# Giants & Monsters
**Giants & Monsters** is the seventeenth studio album by the German power metal band [Helloween](https://www.edgepedia.org/helloween), released on August 27, 2025 in Japan and August 29, 2025 internationally through Reigning Phoenix Music[1](https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/helloween/Linkall/giantsandmonsters.html) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/giants-monsters/1815300840). It is the band's second album with its seven-member "Pumpkins United" lineup, which reunited guitarists [Kai Hansen](https://www.edgepedia.org/kai-hansen) and Michael Kiske alongside longtime singer Andi Deris in 2017, following the self-titled *Helloween* of 2021[1](https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/helloween/Linkall/giantsandmonsters.html). The album also marks the band's 40th anniversary[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / album | Helloween, 17th studio album[1](https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/helloween/Linkall/giantsandmonsters.html) |
| Release | August 27, 2025 (Japan); August 29, 2025 (international), Reigning Phoenix Music[1](https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/helloween/Linkall/giantsandmonsters.html) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/giants-monsters/1815300840) |
| Lineup | Seven members with three vocalists: Michael Kiske, Andi Deris, and Kai Hansen[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/) |
| Length | 10 songs, 50 minutes[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/giants-monsters/1815300840) |
| Singles | "This Is Tokyo" (first), "Universe (Gravity For Hearts)" (second)[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/) |
| UK chart peaks | #4 Rock & Metal Albums, #16 Albums Sales, #20 Scottish Albums, #89 Official Albums Chart[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/helloween-giants-monsters/) |
| Reception | Critic score 81 on Album of the Year (5 reviews); #23 in the Metal Hammer reader poll of 2025 metal albums[5](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1283262-helloween-giants-monsters.php) • [6](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/metal-hammer-readers-poll-the-best-metal-albums-of-2025) |
## Background
Helloween's current lineup took shape in 2017, when Kai Hansen, a founding member and original singer-guitarist, and Michael Kiske, the singer of the *Keeper of the Seven Keys* era, rejoined the band alongside Andi Deris, who had fronted the group since the 1990s. The reunion was initially planned as a limited arrangement, but the positive fan response on a world tour and the band's own experience led them to continue as a seven-piece, producing the self-titled *Helloween* in 2021[1](https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/helloween/Linkall/giantsandmonsters.html). *Giants & Monsters* is the second album from this configuration[1](https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/helloween/Linkall/giantsandmonsters.html).
The full lineup features three vocalists, Kiske, Deris, and Hansen, who also complete a three-guitar front line with Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, with Markus Grosskopf on bass and Dani Löble on drums[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/). Four members contributed songwriting to the album; unlike its predecessor, bassist Grosskopf has no writing credit[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/).
## Recording and production
The album was produced by Charlie Bauerfeind and Dennis Ward[7](https://www.theslateonline.com/article/2025/10/helloween-giants-and-monsters-review). It was recorded at Wisseloord Studios, a facility associated with acts such as Iron Maiden and [Def Leppard](https://www.edgepedia.org/def-leppard), and drummer Dani Löble used several different drum kits during the sessions to achieve the desired sound[8](https://helloweens.com/giants-monsters-everything-you-need-to-know/). The cover artwork was painted by Eliran Kantor, who also created the artwork for the 2021 album[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/).
## Songs and singles
"This Is Tokyo" served as the first single and opened the album campaign with an official music video[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/) • [1](https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/helloween/Linkall/giantsandmonsters.html). Andi Deris wrote it as a tribute to Japan, where he had his first commercial success with his previous band Pink Cream 69; he chose "Tokyo" over "Japan" for the chorus because it sounded better, with the city standing for the whole country[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/).
"Universe (Gravity For Hearts)", the album's second single and its longest track at 8:24, was written by Sascha Gerstner and features all three vocalists[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/) • [5](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1283262-helloween-giants-monsters.php). Gerstner described the song as a reminder that everything in the universe is connected, and that what looks like an infinite number of stars could be moments, hearts, and decisions[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/).
"Into The Sun" is a ballad sung as a duet between Deris and Kiske; Deris said the lyrics were rewritten to be about reincarnation, a belief the two singers share[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/). The closing track, "Majestic", has an unusual history: in an August 2025 interview, Kai Hansen explained that it was a leftover [Gamma Ray](https://www.edgepedia.org/gamma-ray-band) song begun for that band's 2005 album of the same name but never finished[9](https://www.metal-archives.com/release/view/id/1346149).
The standard edition runs ten tracks, from "Giants On The Run" to "Majestic"[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/giants-monsters/1815300840). The deluxe two-CD edition adds "Out Of Control" plus three alternate versions of "Into The Sun": an Andi solo version, a Michi (Kiske) solo version, and an acoustic duet[1](https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/helloween/Linkall/giantsandmonsters.html).
## Commercial performance and reception
In the United Kingdom the album reached #4 on the Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart, #16 on the Official Albums Sales Chart, #20 on the Scottish Albums Chart, and #89 on the Official Albums Chart, spending one week on the main chart[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/helloween-giants-monsters/).
Critical reception was generally favorable. Album of the Year recorded a critic score of 81 based on five reviews, against a user score of 69 from 163 ratings[5](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1283262-helloween-giants-monsters.php). Metal Hammer readers ranked it #23 among the metal albums of 2025[6](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/metal-hammer-readers-poll-the-best-metal-albums-of-2025), and Louder Sound's year-end list of the 50 best rock albums of 2025 included it, calling the merged lineup an experiment that is working and naming "This Is Tokyo" its killer track[10](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/classic-rock-50-best-albums-2025). Reviewers highlighted the interplay among the three singers and the variety across the four songwriters, while some noted unevenness across the tracklist[3](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/) • [11](https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Helloween/Giants_%26_Monsters/1329683/).
## References
1. [ハロウィン | ジャイアンツ＆モンスターズ | ビクターエンタテインメント (Helloween – Giants & Monsters, Victor Entertainment)](https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/helloween/Linkall/giantsandmonsters.html)
2. [Giants & Monsters – Album by Helloween, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/giants-monsters/1815300840)
3. [Review: HELLOWEEN – Giants & Monsters, Forgotten Scroll](https://www.forgotten-scroll.net/metal-reviews/giants-monsters/)
4. [GIANTS & MONSTERS – HELLOWEEN, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/helloween-giants-monsters/)
5. [Helloween – Giants & Monsters, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1283262-helloween-giants-monsters.php)
6. [Metal Hammer reader's poll – the best metal albums of 2025, Louder Sound](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/metal-hammer-readers-poll-the-best-metal-albums-of-2025)
7. [Helloween 'Giants and Monsters' Review, The Slate](https://www.theslateonline.com/article/2025/10/helloween-giants-and-monsters-review)
8. [Giants & Monsters: Everything You Need to Know, Helloween official website](https://helloweens.com/giants-monsters-everything-you-need-to-know/)
9. [Helloween – Giants & Monsters, Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives](https://www.metal-archives.com/release/view/id/1346149)
10. [The 50 Best Rock Albums of 2025, Louder Sound](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/classic-rock-50-best-albums-2025)
11. [Helloween – Giants & Monsters reviews, Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives](https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Helloween/Giants_%26_Monsters/1329683/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Metal and hardcore albums › Power, symphonic, gothic, and progressive metal albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license