it’s still supposed to be a rock band. You know what I mean? A rock band.”
Kiske isn’t dismissive, just wary of spectacle swallowing substance. “I understand they want to be modern and exciting,” he concedes. “But they don’t need all that. It’s almost like what Michael Jackson did in the ’90s. Way too much. But that was Michael Jackson. The focus should always be on the band playing there,” he insists. “It’s nice to have things happening, but it shouldn’t be too much.”
So what comes after Giants and Monsters?
Kiske doesn’t hesitate. “Yeah, I think touring’s the only thing we’re going to do the next three years,” he says. The next album, it turns out, is already in the pipeline. “All the songs are done even for the next one. So we don’t even have to spend a lot of time there.”
It’s a rare luxury for a band four decades deep into their story: clarity, momentum, and a full creative tank. And maybe that’s the real triumph behind Helloween’s late-era resurgence. Not just that they’re still here, but that they’re not scrambling to stay afloat. They’re writing ahead, singing loud, touring hard, and perhaps most importantly, throwing ideas at each other like a band that still gives a damn.
“Giants and Monsters” is set to be released on August 29th via Reigning Phoenix Music, marking yet another chapter in Helloween’s ever-evolving legacy. The band will hit the road shortly after, kicking off their massive European tour alongside Beast in Black on October 17th. Giants, monsters, or otherwise, Helloween is coming for all of them.
You can watch the entire unabridged interview here!
