Helloween in Prague – not only an excellent concert, but also a celebration of the fourth decade

German power metal star from Hamburg, Helloween, is celebrating 40 years of existence and to celebrate this anniversary, they have prepared a European tour for their fans, the 40 YEARS ANNIVERSARY TOUR, which started on October 17th in Luxembourg and will culminate on November 22nd in Stuttgart, Germany. The tour consists of exactly 19 concerts and the fifth stop was the O2 Arena in Prague, which was literally bursting at the seams. The concert was completely sold out long before, with only a few seats left in the VIP zone, where ticket sales only started shortly before the concert began.

Fans had been gathering outside the arena since morning (the first ones arrived around 7am) and their numbers gradually increased, and by around 4pm the area in front of the O2 Arena had turned into a dense stream of metal enthusiasts, counting down the minutes and eagerly waiting for the arena doors to open. They finally opened at 5.30pm, and the corridor and staircase leading to the arena literally turned into a kind of improvised running track that morning. The crowds of metalheads, aiming to secure the best seats in front of the podium, set off with such verve that many an athlete would envy them.

At exactly 7 p.m., Beast in Black kicked things off in the arena.

In addition to the headliners, Beast in Black is also celebrating a significant anniversary on this tour, namely 10 years on stage. Shortly before the Prague concert, the band shocked fans with the news of the departure of their guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen, and the Prague concert became, after the previous concert in Paris, the second concert in a row that the band played with a four-piece line-up. Despite these recent upheavals, the band seemed well-coordinated and confident, and the atmosphere was relaxed. This was also reflected in the fans, who were not put off by the recent change and joined the band. During the hour-long performance of this Nordic foursome, they sang, jumped and enjoyed every minute. 

As soon as Beast in Black finished playing, the arena began to fill with anticipation and tension, which grew thicker and thicker with each passing minute and just before the hour H, it was possible to slice it. All 16,000 metalheads knew what was coming next. A living legend is coming soon!

By the time half past eight o'clock struck, the stage was already gripped by the captivating "pumpkin energy" in full force.

And the energy was truly magnificent. The half-hour break was ended by the first notes of the song March of time. The audience immediately came alive with enthusiasm, which was already omnipresent. Helloween prepared a perfectly balanced setlist for us, which was a cross-section of their entire career. Older gems were mixed with new ones, whether fast burners or slow ballads, big hits and rarely played (or perhaps not played at all) rarities that were known more to connoisseurs, there was also a drum solo. In short, everyone got their own way here.

The second song was The king for a 1000 years and it was followed by the classic scorcher Future world, which the entire arena sang along with the band. This was replaced by a new song, This is Tokyo, followed by We burn, accompanied by fire effects. Then two more very popular and well-known older songs Twilight of the Gods and Ride the sky, followed by another new song, this time a slow ballad Into the sun, which suddenly brought a peaceful and quite emotional moment to the whole show and the entire arena immersed itself in a slower atmosphere. Everything fit together beautifully, the songs followed one after the other smoothly. The entire performance was symbolically accompanied and spoken to the audience from the screen by a mysterious figure, also known from the graphics of the current tour.

The song Hey Lord! followed, and then the new song Universe (Gravity for hearts), then the popular song Hell was made in heaven, and after a short but effective performance by drummer Dani Löble, perhaps the band's biggest hit followed, without which it simply would not have been possible. The iconic I want out, and the audience once again turned into a singing, sixteen thousand-voiced choir. An acoustic passage followed, which gave the concert a special, slightly different, almost intimate atmosphere. The peaceful duets In the middle of a heartbeat and A tale that wasn't right, performed by singers Andi Deris and Michael Kiske, were undoubtedly among the strongest moments of the evening. After the following newer song A little is a little too much, Kai Hansen's challenge came, asking the fans "What is the law?" and the arena just resounded with the mighty shouts of the fans "Heavy metal!". After the next song, Halloween, the basic setlist ended.

Then followed 4 more encores in the form of the very popular songs Eagle fly free, Power, Dr. Stein and the whole concert was perfectly rounded off by the mystical Keeper of the seven keys, which put a perfect end to the entire successful evening. You couldn't have wished for a better ending.

A minor twist and tension among the fans occurred when guitarist Markus Großkopf tripped over a speaker during one of the songs and fell with his guitar, but he immediately got back to his feet and the concert continued without interruption.

Helloween proved to their fans that even after 40 years they have not lost their energy, strength or charisma. Even after 40 years, they still play perfectly. The concert was attended by both die-hard fans who grew up with Helloween and have already attended a fair number of concerts, and by fans who experienced the band live for the first time. However, everyone left with the impression that they had not only enjoyed a great concert, but that they had also been part of something exceptional. Helloween themselves described the sold-out O2 Arena on social media as a golden "achievement" and the biggest show of the entire European tour. At the same time, they thanked all 16,000 fans for an unforgettable night in Prague.