Andi Deris

Andi Deris emerged in German hard rock as the founder and vocalist of Pink Cream 69, a band with which he recorded three albums between the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the following decade. His rough, melodic and less crystalline voice than the dominant power metal standard already indicated his own personality. In 1993, he left the group to take over Helloween in one of its most unstable periods, following the departure of Michael Kiske. The recovery began with Master of the Rings and gained momentum in The Time of the Oath and Better Than Raw. Deris did not try to reproduce Kiske's style: he brought greater aggression, humor and more direct writing, participating in classics such as “Sole Survivor”, “Power”, “Forever and One” and “If I Could Fly”. His arrival not only refreshed the repertoire, but helped prevent Helloween from becoming a respectable souvenir of the 1980s. Since 2017, he has shared vocals with Kiske in the expanded lineup of Helloween, also reunited with Kai Hansen. The coexistence between the different eras was consolidated in the albums Helloween and Giants & Monsters, without reducing Deris to the role of historical substitute. He became one of the main composers and institutional pillars of the band, responsible for leading it for more than three decades before making room for the past to return without expelling the present.