Author: Rok Klemše
Interview date: 21.12.2007
Gamma Ray is a name heavy/power metal fans need no introduction to. Charismatic frontman Kai Hansen has led the band through almost twenty years of career to become one of the genre’s bigger names. Kai, who built his cult status already in his first band Helloween, got back together with his former bandmates this year on the Hellish Rock tour and played the classics Future World and I Want Out with them. Gamma Ray and Helloween already put on such a spectacular show in Belgrade, where we saw them for the first time, that we simply had to catch them once more, this time in the German town of Kaufbeuren. This time we finally got what we came for and landed the promised interview with Kai, who slipped through our fingers in Belgrade. Hansen led the two of us onto the tour bus and seemed pretty grumpy and bored at the start of the interview, but he soon opened up and turned out to be a pleasant guy to talk to.
RockLine: Let’s get started then. Kai, you’re nearing the end of the historic Hellish Rock tour with Helloween, on which you played in new places. We saw you in Belgrade, where you played for the first time. So how’s it all going?
Kai: Very well, brilliant. We’ve played some great shows with fantastic support from the fans, who’ve shown crazy love for us and for Helloween alike. It’s a hell of a lot of fun!
RockLine: With this tour you pulled off a kind of “reunion” with your old buddies from Helloween. How did that feel?
Kai: (laughs) Yeah, in a way we really did get a reunion. The whole thing feels like one big family. I’ve known them for a long time, and whatever happened in the past, we got over it ages ago. It’s simply two good bands and good friends playing together. We really are “one big happy family”.
RockLine: I’d say the whole German metal scene is pretty much one big happy family too.
Kai: Yeah, looks that way. What brought us closer together was the “fall” of metal from ’92 onward, when the scene got flooded with grunge and alternative. So all of us poor bastards kind of dropped down a level, and there was no competition anymore, we were all pulling in the same direction. The scene is really strong right now.
RockLine: Are you planning to team up with two, three, or more German bands at some point?
Kai: Yeah, I think it’s an interesting idea – joining forces with a few German bands for a festival tour would be really cool.
RockLine: You just released Land of the Free Part 2. How have the reactions from fans and critics been so far?
Kai: Very good. I rarely meet anyone who doesn’t like it (laughs)
RockLine: How did you know it was the right time to put out a follow-up to the pretty cult Land of the Free?
Kai: We didn’t even really realize it ourselves, we got there by chance and pretty spontaneously. For us it was a good way to pin down the direction we wanted to go in.
RockLine: How was recording Land of the Free 2 different from recording the first one?
Kai: Definitely a lot, because this lineup has now been together for more than ten years, so of course the understanding between us is much better. When we recorded Land of the Free, Thomas and Jan (drummer Thomas Nack and guitarist Jan Rubach are both former members now – note from the interviewer) were new members and we spent more time getting to know each other and trying new things out. With this band we now get along really well, we know what we want, and it’s easier to reach compromises. That’s why recording Land of the Free Part 2 was a lot easier too.
RockLine: So Land of the Free 2 is a joint effort by all the members?
Kai: Actually, the first part was the result of teamwork too, we did a lot of work in the studio and on the songs as a whole. Nothing has changed in that I bring most of the ideas and songs, which isn’t planned, it just happens that way. But now we take every single song into the rehearsal room and play it together, so the final arrangements are the work of the whole band.
RockLine: I think Land of the Free is a pretty overlooked concept album. How would you explain the connection between the first and second parts?
Kai: It’s about the concept of freedom itself, what it means in general and what it means to the individual. Land of the Free is a fantasy-inspired story, and when I think of it I always picture The Lord of the Rings, someone searching for something, on a mission, gathering friends around him who help him out. It takes us into a fantasy world, somewhere into the abyss of nothingness, over the wall and that kind of stuff (laughs). Land of the Free 2 is more direct, it’s kind of a compilation of songs on the theme of freedom from different points of view. So that’s how it differs from the first part, but it has the same spiritual approach.
RockLine: So could you say Land of the Free 2 reflects the reality of the modern world? The world has changed…
Kai: It’s certainly changing… Well, on one hand it is, and on the other it isn’t. I think humanity is still the same, the idea of freedom, in the sense of a free country or a free individual, is still the same. Countries are seeking separation or individuality, looking for freedom, while on the other side some are merging, like in the European Union, which is trying to bring a lot of countries together into one, USA-style. But we still haven’t found the final formula for freedom, and the search goes on.
RockLine: You mentioned quite a few lineup changes earlier that happened over the band’s history. How did you manage to stay strong and united for so long?
Kai: Good question… No idea (laughs). But I do have an explanation, I think it comes down to maturity, respect for each other, accepting differences, individuality (laughs). There are four different people in this band, but we succeed as a whole. Of course we fight too, but after the arguments there are no bad feelings or grudges left.
RockLine: So your arguments are constructive?
Kai: Yeah. Well, sometimes not, they’re just stupid (laughs). But in the days and weeks after, there’s no talking behind each other’s backs, like “look at that idiot”. We support each other and know about each other’s individual problems, and when it’s needed we help out. It’s a kind of instant understanding that you can’t really explain, but obviously it works (laughs)
RockLine: How hard was it when Ralf left the band, and what’s it actually like in general when an important member leaves?
Kai: It gave us a chance to take a new direction. In a way his departure was a good thing, because it gave us a fresh push, which we badly needed after a kind of stagnation. We wanted to keep going, and I think it was the right moment.
RockLine: Did you take over as vocalist right away, or did you look for a new one through auditions?
Kai: We talked about it when it was clear that Ralf was leaving. I’d always sung, on demo recordings, at rehearsals when Ralf wasn’t there, so we were all used to it. We talked about the options and one of them was looking for a new singer. We asked ourselves who could take it on, of course, but we didn’t want to set up some kind of contest like “send in a demo tape”. So we started scouting the scene for a suitable singer, but we couldn’t find anyone who’d fit Gamma Ray, since Ralf was an exceptionally powerful vocalist. The other option was for me to sing. The others asked if I dared, and I said I did.
RockLine: I think it was the right call, because you have a distinctive, “signature” voice.
Kai: Yeah, I don’t consider myself the greatest vocalist of all time, but I think I have a recognizable voice. That’s what I like about singers in general, just think of Bon Scott or Ozzy Osbourne, who aren’t technically good singers, but they have expression and charisma.
RockLine: And now, after almost twenty years, how do you look back on your time in Helloween?
Kai: Looking back now, I really enjoyed it back then, and those were important moments. But I don’t think about what would have happened if I’d stayed and blah, blah, blah. I simply had to leave at the time, I don’t regret it, and that’s that.
RockLine: What or who inspired you to start playing guitar and to start singing and playing in a band?
Kai: Definitely something clicked when I heard Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf. I loved the rhythm and I started banging on everything I could get my hands on. I built myself a drum set out of detergent boxes and the like and hammered on them with chopsticks. I wanted real drums, but my parents wouldn’t buy them because they’d be too loud, and I was already getting on their nerves with all the banging on other stuff. Instead of drums I got a guitar, I learned to play it, and I sang along from the very start. Obviously, I had to have an electric guitar too.
RockLine: Do you listen to any new metal?
Kai: Not really. I listen to some Manson, I like a couple of Linkin Park songs. But Slipknot and that kind of stuff doesn’t touch me at all. Korn seem completely pointless to me. I miss real songs with melody, I like aggression in music, but not in a way where aggression is all that’s left. I couldn’t give a damn about pure American crap!
RockLine: What do you think of your tour manager Kosta?
Kai: He’s great. He’s Greek (laughs).
RockLine: Thinking back to the show in Belgrade, how would you compare playing there with playing shows around Germany?
Kai: Big difference. Yesterday, after a long time in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, we came back to Germany. The people there were really crazy, you could see they were hungry for music and grateful that we were playing. Germany is different, people aren’t as enthusiastic, sometimes you have to give them a proper kick in the ass. In a way they’re too wasted (laughs).
RockLine: What are Gamma Ray’s plans for the future?
Kai: In January we continue with the second leg of the tour, where we’ll be recording too. We’ll put those recordings on a DVD that should already be out, but we had to push it back because of the label change. It’s already done, it comes out before summer 2008, but it’ll be even more current, a triple DVD set. After that we’ll see what happens. We have to start preparing for the trip to Japan in February and South America in March. A few festivals follow in the summer, and then we have to decide whether to do a headlining tour or go back to the studio and record a new album.
RockLine: So you’d take a break from touring and record some of the stuff you have left over?
Kai: No, no, we simply have to record new songs. We recorded everything we had, sure, a few ideas are left over, but sometimes you don’t even want to finish those. We’d rather write new stuff, and given how well this tour is going, I don’t think it’s smart to waste time, it’s good to carry this energy into the studio too.
RockLine: Have you ever thought about a solo album?
Kai: No. If I ever decided to do something like that, it would be different from Gamma Ray. I’d record something raw, Sex Pistols style, something rough and dirty. Or a mix of all the weird ideas I’ve had but never recorded because they’re too different from Gamma Ray.
RockLine: Over your career you’ve recorded quite a few covers – Judas Priest, Pet Shop Boys, Uriah Heep. Will you ever release a covers album?
Kai: No, probably not, we’d rather stick to our own songs. Actually, we recorded a cover for this album too, as a bonus track for Japan, but we didn’t have time to finish it.
RockLine: Kai, thanks a lot for this interview and enjoy the show.
Kai: Thank you guys!
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Interviewers: Rok Klemše and Aleš Podbrežnik
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