Helloween with special guests Beast in Black
Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Unipol Forum, Milan, Italy
“40 years gone in the blink of an eye”
This particular concert ended up being a solo ride. All the usual suspects were tied up with something more important, but there was no way I was going to miss a show by the power metal heroes of my youth, especially when it landed in the relatively nearby city of Milan as part of the 40 Years Anniversary tour. Forty years. Wow! Mostly sold-out shows at the biggest venues of Helloween‘s career and enthusiastic fan reactions everywhere had set the stage for a proper spectacle.
The journey passed in listening to some of the more obscure corners of the Helloween discography and getting acquainted with the Beast in Black setlist. Checking into the hotel went smoothly, unlike ordering a taxi through possibly the most useless app on the planet — not going to give it any free publicity here.
I arrived outside the Unipol Forum about half an hour before the show, and it was genuinely great to see long lines of metal creatures snaking through various entrances into the arena. After quickly picking up a tour shirt and refreshing myself with a beer at a very refreshing price (for their wallet, not mine), I headed over to check out the Finnish-international disco metallers Beast in Black, who are serving as very special guests on the tour. The band was founded in 2015 by Finnish guitarist Anton Kabanen after he was kicked out of Battle Beast — following his old band’s template, he still writes all the material himself. Beast in Black‘s music is no stranger to me; their debut single Blind and Frozen is a genuine masterpiece of Eurovision metal. They’ve put out three albums so far, and the setlist was a mix of tracks from all three plus two singles from the upcoming record, titled Power of the Beast and Enter the Behelit. The arena was nearly half full during their set, which goes to show the guys have already built up a pretty solid fanbase.
Guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen had left the band mid-tour, with Daniel Freyberg stepping in — he had been the late Alexi Laiho‘s guitar partner in Children of Bodom and later in Bodom After Midnight. Apparently Daniel learned the entire set in a mere four days, which says something about the complexity of Beast in Black‘s material. What immediately hit you in the ears were the pre-recorded keyboards and backing vocals. That kind of thing genuinely pi**es me off. Yannis Papadopoulos is an insane vocalist, but in every chorus I could hear fifteen Yannises at once. The keys, samples, and beats covered 75% of the sonic picture — a “concert” like that is honestly pointless. The crowd was having a blast, the band too, but it’s just not the same. Oh well.
A short beer break, and then Robbie‘s Let Me Entertain You announced the stars of the evening — the veteran metal juggernauts. The arena filled up almost completely; I’d say there were around 12,000 of us. A solid number for Helloween — I think this tour has bumped them up a size class or two.
It kicked off in mega fashion with the slightly forgotten Hans track March of Time from the second Keeper. Surprisingly, Kiske and Deris joined forces on vocals — on previous tours they’d usually sung their respective eras’ songs solo, only teaming up for the odd ballad or a longer epic. The impact was massive, and the crowd immediately cranked the energy and engagement up to full. After the song ended, the animated Keeper of the Seven Keys made his first appearance, serving as the narrator throughout the show and highlighting key moments in the band’s career. The duets continued through the next three songs and at various points during the evening. The setlist was nicely balanced; the only slight dip in excitement came during the four compositions from the latest album Giants and Monsters (review here). But with 22 songs played in total, those four actually came in handy as a breather.
Personal highlights: both tracks featuring Hans on vocals, especially Heavy Metal (Is the Law), which caused an absolute frenzy. The acoustic trio (Pink Bubbles Go Ape, In the Middle of a Heartbeat, A Tale That Wasn’t Right) with Deris and Kiske while the rest of the band went for a smoke break. Hell Was Made In Heaven (wouldn’t want Grosskopf to spontaneously combust, so they did have to squeeze one of his songs in). The insane performance of March of Time. Kiske‘s one-two punch of Twilight of the Gods and Eagle Fly Free.
All three vocalists are in outstanding shape, and it clearly helps that none of them has to carry the whole show alone. They’ve clearly worked out all the vocal interplay meticulously, and you can see the entire band genuinely enjoying themselves up there. No backing tracks, no vocal effects — just the raw, live energy of a band that’s been through everything and then some. Both Kiske and Deris bend the rules slightly on the most demanding vocal passages, but there’s no hiding it — they do it with confidence and a smile. Full credit to the rhythm section: Grosskopf and Loeble are a beast of a duo keeping this monster of a band on its feet. As for the guitar wizardry of Weikath and Hansen, there’s really nothing left to say — special mention goes to Sascha Gerstner, who after 23 years in the band is still “the new guitarist.” A master of his craft who nevertheless stays quietly in the shadow of the other legends around him. Which, given his two-metre frame and his desperately ugly fluorescent guitars, is probably no easy feat.
After a slightly tired and static show in Vienna just over three years ago, this was a very welcome comeback punch and a clear step up in form. Emotionally it didn’t quite top the reunion show in Bratislava in 2017, but the song selection proved that Helloween still have plenty of forgotten compositions tucked away in their bag, ready to be slotted into setlists in the years to come. The vocal combinations hinted at on this tour open up even more possibilities (Future World was sung by all three, and Universe (Gravity for Hearts) by Kiske and Hansen).
There will need to be another show at some point, because the one slightly worrying thing was the appearance of the band’s leader, Michael Weikath, who genuinely didn’t look in the best of health.
Inspiring, exhilarating, and otherworldly — the Pumpkins rule!
Text and photos: Igorac
