Singer / Guitarist KAI HANSEN Talks New Solo Album & Gives Update on HELLOWEEN's Next Studio Album
- The Metal Voice
- 12 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Jimmy Kay from Canada's The Metal Voice recently spoke to Helloween singer /guitarist Kai Hansen about his new Solo album BORN WITH A HAMMER which will be released Sept 18, 2026 via EAR MUSIC
PHOTO BY SCOTT BRAUN
He also gave an update on the upcomiing studio album from HELLOWEEN
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When asked how his new solo album came to be and the influences
"Things progressed during Corona times. I got bored and there was not much to do. So I sat down in my studio, locked myself up and started songwriting just for me myself and I without any purpose and the outcome was nothing that was Helloween or GAMMA Ray. I was not in the mood for power metal or stuff like that. So um I just did whatever I felt like and after a while I had a few songs together and uh I was like okay yeah well where's this going to go? What I'm going to do with it. Um, because it was just for my personal entertainment at first, but then I say, "Okay, this is too too good to just put on the in the trash can or something like that." Of course, the obvious thought was then, okay, let's put this on a solo album. So, I um called the boys. I was like, are you guys in? So um we had my basics of the songs and uh then we did a pre-production we added two songs that were left over from the last production . There was you nobody forcing us. Um which was good. So we could just took all the time in the world to just get to the point when this album was finally finished. And um now bam, it's going to come out in September. I have a lot of influences and I like Euro Dance if it's heavy. So you see some influences here, you see some influences there. Reggaie comes from, me hanging out on a hammock in Thailand, which the atmosphere doesn't fit doesn't fit heavy metal. So I listen to Bob Marley. I like it. I love it. Everything I consume in terms of music, I chew down. I process this and now I spit it out my own way."
When asked if HELLOWEEN started working on a new Studio album
"Oh, there is a lot of work in progress. There's actually a lot already in the in the box. We have already songs that are mixed and yeah, the album is pretty much pretty much already uh let's say 80% is done."
As co-founder of Helloween and founder of Gamma Ray, he shaped power metal into a global force and created a sound that continues to drive the genre today.
Now, Hansen returns with Born With A Hammer, his first solo album since Kai Hansen & Friends' XXX - Three Decades In Metal, is set for release on September 18 on earMUSIC.
Raw, energetic, rebellious and unmistakably personal, Born With A Hammer brings together every side of Hansen's musical identity. Across 10 songs, the album moves between powerful heavy metal, punk attitude, hard rock drive, melodic hooks, and pure guitar-driven energy, carried by the songwriting instincts, guitar work, and unmistakable voice that have made Kai Hansen one of metal's most distinctive artists. Written without compromise and fueled by pure passion for heavy music, Born With A Hammer captures Hansen at full creative force: Direct, alive and unmistakably metal.
The album was produced by Eike Freese and recorded with a band that brings both firepower and history to the project. Alongside Freese on guitar, the lineup features Alexander Dietz (Heaven Shall Burn) on guitar and Dan Wilding (Carcass) on drums, who already stood alongside Hansen on XXX - Three Decades In Metal, plus Tim Hansen (Induction) on guitar.
FEEDING THE BEAST TRACK LISTING:
"Feeding The Beast"
"Welcome To Life"
"Don't Care"
"Wait And See"
"Born With A Hammer"
"I.D.G.A.F."
"End Of The Road"
"Triple Trouble"
"Invaders"
"Wonderland"
FORMATS:
CD Digipak
Black LP Gatefold (180g)
Limited Picture Disc LP (180g)
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