Album · 30 years old this year
The Time of the Oath
The Time of the Oath is Helloween's seventh studio album, released on 29 February 1996 through Raw Power. It is a power metal record from the German band, and it arrived after Master of the Rings in 1994.
Within the band's story, it sits in the middle of the 1990s, following the experimental detours of Pink Bubbles Go Ape and Chameleon, and just ahead of Better Than Raw in 1998. If you want to trace how Helloween's catalogue unfolds between the Keeper of the Seven Keys years and their later reinventions, this is the stop that links those chapters.
The Time of the Oath: credits and charts
61:29 (w/o bonus tracks), 91:45 (w/ bonus tracks)- Produced by
- Tommy Hansen, Helloween
- Recorded
- 1995 at Chateau du Pape, Hamburg, Germany
- Labels
- Raw Power, Victor Entertainment, Castle Communications
- Length
- 61:29 (w/o bonus tracks), 91:45 (w/ bonus tracks)
Singles
- “Power” · 16 January 1996
- “The Time of the Oath” · 2 May 1996
- “Forever and One (Neverland)” · 4 September 1996
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1996 | 6 |
| Finnish Albums · 1996 | 14 |
| Swedish Albums · 1996 | 26 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 1996 | 28 |
| Swiss Albums · 1996 | 30 |
| German Albums · 1996 | 31 |
| Austrian Albums · 1996 | 33 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Japan · 1996 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
56.9
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.5k
ListenBrainz listeners
34k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
694
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 29 February
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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
Chameleon
1993
Mr Ego (Take Me Down) EP
1994
Master of the Rings
1994
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
The best of 1996
All of 1996 →
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Korn · 1996
More on Raw Power
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 29 February 1996 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 29 February 1996 | |
| Wikidata | March 1996 | |
| Wikipedia (other date) | 5 March 1996 | |
| Wikipedia (other date) | 11 March 1996 (GB) | |
| US release | 5 March 1996 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 11 March 1996 | earliest UK or European date |
10 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 February 1996 | GB | Raw Power | 5026389410921 | original |
| 1 March 1996 | JP | Victor | 4988002330416 | other |
| 5 March 1996 | US | Castle Records | 600234011522 | other |
| 2001 | US | Metal-is Records | 060768522220 | other |
| 2006 | MX | Scarecrow Records | 5050749413147 | other |
| 2006 | GB | Castle Music | 5050749413147 | deluxe |
| 2006 | US | Sanctuary Records | other | |
| 3 April 2006 | XE | Castle Music | 5050749413147 | other |
| 24 September 2008 | JP | Victor | 4988002556151 | other |
| 27 September 2024 | — | Sanctuary Records | 4099964054217 | remaster |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 4000x4000, downscaled to 3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 4000×4000 | native: native 4000x4000, downscaled to 3000 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |