Get ahold of the remaster before you vote... such a big difference!

What can I say? This is one of the all time classic metal albums! Genre defining, and stuffed with timeless tunes. xD

Helloween could have split up after this one album, and they'd have still left an awesome legacy. \m/

From my point of view this is the maghtiest power metal album ever - so vital, so sharp, so straight!

Goooorrrrrgaarr will eat me BUT I KEEP ON PLAAAAYYYIN!!

Written by JÄY on 19.11.2011 at 05:15

Goooorrrrrgaarr will eat me BUT I KEEP ON PLAAAAYYYIN!!

"TILT!" hehe

Good album but the song is too bad!

This is an absolute stormer of a debut. The vocals, upon the first few listens, did annoy me if being honest. Yet I've since come to understand that, maybe they work well with the thrashy, raw instrumentation here and maybe a cleaner, less nasally vocal style wouldn't do the musicianship as much justice. The riffs are second to none, and the way they swerve in and out of supreme songs such as the anthemic 'Ride the sky', riotous semi-ballad 'victim of fate' and just plain funny 'Gorgar' is very well-balanced. In fact, the only instrument that bugs me is the bass, and that doesn't really bother me, just that it isn't that high in the mix. If I'm honest, this is just as solid an introduction to Helloween-or indeed European power metal-as Helloween's "Keeper of the Seven Keys" records (the first two). May I once again state that 'Ride the Sky' is an absolute belter, definitely one of Helloween's classic cuts.

This album is a classic! Great to drink to as well
This album stands out from their other releases because it's the only pure "speed metal" helloween release. I love it. They weren't worth shit after Kai Hansen left IMO.

Best speed/thrash album i ever heard

My girlfriend bought me the original release in vinyl of Wall Of Jericho, the 1985 press by Banzai record... I will marry her...

Written by gnirpz on 03.09.2013 at 19:07

My girlfriend bought me the original release in vinyl of Wall Of Jericho, the 1985 press by Banzai record... I will marry her...

the Original press is on Noise Records. The Banzai one was for the Canadian market

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 03.09.2013 at 19:16

Written by gnirpz on 03.09.2013 at 19:07

My girlfriend bought me the original release in vinyl of Wall Of Jericho, the 1985 press by Banzai record... I will marry her...

the Original press is on Noise Records. The Banzai one was for the Canadian market

Yeah, I just read that! Your right, but It still a 29 years old shit! Should I marry her in this case?

Hahaha!

Written by gnirpz on 04.09.2013 at 01:07



Yeah, I just read that! Your right, but It still a 29 years old shit! Should I marry her in this case?

Hahaha!

Well, here it is next to impossible to find the Banzai pressing of that album, so...

So good, love this.
The rawer vocals and the trashy drums makes this my favourite Helloween album.
Despite the fact that there is a heavy inflation in power-metal I am having a hard to find something thats similar to WoJ. Any suggestions guys?

Album what title makes to check it if you like history, those days I net and google did not existed, so just books and knowledge was way t fin out what were Walls of jeriho

Musically its awesome, even a bit rough quality as many that time begginers started whit, better as demo but still low budget work, and I like it I lioke such sound

Fast, heavy album, same as EP, it was maybe best what this band did , Keepers as I recall also are OK, then whole 90's was crap, up to last 3 albums

I used to think that those Helloween EP songs were part of the original Walls of Jericho. As it is, they aren't, so I'm commenting here on the 9 original WoJ songs, and not the remaster/later release editions.

That being said the album doesn't look so strong a release anymore. The opener surely is strong, but how are Reptile and Guardians? Not really classic material. Then Phantoms Of Death is one of my WoJ favourites. Metal Invaders and Gorgar are alright, but nothing special. HMitL and How Many Tears do redeem the album a bit, but I can't state that all the songs offered here in their entirety make the album highly satisfactory. The album's production asks for improvement. I really enjoy hearing the instruments on this album. Hats off to everyone who played on this album, they clearly were masters in what they were doing already in 1985. As for Kai's vocals: not his best work, but not bad either.

So to be honest I can't consider Walls of Jericho a super great album anymore, like I once did. I suppose releasing something like this in '85 was an important act and the album's influence on the upcoming speed/thrash bands cannot be denied. But when being honest here: the better songs went to the Helloween EP.

Written by Joppe on 31.07.2019 at 13:31

I used to think that those Helloween EP songs were part of the original Walls of Jericho. As it is, they aren't, so I'm commenting here on the 9 original WoJ songs, and not the remaster/later release editions.

That being said the album doesn't look so strong a release anymore. T

Because its bad quallity, not best studio, all that time bands had same mono sound, (somehow I miss it) but same time todfay we have way to much metal, sad that true metal as this nobody cares, but still if we think in those days how many good metal bands they had? did they had i net and streaming platforms?

Written by Bad English on 05.11.2019 at 11:35

Because its bad quallity, not best studio, all that time bands had same mono sound, (somehow I miss it)...

Yet there are plenty of metal albums with great sounding audio from 1985 and earlier. Then we have Walls of Jericho and for instance Running Wild's debut with shite for an audio... Germany, Berlin mustn't have been the best place for recording some heavy metal in the early 80s

Written by Joppe on 06.11.2019 at 22:03

Written by Bad English on 05.11.2019 at 11:35

Because its bad quallity, not best studio, all that time bands had same mono sound, (somehow I miss it)...

Yet there are plenty of metal albums with great sounding audio from 1985 and earlier. Then we have Walls of Jericho and for instance Running Wild's debut with shite for an audio... Germany, Berlin mustn't have been the best place for recording some heavy metal in the early 80s

New bands whit out money, How sounds moder bands whit poor budget and big label bands

Their true and authentic classic. Unmatchable.

One can only wonder what it must have felt like back in the 1985 when people listened to this massive eruption of pure metal assault for the first time. Since it still kicks ass like a wild stallion, I would think the reaction must have been an epidemic of heads exploding from the sheer power and the glory Jericho delivers from the very first second of the very first track. If this isn't essential metal classic then what is?

Classic

A brilliant debut with lots of energy and crazy fast melodic riffs that just makes me want to jump up and down and go mental too, exactly what speed metal should be about. The guitar sound and melodies are very similar to the Running Wild album, Death Or Glory, which is not a bad thing at all as I really admire that album almost as much as this one.

I have also noticed there is a lot of emphasis on the bass, it stands out better than most heavy metal albums and I can clearly hear it throughout the album.

Written by AndyMetalFreak on 24.04.2021 at 16:40

An absolutely bloody brilliant album, with lots of energy and very addictive, and crazy fast melodic riffs that just makes me want to jump up and down and go mental. The guitar sound and melodies are very similar to the Running Wild album, Death Or Glory, which is not a bad thing at all as I really admire that album almost as much as this one.

Running Wild's album Death Or Glory came four years after Walls of Jericho...

Quote:
Running Wild's album Death Or Glory came four years after Walls of Jericho...

I know this album came first, the sound and riffs just reminded me of Death Or Glory, Running Wild proberbly took inspiration from Helloween a great deal, well from this album at least.

Songwriting: 10 (it is full of riffs and melodies... jesus it's just so great)
performance: 10
production: 7

I just read this on the WoJ wiki page:
"In the late 1980s, due to a manufacturing error, side one of several cassette copies of Walls of Jericho accidentally contained the music of Celtic Frost's To Mega Therion, confusing many first-time Helloween listeners."
Haha brilliant.

Such a great classic

This is definitely one of the best metal albums I've ever heard, everything about it is incredible, the riffs and Kai Hansen's harsher vocals make this album heavier than his following albums. All the tracks are great, perhaps the least good is Heavy Metal (Is The Law), but it's still a great track. For me, no other Helloween work comes close to this and the Helloween EP, I was hooked on it for a long time, the other Helloween albums are very good, but I've never liked them as much as this one, I've also always liked Hansen's vocal style more than Kiske.

Ride the Sky is pure perfection. One of the best speed metal songs written. After that it doesn't get to the same level and some tracks feels a bit rushed written. Great riffs all around though. Apart from Ride The Sky i've always loved Phantoms of Death.