Kai Hansen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kai Hansen
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Hansen performing in July 2024
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kai Michael Hansen |
| Born | 17 January 1963 Hamburg, West Germany |
| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Guitar and vocals |
| Years active | 1978–present |
Kai Michael Hansen is a famous German musician. He was born on January 17, 1963. He started the power metal band Gamma Ray. He is their main guitarist and singer.
Kai also helped start another power metal band called Helloween. He was with Helloween from 1983 to 1989. Then he rejoined them in 2016. Kai is a very important person in power metal music. He has sold millions of albums around the world.
In 2011, he joined the band Unisonic. This band also had Michael Kiske, who used to sing for Helloween. Kai and Michael joined Helloween again in 2017. They went on a big world tour. This tour celebrated 30 years of the Keeper of the Seven Keys albums.
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Kai Hansen was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1963. When he was ten, Kai became interested in music. He started playing wash-drums. His parents did not like the noise. So, they bought him an acoustic guitar instead.
He took a six-month course to learn classical guitar. After that, he bought an electric guitar. It was a white Ibanez Les Paul. He then formed his first band with his school friends.
Kai Hansen's Music Career
Kai Hansen's music journey began in 1978. He was in a band called Gentry. He played with Piet Sielck, who later helped start Iron Savior.
Starting Helloween and Gamma Ray
In 1983, Kai and Michael Weikath started Helloween. Kai was the guitarist and singer. Later, Michael Kiske became the lead singer for albums like Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I and Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II.
Kai left Helloween on January 1, 1989. He said he was tired from touring. After leaving, he formed his own power metal band, Gamma Ray. Kai also joined Iron Savior as a guitarist in 1997. He left after a few years to focus on Gamma Ray. He has had a very successful career with Gamma Ray. They have released many albums and toured worldwide.
Other Music Projects
Kai Hansen has worked on many other music projects. He sang on Blind Guardian's albums Follow the Blind and Tales from the Twilight World. He also played guitar solos on songs for the band Angra.
He played guitar on Michael Kiske's first solo album, Instant Clarity. Kai also recorded a cover of Helloween's song "I Want Out" with the band HammerFall.
Kai played a character named Regrin the dwarf in Tobias Sammet's Avantasia "Metal Opera" albums. He also played guitar on the song "Shelter from the Rain" for Avantasia. In 2010, he toured with Avantasia. This tour brought him back to play live with Michael Kiske. They had not played together in over twenty years.
Joining Unisonic
After the Avantasia tour, Kai joined Michael Kiske's new band, Unisonic. They felt the "magic of Helloween years" again. In 2011, Kai officially joined Unisonic as the second guitarist.
Unisonic released their first album, Unisonic, in 2012. They then went on their first world tour. Kai said he would still focus on Gamma Ray too. Unisonic's second album, Light Of Dawn, came out in 2014. They toured Europe and Japan after that.
Recent Activities
In 2015, Kai hired Frank Beck as a second singer for Gamma Ray. In 2016, Kai released his first solo album. It was called XXX – Three Decades in Metal.
On November 14, 2016, Helloween announced the Pumpkins United World Tour. Former members Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen joined the current members for this tour. The tour took place in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Kai Hansen's Singing Style
In his early years, Kai's singing was rougher. It was like many singers in thrash metal music. He used a raspy sound and high-pitched screams. Michael Kiske became the singer for Helloween because Kai found it hard to sing and play guitar at the same time. Later in his career, he got better at doing both.
Since 1995, Kai has been the singer for his band Gamma Ray. His singing style became more melodic and clearer. It was more like traditional power metal. But he still kept a bit of the rough sound from his early days.
Musical Equipment
For almost 20 years, Kai Hansen has played ESP Guitars. He started using them when he was in Helloween. He heard good things about ESP from other guitarists.
Before Helloween, he had a white Ibanez guitar. He also owned a Gibson Les Paul. He saved money from delivering newspapers to buy a Marshall amplifier. His main ESP guitars are red and pink. They are custom-made and look like Jackson Randy Rhoads and Gibson Flying V guitars.
In the early 1990s, Kai used Stratocaster guitars. On the Gamma Ray website, he said his first electric guitar was an Ibanez Les Paul copy. On recent tours with Gamma Ray, he has used a Korina Epiphone Flying V. It has EMG pickups.
Kai has used Engl amplifiers since recording Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II.
Discography
Here are some of the albums Kai Hansen has been a part of:
- Helloween
- Helloween (1985) - An EP is a shorter album.
- Walls of Jericho (1985)
- Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I (1987)
- Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II (1988)
- Live in the U.K. (1989) – A live album, recorded during a concert.
- Helloween (2021)
- Gamma Ray
- Heading for Tomorrow (1990)
- Sigh No More (1991)
- Insanity and Genius (1993)
- Land of the Free (1995)
- Somewhere Out in Space (1997)
- Power Plant (1999)
- No World Order (2001)
- Majestic (2005)
- Land of the Free II (2007)
- To the Metal! (2010)
- Empire of the Undead (2014)
- Iron Savior
- Iron Savior (1997)
- Unification (1998)
- Dark Assault (2001)
- Unisonic
- Unisonic (2012)
- Light of Dawn (2014)
- Hansen & Friends
- XXX – Three Decades in Metal (2016)
Guest Appearances
Kai Hansen has also appeared as a guest musician on many other albums:
- With Blind Guardian: He sang and played guitar on some songs.
- With Angra: He played guitar solos and sang on some songs.
- With Michael Kiske: He played guitars on Michael's solo album.
- With HammerFall: He sang on a cover song.
- With Tobias Sammet's Avantasia: He sang as a character and played lead guitar.
- With Heavenly: He sang on a song called "Time machine".
- With Stormwarrior: He sang and played guitar on some songs.
See also
In Spanish: Kai Hansen para niños
