Helloween will return to the US and Canada this spring as part of their ongoing United Forces world tour alongside supporting special guests, HammerFall. In a new interview with Robert Cavuoto, guitarist Sascha Gerstner talks about the upcoming tour, the work and level of preparedness that goes into a world tour, what fans can expect in terms of visual enhancements at the shows, three songs he picked to define the Helloween live experience, and how technological advancements in sound have helped the band travel a little lighter. An excerpt from the chat follows...
Robert Cavuoto: So many bands use the three-guitar approach, Accept, Iron Maiden, and Alice Cooper. What’s Helloween's approach to it?
Sascha Gerstner: "I think Maiden and Helloween have a lot of similarities because we both have had long, stable lineups. When Yannick Gers joined Maiden, it became a stable lineup. When Adrian Smith returned to the band, they wouldn’t fire Yannick because he was part of a stable lineup. That was the same idea for us. Before Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen returned, the five of us were a successful and stable lineup. We are family, so it made sense to stick together. We see Kai and Michael as great additions and welcome them back into the band. Other artists figured out three guitarists makes more sense. We have twin guitar melodies, and every time the two guitar players join in, we now have a rhythm guitar behind us. There is more energy in those parts live, just like on the albums. So it was for both the personal and musical side of things."
Robert Cavuoto: Sometimes, when several guitarists get on stage, it can be a wall of distortion and noise. What does Helloween do to make the guitars sound poignant and clear?
Sascha Gerstner: "It comes down to the style; each of us has our own sound and style of playing. Kai, Michael Weikath and I have the same roots in guitar players and influences. We have our own sound and sound different on stage. For instance, Weiki is more of a vintage guy. He grew up with the 60s and 70s music. He doesn’t play with much distortion and uses old Marshall Plexi sounds with only a little overdrive. Kai has a very tight and aggressive-sounding distortion. I’m somewhere in the middle. So these three sounds are a great combination. That’s why it sounds so well live as we are layering the harmonies. We took the time and figured that all out."
Read the full interview here.
Helloween's North American trek will commence on May 13 in Dallas, Texas and wind its way through a total of thirteen cities, the journey drawing to a close on June 3 in San Francisco, California.
Fans can expect an epic night of Helloween hits spanning the band’s legacy as well as tunes from their latest album, Helloween, marking the first time tracks from the album will be performed live for US and Canadian audiences.
Tickets are on sale now. Secure yours today, here. See all confirmed dates below.
Dates:
May
13 - Dallas, TX - The Factory
16 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live
18 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore
20 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
21 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
23 - Toronto, ON - History
24 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Hall
26 - Chicago, IL - The Riviera
27 - Minneapolis, MN - The Fillmore
30 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
June
1 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl
2 - Los Angeles, CA - YouTube Theater
3 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
(Photo - Martin Häusler)
