Album
Chameleon
Chameleon is the fifth studio album by the German power metal band Helloween, released on 31 May 1993 through EMI. It sits across hard rock, heavy metal and progressive rock, and it is the band's most musically adventurous record, stepping well outside the style they had built their name on.
It arrived after Pink Bubbles Go Ape and before Master of the Rings, and it marks several endings. It was the last album with singer Michael Kiske until the self-titled record of 2021, the last with original drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg, and the last for EMI. It was also their least commercially successful release. For anyone curious about how far Helloween were willing to stretch, it is the place to hear them do it.
Chameleon: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 1:11:24Tracklist
- Disc 1
- 1First TimeMichael Weikath5:30
- 2When the SinnerMichael Kiske6:54
- 3I Don’t Wanna Cry No MoreRoland Grapow5:11
- 4Crazy CatRoland Grapow3:29
- 5GiantsMichael Weikath6:40
- 6WindmillMichael Weikath5:06
- Disc 2
- 1Revolution NowMichael Weikath8:04
- 2In the NightMichael Kiske5:38
- 3MusicRoland Grapow7:00
- 4Step Out of HellRoland Grapow4:25
- 5I BelieveMichael Kiske9:12
- 6LongingMichael Kiske4:15
- Produced by
- Tommy Hansen, Helloween, Michael Tibes
- Recorded at
- Chateau Du Pape (Hamburg, Germany, mixed at Scream Studios, Los Angeles, United States)
- Recorded
- 1992
- Mixed by
- Michael Wagener
- Mixed at
- Scream Studios
- Label
- EMI
- Length
- 1:11:24
Line-up
- Roland Grapow · guitar
- Markus Grosskopf · bass guitar
- Ingo Schwichtenberg · drums (drum set)
- Michael Weikath · guitar
- Michael Kiske · lead vocals
Singles
- “When the Sinner” · 21 May 1993
- “I Don't Wanna Cry No More” · 22 September 1993
- “Windmill” · 16 December 1993
- “Step Out of Hell” · 16 December 1993
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1993 | 8 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1993 | 15 |
| Swiss Albums · 1993 | 30 |
| German Albums · 1993 | 35 |
| Swedish Albums · 1993 | 35 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
47.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
608
ListenBrainz listeners
30k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
210
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
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More from Helloween
Full discography →
Death Metal
1984
Helloween
1985
Walls of Jericho
1985
Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part I
1987
Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II
1988
Live in the U.K.
1989
Pink Bubbles Go Ape
1991
The Best, The Rest, The Rare
1991
Mr Ego (Take Me Down) EP
1994
Master of the Rings
1994
The Time of the Oath
1996
High Live
1996
Better Than Raw
1998
Karaoke Remix, Volume 2
1998
Karaoke Remix, Volume 1
1998
Metal Jukebox
1999
The Dark Ride
2000
Treasure Chest
2002
Rabbit Don’t Come Easy
2003
Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy
2005
Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy: World Tour 2005/2006
2007
Gambling With the Devil
2007
Unarmed: Best of 25th Anniversary
2009
7 Sinners
2010
Burning Sun
2012
Straight Out of Hell
2013
My God‐Given Right
2015
Halloween - Live
2019
United Alive
2019
Helloween
2021
Giants & Monsters
2025
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1993-06-02 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 2 June 1993 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 31 May 1993 | |
| Wikidata | 31 May 1993 | |
| UK / Europe release | 1993 | earliest UK or European date |
11 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | GB | EMI | 077778936817 | other |
| 1993 | GB | Essential! Records | 5017615841220 | other |
| 1993 | KR | Seoul Records, Inc. | 8804775007590 | other |
| May 1993 | GB | EMI | 077778936824 | original |
| 2 June 1993 | JP | Victor | 4988002274987 | other |
| 8 September 1999 | JP | Victor | 4988002390670 | other |
| 3 April 2006 | XE | Castle Music | 5050749413123 | deluxe |
| 25 April 2006 | US | Sanctuary Records | 060768642324 | other |
| 21 February 2007 | JP | Victor | other | |
| 2016 | XE | BMG | 4050538214727 | other |
| 30 August 2024 | — | Sanctuary Records | 4099964054071 | remaster |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |