Kai Hansen returns with first solo album in ten years: “I have to be a fan of what I’m doing”

Heavy metal icon Kai Hansen will release his new solo album “Born With A Hammer” on September 18th via earMUSIC. The record marks the first solo album in ten years from the Helloween co-founder and Gamma Ray mastermind.

Chaoszine caught up with Hansen over Zoom while the guitarist and vocalist was enjoying an off day in Peru ahead of his next show. While the main topic of conversation was “Born With A Hammer”, Hansen also offered some rather interesting updates about the future of both Helloween and Gamma Ray.

“Born With A Hammer” features ten songs that allow Hansen to move freely between heavy metal, hard rock and punk without worrying about what people might expect his music to sound like.

Joining Hansen on the album are guitarist and producer Eike Freese, Heaven Shall Burn guitarist Alexander Dietz, Carcass drummer Dan Wilding and Hansen’s son Tim Hansen of Induction.

Boredom during the pandemic eventually led to a new solo album

The idea of making another solo album didn’t begin with any grand plan. Instead, the COVID pandemic suddenly cleared Hansen’s schedule and gave the normally busy musician something he rarely has: time.

“A funny virus gave me a lot of time some time back. There was nothing to do, so I got bored and I had ideas. I sat down in my studio at home and started doing demos.”

It soon became apparent that many of those ideas didn’t particularly sound like Gamma Ray or Helloween.

The solution eventually became obvious.

“After a few songs together, I was like, ‘Okay, what am I going to do with it?’ And the most obvious answer to that was doing a solo album.”

Hansen gathered the musicians around him and the record gradually began taking shape. There was, however, no deadline hanging over the project.

Everyone involved had their own schedules, so they simply worked whenever they could find time to get together.

“We were not in any way under time pressure, which was really nice. There was no plan when to release the album or something like that.”

By coincidence, “Born With A Hammer” will now arrive exactly ten years after Hansen’s previous solo album, “XXX – Three Decades In Metal”.

“It just happened and it’s kind of nice. It’s a good number – ten years after.”

“Composing for me is a very selfish process”

Despite having several potential musical homes for his ideas, Hansen doesn’t usually begin writing a song by deciding whether it should eventually become a Helloween, Gamma Ray or solo track.

Quite the opposite.

“When I compose, I switch off the idea of thinking about who it is for. And I completely switch off the expectations of the fans. What would they like? What do they want to hear?”

Hansen describes songwriting as an intentionally selfish process.

“Composing for me is a very selfish process. It’s very egoistic. It’s just for me. I have to enjoy it. I have to have fun. I have to be a fan of what I’m doing.”

Naturally, the results tend to be heavy because that is where Hansen’s musical instincts usually take him.

But deliberately sitting down with the intention of writing another classic Helloween song isn’t how he operates.

“I’m not like, ‘Let’s write a Helloween classic’ or something like that. I’m not working like that. I just speak my mind.”

Once a song begins taking shape, its eventual destination often becomes apparent naturally.

A good example is “We Can Be Gods” from Helloween’s latest album, which originated during the same sessions that produced material for “Born With A Hammer”.

“That was immediately like, ‘Okay, this could be a Helloween track for sure.’ And I played it to the guys and they were like, ‘Yep, good to go.’”

Hansen revealed that another two songs from those sessions are expected to appear on the next Helloween album.

“Born With A Hammer” was about complete freedom

The decade-long gap between Hansen’s solo records didn’t create pressure to make some kind of monumental comeback album.

Instead, it had the opposite effect.

“It was total freedom. There was no pressure in terms of time, no pressure in terms of expectations or something like that. This was just pure fun.”

Hansen also rarely walks into his studio with a blank slate and simply decides that it’s time to write a song.

Ideas tend to appear spontaneously.

A melody might enter his head while driving, a riff might emerge while casually playing guitar, or inspiration might even come from hearing indistinct music somewhere in the distance.

Whenever something feels worth pursuing, Hansen records the idea on his phone.

“If I have something that I think might be worth pursuing, I take my phone and do like mumble, mumble, mumble and put it into storage and maybe listen back later.”

“I rarely sit down and purposely say, ‘Now I’m going to write a song.’ First I need an idea. I need a vision. And then I can go down and work on it.”

Not everything on “Born With A Hammer” was written during the pandemic, however.

“Wait And See” and “Wonderland” actually date back to the sessions for Hansen’s first solo album.

“They were leftovers from the first Hansen session on the first solo album. We never finished them, but we listened back to the material that we recorded and we were like, ‘Oh, this is cool. Let’s pursue this.’”

Eike Freese and Alexander Dietz were responsible for the original foundations of those songs before Hansen developed the vocals and arrangements with them.

Other members also contributed material. Tim Hansen brought “Triple Trouble” to the project, while Freese came up with “Feeding The Beast”.

Hansen allowed his punk influences to flow freely

“Born With A Hammer” isn’t simply another collection of the power and heavy metal people might traditionally associate with Hansen.

Titles such as “Don’t Care” and “I.D.G.A.F.” already hint at the album’s more rebellious side.

Hansen confirms that punk is an important part of the record’s DNA.

“When Sex Pistols, Ramones and stuff came out, I was totally into that and I still am. I still listen back to the old albums – Clash, Damned, name it.”

This time there was no reason to restrain those influences to fit within the framework of another band.

“I definitely have my punk influences. And this time I was free to just let them flow. That’s what you hear there.”

That freedom is one of the defining characteristics of “Born With A Hammer”.

Fans who have primarily followed Hansen through Helloween and Gamma Ray may therefore encounter a few surprises.

“On this album, there’s definitely quite a bit of stuff that you wouldn’t expect me to do if you have just followed my history with Gamma Ray and Helloween. There are things that are a bit more unusual.”

For Hansen, that’s exactly what a solo album should allow him to do.

Hansen Project is heading for the stage

“Born With A Hammer” isn’t intended to remain purely a studio project.

Hansen wants to take the musicians behind the album on the road as the Hansen Project.

Helloween’s schedule in 2027 should provide a suitable opportunity, as Hansen says the band currently has primarily summer festival appearances planned for next year.

“That gives me the first half year and the second half year, more or less, freedom to do other things.”

His intention is to play shows with the Hansen Project particularly after the summer.

“After summer, I definitely want to do some shows with the Hansen Project. That’s for sure.”

Don’t expect an arena tour, though.

“It’s definitely not going to be arenas. That’s for sure. But I’m going to enjoy it anyway.”

Hansen is also considering inviting some guests to join the shows, although coordinating schedules with his musician friends can prove difficult.

“I have ideas and me and the guys, we are totally in for touring. They want to go on the road too with this. It just needs time and logistics – the usual stuff.”

Kai Hansen wants to work on a new Gamma Ray album

Hansen’s plans for next year don’t end with his solo project.

One of the most interesting revelations during Chaoszine’s interview concerned Gamma Ray.

It has been a long time since the band released a full studio album, and Hansen now feels that the time has come to change that.

“I have an idea about creating a new Gamma Ray album. So I’m going to get onto this and get together with the boys and let’s see how far we get with this.”

Hansen stresses, however, that a new album won’t happen simply because enough years have passed since the previous one.

“I really want to work on that because I think it’s time. It’s been too long.”

Everything needs to happen for the right reasons, and the material has to meet Hansen’s standards.

“You cannot force it. It has to happen naturally. Everybody has to be in and we have to come up with something really good because it’s been too long.”

His quality requirement is simple:

“Mediocre is not accepted.”

The next Helloween album is already around 80 percent there

At the same time, work on the next Helloween studio album is considerably further along than fans might expect.

Hansen revealed to Chaoszine that most of the material is already there.

“Let’s say 80 percent of the album is already there. So we’re good to go.”

According to Hansen, the band technically already has enough material to make the album, but there is no reason to rush the process.

“We might need two songs more. I mean, we have enough material to do an album. But of course, we want the best of everything.”

That means every songwriter in the band still has an opportunity to bring additional material to the table.

“We give ourselves the time and the chance to create a little more music. All the songwriters are welcome here in this case. And only the best will make it to the album.”

Hansen suggested that the next Helloween album could potentially arrive toward the end of 2027 or in early 2028, although no definitive release schedule has been established yet.

Between “Born With A Hammer”, planned Hansen Project shows, the possibility of a new Gamma Ray album and another Helloween record already taking shape, Hansen certainly doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

“Born With A Hammer” will be released on September 18th via earMUSIC.