Kai Hansen

Kai Hansen was born in Hamburg on 17 January 1963 and began playing in the band Gentry with Piet Sielck in 1978. In 1983 he co-founded Helloween with guitarist Michael Weikath, playing guitar and initially singing. He recorded one EP and three studio albums with the band, including the two parts of Keeper of the Seven Keys, and stayed until 1989.

After leaving Helloween, Hansen formed Gamma Ray, whose debut Heading for Tomorrow appeared in 1990; after singer Ralf Scheepers left in 1995, Hansen took over lead vocals as well as guitar. He played guitar on the 1997 debut album of Piet Sielck’s Iron Savior, and in 2011 joined Unisonic alongside former Helloween singer Michael Kiske.

His first solo album, XXX – Three Decades in Metal, credited to Hansen & Friends, was released by earMUSIC on 16 September 2016. In November 2016 Helloween announced the Pumpkins United reunion, in which Hansen and Kiske rejoined the band for a world tour that began in 2017, and Hansen has remained a member of Helloween since.

The second solo album, Born With a Hammer, was released by earMUSIC on 18 September 2026. It was co-produced by Eike Freese, who also played guitar on it alongside Alexander Dietz (Heaven Shall Burn) and Tim Hansen (Induction), with Dan Wilding (Carcass) on drums. It was preceded by the singles “Feeding the Beast”, “Welcome to Life” and “Wait and See”.