Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by member… Read Full Bio ↴Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weikath and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. By the time Hansen quit Helloween in 1989 to form Gamma Ray, the band had evolved into a five-piece, with Michael Kiske taking over as lead vocalist. Schwichtenberg and Kiske both parted ways with Helloween in 1993; Schwichtenberg died two years later as the result of suicide. Between then and 2016, there had been numerous line-up changes, leaving Grosskopf and Weikath as the only remaining original members. As a septet, their current lineup includes four-fifths of the Keeper of the Seven Keys: Parts I and II-era (1987–1988) lineup, featuring three additional members, vocalist Andi Deris (who had replaced Kiske in 1994), guitarist Sascha Gerstner and drummer Daniel Löble.

Since its inception, Helloween has released 16 studio albums, three live albums, three EPs and 30 singles, was honored with 14 gold and six platinum awards and has sold more than ten million records worldwide. Helloween has been referred to as the "fathers of power metal", as well as one of the so-called "big four" of the genre's early German scene, along with Grave Digger, Rage and Running Wild, and as one of power metal "big four" overall, along with Blind Guardian, Sabaton and DragonForce.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helloween

Studio albums
Walls of Jericho (1985)
Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I (1987)
Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II (1988)
Pink Bubbles Go Ape (1991)
Chameleon (1993)
Master of the Rings (1994)
The Time of the Oath (1996)
Better Than Raw (1998)
The Dark Ride (2000)
Rabbit Don't Come Easy (2003)
Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy (2005)
Gambling with the Devil (2007)
7 Sinners (2010)
Straight Out of Hell (2013)
My God-Given Right (2015)
Helloween (2021)

Fast as a Shark
Helloween Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Fog in the streets
A church clock beats
Midnight, darkness all around

You better beware
You better take care
Be prepared for the shock

The time has come
And he's the one
Who's breathing down your neck

Coming from behind
Now it's your time
A loser will die

Fast as a shark he'll cut out of the dark
He's a killer, he'll rip out your heart
On a one way track and you're not coming back
Because the killer is on the attack

Surprise attack
Coming from the back
An expert of the deadly knack

Just take care
Just beware
Be prepared for the fight

Fast as a shark he'll cut out of the dark
He's a killer, he'll rip out your heart
On a one way track and you're not coming back
Because the killer is on the attack

Watch out, watch out

Fast as a shark he'll cut out of the dark
He's a killer - he'll rip out your heart
On a one way track and you're not coming back
Because the killer is on the attack

Fast as a shark he'll cut out of the dark
He's a killer, he'll rip out your heart
On a one way track and you're not coming back
Because the killer's

Because the killer's
Because the killer's on the attack

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Helloween's "Fast as a Shark" describe a terrifying encounter with a killer on a one-way path. The song opens with an eerie atmosphere as the singer is surrounded by fog in the streets, adding to the suspense and unease. The church clock beats at midnight, indicating darkness all around. The lyrics depict the warning signs and reactiveness that are needed to survive a potential surprise attack. The chorus highlights the tone of the song, with a warning to watch out as the killer is coming fast and won't allow any chances for survival.

The second verse shows the killer's expertise in taking out his targets from an unexpected position, emphasizing the importance of being prepared for the fight. The chorus repeats the warning for the listeners to be cautious, with the haunting image of the killer ripping out hearts from their victims.

Overall, the song is representative of the speed metal genre, with the lyrics and music working in harmony to create an atmosphere of violence and danger, giving the audience a glimpse into the terrifying world of the "Fast as a Shark" killer.

Line by Line Meaning

Fog in the streets
The streets are covered in fog, which makes it hard to see.

A church clock beats
The sound of a church clock can be heard, indicating that it is midnight.

Midnight, darkness all around
It is dark outside because it is midnight.

You better beware
You should be cautious because there is danger present.

You better take care
You should be careful and cautious.

Be prepared for the shock
You should get ready for a surprising and shocking event.

The time has come
It is time for something to happen.

And he's the one
Someone specific is responsible for what is about to happen.

Who's breathing down your neck
This person is close behind you and you can feel their presence.

Coming from behind
This person is approaching from behind you.

Now it's your time
It is now your turn to face the danger.

A loser will die
The one who loses the battle will die.

Fast as a shark he'll cut out of the dark
The killer will move quickly and suddenly from the darkness.

He's a killer, he'll rip out your heart
The killer is violent and ruthless, and will cause harm.

On a one way track and you're not coming back
Once the killer has begun the attack, there is no turning back from the danger.

Because the killer is on the attack
The killer is actively engaging in violence against others.

Surprise attack
The attack will be sudden and unexpected.

An expert of the deadly knack
The killer is highly skilled in killing people.

Just take care
You need to be careful.

Just beware
You need to be aware of what is happening.

Be prepared for the fight
You should be ready to fight to protect yourself.

Watch out, watch out
Be especially vigilant and alert.

Because the killer's on the attack
The killer is actively engaging in violence against others.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

Gabriel Stern

4y↑3

This cover version was meant to honor helloweens early influences like accept and they used to cover this track along with breaker when helloween was called iron fist and Kai Hanson fronted the band and ingo was still alive and the drummer, and ingo to this day is still the best drummer helloween ever had and until recently Kai Hanson was the best vocalist and frontman helloween ever had.

ChacalDoMorro

4y↑2

I really like to accept, this song and especially this album the restless and wild ...... ... helloween was phenomenal and managed to give more shine, full body and added weight to the music ...

Aries Alle

4y↑2

even helloween corrected the dual guitar solo part. well done

bassim el houari el y

13y↑3

STRONG HEAVY METALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Greenblood638

12y↑4

only rockers are fast as a shark lml !!

shadeofgrey07

10y↑2

Mikky Dee on drums? didn't he record this record?

Gabriel Stern

Yes Stefan Schwartzman who worked with udo and Stefan Kaufman and later accept, and it was Stefan Kaufman who did drums on original accept version, another hint helloween used to cover this song and breaker when they were called iron fist with kai doing lead vocals, and notice how Stefan Kaufman drumming had an influence on ingo, as well, another tid bit, Stefan Swartzman, who played on this version new ingo and was friends with him before ingo died.

KeeperOf TheSevenKeys

10y↑2

No, i think it was Stefan Schwarzmann who played this song and "Far Away"

Euler Lifonso

12y↑6

Accept is a must beauty version...

Wesley Felipe

5y↑2

My favourite band

Νικος Κοκκινος

13y↑1

@basicsongs power metal plz :P

Topan Permata

11y↑1

very true IMHO

boustaich nuevecincouno

11y↑1

Is Power Metal ¬¬.

Eugenio García

12y

HEHEHE OF CURSE THE ORINAL THINGS ARE BETTER

luscaslayer

12y↑1

It's not a very "power metal" track, though.

Gabriel Stern

3y↑1

@Terminator 800 exactly this song influenced a lot of genres of metal and I am talking about the original version by accept which was a lot heavier, some people still don't get it, though, others in the comments think Roland and uli with andi were the best and when I point out uli could never play the drum parts to ride the sky properly, they get mad even though I am right, others think micheal kiske was the greatest, and andi sucks, me I preferred when kai fronted the band and loved his vocals with gamma ray along with Ralph sheepers vocals, and to this day kai is still my favorite vocalist, but here's the thing kai made andi on albums like better than raw up to rabbit don't come easy step up his vocals from listening to walls of Jericho, and at least Stefan swartzman was friends with ingo, and at least dani loble the current drummer is trying to be accurate like ingo was, but ingo was still the best drummer helloween ever had, with his speed and accuracy, uli had speed but his drumming live was sometimes not as tight as ingos was, just listen to the high live recording, ingo played songs faster live often especially in his later years, but kept it tight and just as accurate as his drums in the studio, and ingo had an awesome drum and snare tone once he got the engineers and mixers to actaully properly capture his drum tone. And ingo liked trash bands and bands like mercyful fate and king diamond as much as anyone else, and he became a huge fan of Neil pert of rush who helped him hone in his snare tone, and helped him along with les binks get into fusion jazz type drumming vs his early years and to help him hone his killer double bass technique thier was Stefan Kaufman and again les binks who drummed for judas priest in the 1970s and les is a jazz trained drummer who specializes in fusion jazz along with metal style drumming.

Terminator 800

@Gabriel Stern yup, thrash metal and power metal are closer than they seem

Gabriel Stern

4y↑1

Original track by accept set trademark for a lot of genres of metal including speed and trash metal kind of like helloween when Kai fronted the band and ingo like stefan Kaufman was a very tight versatile accurate drummer and lucky for you stefan Schwartzman who has worked with accept and udo including Stefan Kaufman played on this accept cover version.

Carlos Ramírez

7y↑1

Yeah it is the original power metal

azraeli1983

11y↑4

Despite I am a great fan of Helloween and Andi Deris, they are not the same after Uli and Roland left.... 2003 till now ..sucks really bad... their best albums in my opinion are 1993-4 Master of the rings, 1996 Power of the Oath, of course 1998 Better than Raw 1, to some extent 2000 The Dark Ride.. AFterwards..they just went down ... nothing melodic and interesting..just songs...

Josue Roque

Emmm no.

Gabriel Stern

No have to disagree, as great as uli was he could never play ride the sky correctly or even close to ingo, and uli still messed up ride the sky when he played with kai's band gamma ray, and to me the best line up Halloween ever had was when they were a 4 piece and Kai fronted the band, and no offense to Andi but until recent years Kai wiped the floor vocally with both Andi deris and Michael kiske cause he could sing so many different styles only Ralph sheepers of primal fear and ex gamma ray could match kai. And if you listen to gamma rays first album heading for tomorrow, that's how the vocals should have sounded on the keepers albums, as for roland he was good but Kai and Sasha are a better fit for Helloween, and Kai started the band along with peit seilk of iron savior not weiki, and don't tell me albums like walls of Jericho aren't good or the keepers albums don't kick ass, musically, even if I was not crazy about micheal kiske's vocals on those albums, and another thing it was Kai's vocal style that made Andi want to step up his vocals on albums like better than raw and the dark ride, and on tracks like this one. Or songs like within temptation which is a b side from the dark ride that Markus wrote and sounds like a track that could have been on walls of Jericho.

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