Some anniversary tours feel like a nostalgia trip, but Helloween proved that this tour is not that. On April 10, 2026, Helloween hit The Tabernacle and turned a 40th anniversary into something that felt way less like a victory lap and way more like a band reminding everyone they can still run circles around most of the scene. Bringing old members back and having Beast in Black open for them created a spectacular evening for fans of the genre.
Before that chaos fully kicked in, Beast in Black came out and did exactly what an opener is supposed to do, except they didn’t just warm up the room, they basically set it on fire with over the top guitar riffs, powerful vocals, and an invigorating energy that had the old church resonating with power metal glory. It’s big, over-the-top, synth-drenched metal that feels like it belongs in the final boss fight of a video game, and somehow it works perfectly live. Even without Anton Kabanen on this run, the energy never dipped for a second.
By the time Helloween hit the stage, the crowd was already gone. Not “excited”, but gone. Fully bought in, fully unhinged, ready for whatever came next…and what came next was two-plus hours of “oh yeah, they wrote that song too,” because they played a stack setlist that spanned the bands entire career, featuring both of Helloween’s iconic vocalists playing off of each other in an unforgettable show that is absolutely worthy of the anniversary moniker.
The whole “Pumpkins United” lineup shouldn’t work as smoothly as it does, but it absolutely does. Multiple vocalists, different eras, decades of material…it should feel bloated, but man it doesn’t. It feels massive. Every single member got their moment, nobody overstayed it, and the transitions feel effortless instead of clunky. It is a show of veteran performers who have come together to show how much they love the movement that they have created.
The setlist wasn’t trying to be clever. It didn’t need deep cuts to prove anything. It just hit. Song after song, chorus after chorus, all built for exactly this kind of room, loud, packed, and screaming every word back like it’s 1987 again, especially when “I Want Out” kicked in. The funny thing about the Tabernacle show was that it was a seated event, with not a single person sitting down. The crowd gave it to those on stage just like they were receiving it. Helloween doesn’t feel like a band stuck in the past either, they know that they have created an untouchable legacy and they are just having fun with it now! With wild theatrical weirdness showing on the massive screens behind the band, spanning from enchanting castles to wild animated cartoons, the show was as visually striking as it was loud. Helloween made the Tabernacle feel alive!
No autopilot. No phoning it in. No “we’ve done this a thousand times” energy. Just a band 40 years deep still playing like they’ve got something to prove, and honestly, they are still proving it. Some bands celebrate anniversaries, Helloween just turned theirs into a reminder that they’re not done…not even close.
Helloween’s 40th Anniversary tour continues May 2nd, 2026. For upcoming shows, visit https://www.helloween.org/#live.
Follow Helloween and Beast in Black on their socials below:
Helloween: Instagram // Facebook
Beast in Black: Instagram // Facebook
