GAMMA RAY INTERVIEW WITH KAI HANSEN
By Rodrigo
I was told that I was going to talk with Dirk for this interview. So when I picked up the phone and I hear, "Hi this is Kai from Gamma Ray", I was completely excited. Not that talking with Dirk would have been bad but the opportunity to talk with Kai Hansen, one of metals great guitarists, was totally incredible! I hope all of you enjoy the chat I had with Kai regarding their new album No World Order! Thank you Noise Records for setting this up and to Kai for talking with me.
/bandpics/gammaray_int.jpg
Ultimate Metal: To me No World Order! sounds exactly what I expect from Gamma Ray but with some new twists, like I would never had expected the acoustic beginning of "Dethrone Tyranny" and that ends up being a typical Gamma Ray rocker!
Kai Hansen: Its got a lot of aspects in there. Its very melodious and aggressive. To me its got a lot of Walls of Jericho feel.
UM: Its little differences like that I feel has progressed the band forward. Its got the Gamma Ray sound but many things have made it different from the past album Powerplant.
KH: Absolutely, its more rock, its more related to the 80s metal. Its more basic, the song structures are simpler in a way but maybe more effective. What comes along with it, now that we have all played together for these years now our chemistry has gotten really tight. The whole album is a band effort.
UM: Was that the plan of the band to make a more 80s sounding album and also simplistic?
KH: Its just happened while we were songwriting, we found out it was going into that direction. Its taking us away from the typical German melodic speed metal thing with opera influences. A lot of bands these days are doing this kind of stuff. For us it was time to find a new twist, to do something that is not the same.
UM: I definitely agree with that statement Kai. No World Order! is not like the typical melodic metal sound. For example, "The Heart of the Unicorn" has some really trashy parts, especially on the verses which is totally different for the band.
KH: Absolutely, we also had slightly trashy parts here and there but not that strong. I really enjoyed it. Its a lot of fun to play that way, its more aggressive and its maybe another way to combine melodious stuff with trashy elements.
UM: Plus, "New World Order" has that main riff in the beginning that could have fit in any 80s metal album.
KH: Its totally 80s like. I just happened to come across with it when I was playing guitar at my home and I really liked it. It was so simple and so effective. I thought to myself, "I am going to work on this." Try to form into a song and it actually worked out very well.
UM: It totally does. I also hear a lot of Judas Priest in the new album especially in "Fire Below".
KH: Priest is definitely an influence that needs to be mentioned. I grew up with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and Priest was probably the most dominant band together with Maiden. The roots are there, I always like Rob Halfords singing and I have learned from his style. Maybe because there are more riffs in this album and the speed has slowed down (for a Gamma Ray album it is not that fast) it gets more close to that.
UM: How do you think that fans will react to the differences that are used in this album?
KH: I think we will make a lot of new fans with No World Order! Maybe we might lose some fans. Well not lose them but some might be expecting the typical German orchestral metal that we have done before and they might be disappointed. Some people it will be too aggressive.
UM: How did the shoot for "Eagle"?
KH: I just saw it for the first time before talking to you. Its great! We did it in our studio, we used a few blue screen shots. Its come across very well, its been edited with a lot of computer animations (like space wars). Its cool!
UM: How do you plan to release that?
KH: We are going to send it to every TV station that plays metal videos. Maybe later on it will be available on sale or whatever. We need to think about that.
UM: Why end the album with the ballad "Lake of Tears"?
KH: It couldnt fit anywhere else. It was not right if we put it somewhere in the middle. So we decided to put it in the end of the album. After all the excitement its nice to relax to a song like this. But if you dont like ballads you can easily just stop the album and play it from the beginning again. (Laughs)
UM: I like that song a lot.
KH: Good! Henjo came up with it and its not a typical ballad. The singing was originally going to be typical ballad singing but I tried to sing it in a more interesting or different way by using the moody harmonies. It worked out very well, it was fun to do it.
UM: No World Order! sounds like it was fun to do and I think its a great step forward for Gamma Ray.
KH: I hope so. For us, we feel very comfortable with the album. We are really happy with it. We have also begun to think how some of these songs will work perfectly live. Songs like "Fire Below" will just kill because they are so heavy and you can really bang your head to them.
UM: How has the change from Noise to Metal-Is affected Gamma Ray?
KH: Well now we are not dealing with a German department anymore. We are dealing directly with England. It really didnt change that much from what we expected. We get treated with a lot of respect. We get asked about decisions. Of course, there are some things we can not do like we used to do before because with Noise we were free to come up with what we wanted. It was OK then, the mentality was if the band thinks its good then it must be good. So know we have to discuss things up-front. Thats maybe the only real change. Things are handled in a grand scale in the terms of retail and press. It might be still too early to talk about final results or statement regarding this.
UM: So it sounds like you dont have that much freedom like you had with Noise to do whatever you wanted?
KH: Music-wise we have total freedom. Thats the most important thing. Everything else can be talked about and it always will be talked. We really dont worry too much about that.
UM: So this time you didnt use Derek Riggs for the artwork, how come?
KH: Well this time we used a French guy. This guy is very good. He is an artist that is somewhere between old Derek Riggs and Salvador Dali, if I dare say.
UM: Its very cartoonish.
KH: His style is more 80s related. Its colorful and powerful.
UM: I like how you kept the Fangface and Pyramids in the cover.
KH: Its a recognizing element. These are things that people can always relate to. When they see these images they will immediately think of Gamma Ray. These are our symbols.
UM: How was the songwriting shared between band members?
KH: Well, Dan wrote 2 songs, Henjo has written 2 and I wrote 6, plus the Japanese bonus track. We did a lot of cooperation on the songwriting. The basic ideas came out from one guy but the finalizing was always done as a band.
UM: Do you rehearse at all?
KH: We do play the songs in a rehearsal song. On Powerplant, the songs were pre-produced in everybodys home studio. In each studio the songs were arranged and finalized. It was decided what kind of choirs and keyboards were going to be used. Thats another difference of what we did this time. When you work as a band in a rehearsal room you get more results that are related to the sound the band likes. Therefore more rough.
UM: You and Dirk produced this album. Have you ever thought of using an outside producer?
KH: We thought about using another producer. There was no one coming into our minds we really wanted except for maybe Bob Rock. At this stage it maybe a step too much.
UM: Why him?
KH: I think he is a guy that adds to the bands sound without changing it. Without transforming Gamma Ray into something that should not be. We could learn from a guy like him.
/bandpics/gammaray2.jpg
UM: How fun was it to make "Blast from the Past"? I imagine you guys had tons of fun.
KH: Absolutely! That was cool!
UM: Did any of the choices from the fans surprise you?
KH: Not really. I have to say there were no big surprises. It was kind of what we expected. On the first three positions (and that was what ended up being in the album) we knew what was coming. But on the following positions, thats where we got surprised. There were some surprises in songs that we didnt think would be that high or songs that we expected to be up there werent.
UM: The style of the band is different from the very beginning. What led Gamma Ray to this point musically where it was started with the album Land of the Free?
KH: It is very hard to describe. I think its all a matter of time, its a matter of personal experience, its a matter of personal taste. The circumstances you are surrounded with, the situation of the music or metal scene. All kinds of things that make you progress or develop from one point to another. One could do the same things all the time but that would be too boring. No Gamma Ray album has been like the one before and we will always continue that in the future. We dont follow some kind of line, we arent going from A to Z.
UM: How much do you like singing?
KH: I really enjoy it! Except when I am touring and I get a cold or my vocal chords are not doing what I want them to do. I cant just put new strings on. Sometimes I wish I wouldnt sing. Also, during tours if there is a good party I have to restrict myself in smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol because the next day there will be a show.
UM: Are you sick of the constant rumors that Michael Kiske will join Gamma Ray?
KH: Its ridiculous! Its bullshit that someone always brings this up again and again. It always comes back and its wishful thinking by people who are nostalgic and wish that if this would happen, an album like the Keepers album would come out. Michael has gone into a different musical direction and that is one reason why it definitely wouldnt work out. On the other hand a lot of fans are used to me singing so it would be strange for us to work with Michael.
UM: When I think of Gamma Ray, I think of Kai being the singer and nobody else.
KH: Thats cool! Thats good for me as well to get that recognition as a singer. Before I just played guitars and did some screaming or trying to sing. People always tell me that I have improved from album to album. I feel that as well. I am pretty comfortable with singing now.
UM: Ok now I have a totally weird question for you. Its about a theory I have regarding a lyrical or story connection with your previous 3 studio albums and I just want to get your thoughts on it. It might be too crazy but just bear with me.
KH: Go ahead!
UM: Are Land of the Free, Somewhere Out in Space and Powerplant all part of a big story? To simply put it Land of the Free is the story of a people leaving a planet, Somewhere Out in Space deals with that race searching all over space for a new home and finding it in Powerplant.
KH: All right! That is a good idea. (Laughs) In a way its not far from being true. Its coming into my world theory in a way. I kind of like to believe that the human race wasnt "invented" on Earth. We maybe came from somewhere else, from somewhere out in space (laughs) or from another dimension. If I look at it the world will be quickly destroyed by the way we use it, even quicker than the way it would die naturally. We have to find technology to find a new home in space to live. If we cant achieve this we will die with the planet. Maybe our race is based on this thought: that we travel from planet to planet. We explore it, develop it and then exploit it and then we develop new technology to travel further on. Its just a theory and it makes sense somehow.
UM: Are you with the belief that the Ancient Egyptians were helped by beings from outer space to develop their civilization?
KH: I dont know if its really true but it sounds possible. You find a lot of hints in ancient history about visitors from outer space. Maybe its wishful thinking by humans but maybe there is some truth to that.
UM: There is evidence that points to this sort of interpretation.
KH: Absolutely! We like to believe in some deeper extensive meaning than just living here on Earth and eventually dying here because after that we are gone.
UM: Was it hard for you to leave Iron Savior?
KH: I would say No. The move just had to be made. It was time to make a change because the situation was not too good anymore in terms of handling the pressure. I couldnt bring myself into Iron Savior as mush as I should, I could, and I would and wished. Of course, that was not a happy situation. Iron Savior wasnt getting enough recognition as a band. It always had this project character. It was just the right time to leave Iron Savior and concentrate on Gamma Ray for me.
UM: Would you think of doing anything like that again?
KH: Probably not. No.
UM: I didnt want to mention Helloween with you but since there was some recent news of them I have to ask you if their recent split surprised you?
KH: It came of a surprise. I didnt expect that to happen. I just learned that a few days ago. What can I say. If they had to make that move then they had to. Lets see where that leads them.
UM: What are your tour plans for No World Order!?
KH: We are starting our tour on September 26th taking us to Germany all over Europe and Japan. Next year we plan to go to South America as well as plans to go to Canada and the United States. We are working on something there. I think its time to go there. In the States there is a very strong metal underground these days and we have a lot of fans out there. We get a lot of requests by fans out there to go over there. So we are working on that.
UM: How hopeful are you that it could actually happen?
KH: I am very hopeful actually. We have some great connections and it looks pretty good.
UM: Who will you tour with while in Europe?
KH: We have two support bands, one is Sonata Arctica and the other one is Vanishing Point from Australia. They are more of the progressive side of metal. They are very interesting and atmospheric. They are a really good band.
UM: Any final thoughts?
KH: I hope we get to the States pretty soon. Its one of our goals besides playing China and Russia. (Laughs) I think the States are much more realizable now.
By Rodrigo
I was told that I was going to talk with Dirk for this interview. So when I picked up the phone and I hear, "Hi this is Kai from Gamma Ray", I was completely excited. Not that talking with Dirk would have been bad but the opportunity to talk with Kai Hansen, one of metals great guitarists, was totally incredible! I hope all of you enjoy the chat I had with Kai regarding their new album No World Order! Thank you Noise Records for setting this up and to Kai for talking with me.
/bandpics/gammaray_int.jpg
Ultimate Metal: To me No World Order! sounds exactly what I expect from Gamma Ray but with some new twists, like I would never had expected the acoustic beginning of "Dethrone Tyranny" and that ends up being a typical Gamma Ray rocker!
Kai Hansen: Its got a lot of aspects in there. Its very melodious and aggressive. To me its got a lot of Walls of Jericho feel.
UM: Its little differences like that I feel has progressed the band forward. Its got the Gamma Ray sound but many things have made it different from the past album Powerplant.
KH: Absolutely, its more rock, its more related to the 80s metal. Its more basic, the song structures are simpler in a way but maybe more effective. What comes along with it, now that we have all played together for these years now our chemistry has gotten really tight. The whole album is a band effort.
UM: Was that the plan of the band to make a more 80s sounding album and also simplistic?
KH: Its just happened while we were songwriting, we found out it was going into that direction. Its taking us away from the typical German melodic speed metal thing with opera influences. A lot of bands these days are doing this kind of stuff. For us it was time to find a new twist, to do something that is not the same.
UM: I definitely agree with that statement Kai. No World Order! is not like the typical melodic metal sound. For example, "The Heart of the Unicorn" has some really trashy parts, especially on the verses which is totally different for the band.
KH: Absolutely, we also had slightly trashy parts here and there but not that strong. I really enjoyed it. Its a lot of fun to play that way, its more aggressive and its maybe another way to combine melodious stuff with trashy elements.
UM: Plus, "New World Order" has that main riff in the beginning that could have fit in any 80s metal album.
KH: Its totally 80s like. I just happened to come across with it when I was playing guitar at my home and I really liked it. It was so simple and so effective. I thought to myself, "I am going to work on this." Try to form into a song and it actually worked out very well.
UM: It totally does. I also hear a lot of Judas Priest in the new album especially in "Fire Below".
KH: Priest is definitely an influence that needs to be mentioned. I grew up with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and Priest was probably the most dominant band together with Maiden. The roots are there, I always like Rob Halfords singing and I have learned from his style. Maybe because there are more riffs in this album and the speed has slowed down (for a Gamma Ray album it is not that fast) it gets more close to that.
UM: How do you think that fans will react to the differences that are used in this album?
KH: I think we will make a lot of new fans with No World Order! Maybe we might lose some fans. Well not lose them but some might be expecting the typical German orchestral metal that we have done before and they might be disappointed. Some people it will be too aggressive.
UM: How did the shoot for "Eagle"?
KH: I just saw it for the first time before talking to you. Its great! We did it in our studio, we used a few blue screen shots. Its come across very well, its been edited with a lot of computer animations (like space wars). Its cool!
UM: How do you plan to release that?
KH: We are going to send it to every TV station that plays metal videos. Maybe later on it will be available on sale or whatever. We need to think about that.
UM: Why end the album with the ballad "Lake of Tears"?
KH: It couldnt fit anywhere else. It was not right if we put it somewhere in the middle. So we decided to put it in the end of the album. After all the excitement its nice to relax to a song like this. But if you dont like ballads you can easily just stop the album and play it from the beginning again. (Laughs)
UM: I like that song a lot.
KH: Good! Henjo came up with it and its not a typical ballad. The singing was originally going to be typical ballad singing but I tried to sing it in a more interesting or different way by using the moody harmonies. It worked out very well, it was fun to do it.
UM: No World Order! sounds like it was fun to do and I think its a great step forward for Gamma Ray.
KH: I hope so. For us, we feel very comfortable with the album. We are really happy with it. We have also begun to think how some of these songs will work perfectly live. Songs like "Fire Below" will just kill because they are so heavy and you can really bang your head to them.
UM: How has the change from Noise to Metal-Is affected Gamma Ray?
KH: Well now we are not dealing with a German department anymore. We are dealing directly with England. It really didnt change that much from what we expected. We get treated with a lot of respect. We get asked about decisions. Of course, there are some things we can not do like we used to do before because with Noise we were free to come up with what we wanted. It was OK then, the mentality was if the band thinks its good then it must be good. So know we have to discuss things up-front. Thats maybe the only real change. Things are handled in a grand scale in the terms of retail and press. It might be still too early to talk about final results or statement regarding this.
UM: So it sounds like you dont have that much freedom like you had with Noise to do whatever you wanted?
KH: Music-wise we have total freedom. Thats the most important thing. Everything else can be talked about and it always will be talked. We really dont worry too much about that.
UM: So this time you didnt use Derek Riggs for the artwork, how come?
KH: Well this time we used a French guy. This guy is very good. He is an artist that is somewhere between old Derek Riggs and Salvador Dali, if I dare say.
UM: Its very cartoonish.
KH: His style is more 80s related. Its colorful and powerful.
UM: I like how you kept the Fangface and Pyramids in the cover.
KH: Its a recognizing element. These are things that people can always relate to. When they see these images they will immediately think of Gamma Ray. These are our symbols.
UM: How was the songwriting shared between band members?
KH: Well, Dan wrote 2 songs, Henjo has written 2 and I wrote 6, plus the Japanese bonus track. We did a lot of cooperation on the songwriting. The basic ideas came out from one guy but the finalizing was always done as a band.
UM: Do you rehearse at all?
KH: We do play the songs in a rehearsal song. On Powerplant, the songs were pre-produced in everybodys home studio. In each studio the songs were arranged and finalized. It was decided what kind of choirs and keyboards were going to be used. Thats another difference of what we did this time. When you work as a band in a rehearsal room you get more results that are related to the sound the band likes. Therefore more rough.
UM: You and Dirk produced this album. Have you ever thought of using an outside producer?
KH: We thought about using another producer. There was no one coming into our minds we really wanted except for maybe Bob Rock. At this stage it maybe a step too much.
UM: Why him?
KH: I think he is a guy that adds to the bands sound without changing it. Without transforming Gamma Ray into something that should not be. We could learn from a guy like him.
/bandpics/gammaray2.jpg
UM: How fun was it to make "Blast from the Past"? I imagine you guys had tons of fun.
KH: Absolutely! That was cool!
UM: Did any of the choices from the fans surprise you?
KH: Not really. I have to say there were no big surprises. It was kind of what we expected. On the first three positions (and that was what ended up being in the album) we knew what was coming. But on the following positions, thats where we got surprised. There were some surprises in songs that we didnt think would be that high or songs that we expected to be up there werent.
UM: The style of the band is different from the very beginning. What led Gamma Ray to this point musically where it was started with the album Land of the Free?
KH: It is very hard to describe. I think its all a matter of time, its a matter of personal experience, its a matter of personal taste. The circumstances you are surrounded with, the situation of the music or metal scene. All kinds of things that make you progress or develop from one point to another. One could do the same things all the time but that would be too boring. No Gamma Ray album has been like the one before and we will always continue that in the future. We dont follow some kind of line, we arent going from A to Z.
UM: How much do you like singing?
KH: I really enjoy it! Except when I am touring and I get a cold or my vocal chords are not doing what I want them to do. I cant just put new strings on. Sometimes I wish I wouldnt sing. Also, during tours if there is a good party I have to restrict myself in smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol because the next day there will be a show.
UM: Are you sick of the constant rumors that Michael Kiske will join Gamma Ray?
KH: Its ridiculous! Its bullshit that someone always brings this up again and again. It always comes back and its wishful thinking by people who are nostalgic and wish that if this would happen, an album like the Keepers album would come out. Michael has gone into a different musical direction and that is one reason why it definitely wouldnt work out. On the other hand a lot of fans are used to me singing so it would be strange for us to work with Michael.
UM: When I think of Gamma Ray, I think of Kai being the singer and nobody else.
KH: Thats cool! Thats good for me as well to get that recognition as a singer. Before I just played guitars and did some screaming or trying to sing. People always tell me that I have improved from album to album. I feel that as well. I am pretty comfortable with singing now.
UM: Ok now I have a totally weird question for you. Its about a theory I have regarding a lyrical or story connection with your previous 3 studio albums and I just want to get your thoughts on it. It might be too crazy but just bear with me.
KH: Go ahead!
UM: Are Land of the Free, Somewhere Out in Space and Powerplant all part of a big story? To simply put it Land of the Free is the story of a people leaving a planet, Somewhere Out in Space deals with that race searching all over space for a new home and finding it in Powerplant.
KH: All right! That is a good idea. (Laughs) In a way its not far from being true. Its coming into my world theory in a way. I kind of like to believe that the human race wasnt "invented" on Earth. We maybe came from somewhere else, from somewhere out in space (laughs) or from another dimension. If I look at it the world will be quickly destroyed by the way we use it, even quicker than the way it would die naturally. We have to find technology to find a new home in space to live. If we cant achieve this we will die with the planet. Maybe our race is based on this thought: that we travel from planet to planet. We explore it, develop it and then exploit it and then we develop new technology to travel further on. Its just a theory and it makes sense somehow.
UM: Are you with the belief that the Ancient Egyptians were helped by beings from outer space to develop their civilization?
KH: I dont know if its really true but it sounds possible. You find a lot of hints in ancient history about visitors from outer space. Maybe its wishful thinking by humans but maybe there is some truth to that.
UM: There is evidence that points to this sort of interpretation.
KH: Absolutely! We like to believe in some deeper extensive meaning than just living here on Earth and eventually dying here because after that we are gone.
UM: Was it hard for you to leave Iron Savior?
KH: I would say No. The move just had to be made. It was time to make a change because the situation was not too good anymore in terms of handling the pressure. I couldnt bring myself into Iron Savior as mush as I should, I could, and I would and wished. Of course, that was not a happy situation. Iron Savior wasnt getting enough recognition as a band. It always had this project character. It was just the right time to leave Iron Savior and concentrate on Gamma Ray for me.
UM: Would you think of doing anything like that again?
KH: Probably not. No.
UM: I didnt want to mention Helloween with you but since there was some recent news of them I have to ask you if their recent split surprised you?
KH: It came of a surprise. I didnt expect that to happen. I just learned that a few days ago. What can I say. If they had to make that move then they had to. Lets see where that leads them.
UM: What are your tour plans for No World Order!?
KH: We are starting our tour on September 26th taking us to Germany all over Europe and Japan. Next year we plan to go to South America as well as plans to go to Canada and the United States. We are working on something there. I think its time to go there. In the States there is a very strong metal underground these days and we have a lot of fans out there. We get a lot of requests by fans out there to go over there. So we are working on that.
UM: How hopeful are you that it could actually happen?
KH: I am very hopeful actually. We have some great connections and it looks pretty good.
UM: Who will you tour with while in Europe?
KH: We have two support bands, one is Sonata Arctica and the other one is Vanishing Point from Australia. They are more of the progressive side of metal. They are very interesting and atmospheric. They are a really good band.
UM: Any final thoughts?
KH: I hope we get to the States pretty soon. Its one of our goals besides playing China and Russia. (Laughs) I think the States are much more realizable now.
