In the meantime everyone is clued in: From October 4th, 2019 we can all revisit the PUMPKINS UNITED WORLD TOUR every night without even leaving the couch. What is served, is no less than the greatest hits from 30 years and a breakneck trip through the entire HELLOWEEN repertoire – a 14 month metal quake, featured on the cover of almost every metal magazine including the world’s biggest metal magazine, Japan, s BURRN!, which dedicated an unbelievable four cover stories to this tour. In other words: Clear the ring for the next round of PUMPKINS UNITED madness. The official video for “Pumpkins United”, the first single can be now enjoyed below.
During the “Hellbook” production to celebrate HELLOWEEN‘s 30th anniversary, the contributors came to realize that the chemistry in the band had always been unique — and that what belongs together needs to be together again. However, the birth of “Pumpkins United” wasn’t just an original lineup reunion, but the real deal. The ultimate cast consisting of all seven metal heroes: former vocalist Michael Kiske and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen alongside current singer Andi Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Dani Löble. What followed was a cry of joy from North Germany’s river Elbe to Rio’s Sugar Loaf Mountain and the “Pumpkins United” world tour, with 69 shows in front of more than one million people in 32 countries across three continents in fall 2017. The band’s headline slots at Wacken Open Air, Rock Fest and Masters Of Rock, as well as their shows with IRON MAIDEN at the Sweden Rock Festival and Firenze Rocks, the revival was received enthusiastically, stages were set on fire, and tears were shed. After dates in the U.S. and additional shows in Latin America, this tour for the ages ended in December 2018 with a highly emotional finale in Hamburg, where it all began in 1984.
“This amazing journey was one of those ‘magic moments’ words can’t describe — it simply was what we all love most: meet great people, go back in time with our memories, and celebrate the ultimate HELLOWEEN party together,” said Deris.
Said Kiske: “It wasn’t easy to condense this unbelievable tour adequately and capture how it felt for us. That’s why we had the idea to film the biggest festival gig, the most massive arena show, and the hottest club date.”
“United Alive” Album Artwork
The DVD/Blu-ray nails the tour with recordings from Wacken in front of 75,000 metal-heads and 14,000 fans in the Madrid arena — and as a bonus, the show in the Espaço das Américas, gathering 8,000 in São Paulo. Altogether it offers over three hours of live material in stereo and premium 5.1 Surround Sound, plus backstage material, tons of surprises, and a very personal band interview about the past, present, and future. The live CD/vinyl presents a whopping two hours and 20 minutes of pure audio material from the concert in Madrid plus four bonus tracks from the shows in Prague, São Paulo, Wacken, and Santiago de Chile.
The “Pumpkins United” tour marks the first time Kiske has played live with HELLOWEEN since 1993. Hansen, who departed HELLOWEEN in 1988, has been joining the band onstage on various tours and festival appearances throughout the years. The set features several duets with Kiske and his replacement, Deris, along with many rarely played songs, including “Kids Of The Century”, “Rise And Fall” and “Livin’ Ain’t No Crime”. Hansen — who fronted HELLOWEEN until late 1986 — sings a medley of several early HELLOWEEN classics, including “Ride The Sky”, “Judas”, “Starlight” and “Heavy Metal (Is The Law)”.
