Walls of Jericho (album)

Walls of Jericho
Walls of Jericho
Studio album by Helloween
Released	1985
Recorded	September–October 1985
Studio	Musiclab Studio (Berlin, West Germany)
Genre	Speed metal ; power metal ;
Length	40:54
Label	Noise
Producer	Harris Johns, Helloween
Helloween chronology

Last updated February 12, 2024

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	8/10^[3]
Sputnikmusic	^[4]

Walls of Jericho is the debut studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1985 on LP by Noise Records.^[5] It is the only album featuring Kai Hansen as lead vocalist until 2021's Helloween , although he would continue to act as guitarist on the two following albums.

In 1988, Walls of Jericho was released on CD. Due to the enhanced capacity of the CD, the Helloween EP/mini-LP and the song "Judas" from the Judas EP were added to the Walls of Jericho track listing; they are now released as a compilation. In the late 1980s, due to a manufacturing error, side one of several cassette copies of Walls of Jericho accidentally contained the music of Celtic Frost's To Mega Therion , confusing many first-time Helloween listeners.^[6]

Track listings

Original Edition

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Walls of Jericho"	Michael Weikath, Kai Hansen	0:53
2.	"Ride the Sky"	Hansen	5:54
3.	"Reptile"	Weikath	3:45
4.	"Guardians"	Weikath	4:19
5.	"Phantoms of Death"	Hansen	6:33

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Metal Invaders"	Weikath, Hansen	4:10
7.	"Gorgar"	Hansen	3:57
8.	"Heavy Metal (Is the Law)"	Weikath, Hansen	4:08
9.	"How Many Tears"	Weikath	7:15
Total length:			40:54

1987 CD Edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Starlight"	Weikath, Hansen	5:17
2.	"Murderer"	Hansen	4:26
3.	"Warrior"	Hansen	4:00
4.	"Victim of Fate"	Hansen	6:37
5.	"Cry for Freedom"	Weikath, Hansen	6:02
6.	"Walls of Jericho / Ride the Sky"	Weikath, Hansen	6:45
7.	"Reptile"	Weikath	3:45
8.	"Guardians"	Weikath	4:19
9.	"Phantoms of Death"	Hansen	6:33
10.	"Metal Invaders"	Hansen	4:10
11.	"Gorgar"	Weikath, Hansen	3:57
12.	"Heavy Metal (Is the Law)"	Weikath, Hansen	4:00
13.	"How Many Tears"	Weikath	7:15
14.	"Judas"	Hansen	4:43
Total length:			71:37

1989 Japanese version bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"Don't Run for Cover"	Michael Kiske	4:47

2006 Remastered & Expanded Edition

Disc one is the same as above.

Disc two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Murderer" (remix)	Hansen	4:34
2.	"Ride the Sky" (remix)	Hansen	6:46
3.	"Intro / Ride the Sky" (live)	Hansen	7:17
4.	"Guardians" (live)	Weikath	4:26
5.	"Oernst of Life"	Weikath	4:46
6.	"Metal Invaders" (demo version)	Hansen	4:37
7.	"Surprise Track (White Christmas - I'll Be Your Santa Claus)"	Traditional	2:08
Total length:			34:34

Tracks 1 & 2 also appear on the album Treasure Chest
Tracks 3 & 4 also appear on the Judas EP
Tracks 5 & 6 also appear on the Death Metal compilation
Track 7 also appears on the Helloween EP

Notes

The second pressing of an unofficial 1991 cassette release by MG Records comes with a yellow top right corner, a pink stripe in the top right corner, a pink spine, and a pink/black label logo on the front cover. The third pressing in 1992 comes with a blue top right corner, a yellow stripe in the top right corner, a pink background on the front cover, and a black band logo on the front cover
An unofficial 1991 cassette release by Tact adds the song "Starlight"
An unofficial 1993 cassette release by Euro Star adds the song "Judas". The second pressing comes with a green background behind the tracklist, green border around the album art, the band name in green, and the album title in blue
The track list on the back cover of the 1993 CD release by Futurist lists "Walls of Jericho" and "Ride the Sky" as separate tracks instead of the actual CD where they are joint
An unofficial 1997 cassette release by Audio Max excludes "Heavy Metal (Is the Law)" and "Judas"
The track list on the back cover of the 1997 re-release by Noise Records is incorrect, which lists "Walls of Jericho" and "Ride the Sky" as joint songs
An unofficial 2001 CD release by Agat Company contains the 1987 album Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I
The 2002 release by Sauron Music has the lyrics in Korean

Personnel

Band members

Kai Hansen – vocals, guitar
Michael Weikath – guitar, cover concept
Markus Grosskopf – bass
Ingo Schwichtenberg – drums

Additional musicians

James Hardway – E-mu Emulator II

Production

Produced, engineered and mixed by Harris Johns
Edda and Uwe Karczewski – Cover design
Peter Vahlefeld – Layout, typography

Charts

Chart (1989)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[7]	40

Trivia

The titular entity in the song "Gorgar" is the first talking pinball machine ever produced.^[8]
The main theme of Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is used in the song "Gorgar."
The intro to "Starlight" is taken from a commercial in the movie Halloween III: Season of the Witch .
The song "Heavy Metal (Is the Law)" is not an official live recording. Rather, crowd noise was added.
The live versions of "Ride the Sky" and "Guardians" are not live recordings; they are the same songs as found on Walls of Jericho but with crowd noise mixed in. The actual live versions of the two songs appeared only on the original 12" vinyl edition of the "Judas" single.
Professional wrestler Chris Jericho took his ring name and the name of his submission maneuver from the title of this album.

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References

1 2 "Helloween - Walls of Jericho". Metal Reviews.com.
↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Helloween Walls of Jericho review". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved 2011-12-30.
↑ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
↑ Stagno, Mike (2006-10-31). "Helloween - Walls of Jericho". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
↑ "Helloween - Walls of Jericho". Encyclopaedia Metallum . Retrieved 2011-12-30.
↑ "Helloween - Walls of Jericho". Discogs.com . Retrieved 2021-02-19.
↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
↑ "The Internet Pinball Database Presents Gorgar". The Internet Pinball Database. Retrieved 2011-12-30.

External links

Helloween's official website

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[metalreviews-1] 1 2 "Helloween - Walls of Jericho". Metal Reviews.com.

[2] Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Helloween Walls of Jericho review". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved 2011-12-30.

[martin-3] Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.

[4] Stagno, Mike (2006-10-31). "Helloween - Walls of Jericho". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2013-08-20.

[5] "Helloween - Walls of Jericho". Encyclopaedia Metallum . Retrieved 2011-12-30.

[6] "Helloween - Walls of Jericho". Discogs.com . Retrieved 2021-02-19.

[JPN-7] Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.

[8] "The Internet Pinball Database Presents Gorgar". The Internet Pinball Database. Retrieved 2011-12-30.

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v t e Helloween
Michael Weikath Markus Grosskopf Kai Hansen Michael Kiske Andi Deris Sascha Gerstner Daniel Löble Ingo Schwichtenberg Roland Grapow Uli Kusch Mark Cross Stefan Schwarzmann
Studio albums	Walls of Jericho Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II Pink Bubbles Go Ape Chameleon Master of the Rings The Time of the Oath Better Than Raw The Dark Ride Rabbit Don't Come Easy Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy Gambling with the Devil 7 Sinners Straight Out of Hell My God-Given Right Helloween
Extended plays	Helloween Mr. Ego (Take Me Down) Burning Sun
Live albums	Live in the U.K. High Live Keeper of the Seven Keys – The Legacy World Tour 2005/2006 United Alive in Madrid
Compilations	The Best, The Rest, The Rare Karaoke Remix Vol.1 Karaoke Remix Vol.2 Metal Jukebox Treasure Chest Unarmed – Best of 25th Anniversary
Singles	"Future World" "Dr. Stein" "I Want Out" "Kids of the Century" "When the Sinner" "I Don't Wanna Cry No More" "Windmill" "Perfect Gentleman" "Sole Survivor" "Power" "The Time of the Oath" "Forever and One" "Lay All Your Love on Me" "If I Could Fly" "Mr. Torture" "Just a Little Sign" "Mrs. God" "Light the Universe" "As Long as I Fall" "Are You Metal?" "Nabataea"
Related articles	Discography Members Keeper of the Seven Keys