Album
Walls of Jericho
Walls of Jericho is the debut studio album from German band Helloween, released on 18 November 1985 through Noise International. It sits in the heavy metal and speed metal camp, and it arrived on LP before the band went on to shape the sound of power metal.
It is the only Helloween album of that era with Kai Hansen on lead vocals. He stayed on as a guitarist for the next two records, and did not take the microphone again on a Helloween album until the self-titled release of 2021. When the album reached CD in 1988, the extra space allowed the Helloween mini-LP and the song "Judas" from the Judas EP to be added, so that edition works as a compilation. It is a good place to hear the band at its earliest and rawest.
Walls of Jericho: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 40:57Tracklist
- 1Walls of JerichoMichael Weikath0:49
- 2Ride the SkyKai Hansen5:58
- 3ReptileMichael Weikath3:45
- 4GuardiansMichael Weikath4:20
- 5Phantoms of DeathKai Hansen6:37
- 6Metal InvadersKai Hansen and Michael Weikath4:11
- 7GorgarKai Hansen and Michael Weikath3:56
- 8Heavy Metal (Is the Law)Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath4:03
- 9How Many TearsMichael Weikath7:18
- Produced by
- Harris Johns
- Recorded at
- Music Lab Berlin, Musiclab Studio (Berlin, West Germany)
- Recorded
- September–October 1985
- Mixed by
- Harris Johns
- Engineered by
- Harris Johns
- Artwork
- Edda & Uwe Karczewski
- Photography
- Peter Kirchner, Limb Schnoor
- Labels
- Noise International, Noise
- Length
- 40:57
Line-up
- James Hardway · sampler
- Markus Grosskopf · electric bass guitar, bass guitar
- Kai Hansen · electric guitar, vocals, lead vocals
- Ingo Schwichtenberg · drums (drum set)
- Michael Weikath · electric guitar, guitar
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| Croatian International Albums (HDU) · 2025 | 28 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1989 | 40 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
59.6
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
50k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
758
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 18 November
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More from Helloween
Full discography →
Death Metal
1984
Helloween
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
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1993
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 only
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | October 1985 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 18 November 1985 | |
| Wikidata | 1985 |
9 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1985 | DE | Noise International | original | |
| 1986 | — | Noise International | 031624484723 | other |
| 1986 | US | Combat | 088561809324 | other |
| 1986 | US | Combat | other | |
| 1986 | US | Combat | 088561809324 | other |
| 1988 | FR | Noise International | other | |
| 21 August 1996 | JP | Victor | other | |
| 8 August 2013 | XW | Noise Records | 5414939506079 | other |
| 26 July 2024 | XW | Sanctuary Records | 4099964053807 | 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 |