Kai Hansen has spent decades helping define German power metal.
But his new solo album doesn’t seem interested in playing by the rules.
On September 18th, 2026, the Helloween and Gamma Ray co-founder returns with Born With A Hammer his first major solo studio release in a decade, following 2016’s XXX – Three Decades in Metal.
And judging by the story behind the album Hansen wasn’t trying to make another Helloween or Gamma Ray record.
He was trying to make the record he wanted to make.
It started with boredom
The story of Born With A Hammer actually begins during the COVID lockdown.
With touring stopped and no active music projects keeping him busy Hansen started writing songs in his home studio simply to pass the time.
Then the demos began piling up.
And they didn’t sound like one particular band.
Some were heavy metal. Others leaned toward hard rock, punk, pop or electronic sounds. Instead of forcing everything back into the power metal formula fans already knew, Hansen decided to let the songs be what they were.
The material was simply too diverse for Helloween or Gamma Ray.
So he turned it into a solo album where he could have complete creative freedom.
And that’s exactly what makes Born With A Hammer so intriguing.
Expect the unexpected
The album features 10 tracks, opening with “Feeding The Beast” the first single released in June.
The follow-up singles “Welcome To Life” and “Wait And See” give fans more pieces of the puzzle, while tracks like “Don’t Care”, “I.D.G.A.F.” and “Triple Trouble” point toward the album more unpredictable side.
The full tracklist is:
- 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
And then there’s the eight-minute title track.
“Born With A Hammer” reportedly takes things in a completely different direction, built as a huge, multi-layered homage to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
That’s certainly not the most obvious move from the man behind some of power metal defining moments.
A Hansen family affair
There’s also a pretty cool family connection running through the record.
Kai’s son Tim Hansen, guitarist of Induction, plays guitar on the album.
The two have exchanged demos before and Tim has contributed guest solos to Helloween reunions, but Born With A Hammer marks their first time recording a full studio album together.
Kai Hansen handles vocals and guitar, joined by Tim Hansen, Alexander Dietz, Eike Freese and Carcass drummer Dan Wilding.
There’s even an unusual instrument swap in the studio: Alexander Dietz, better known as a guitarist with Heaven Shall Burn, handled bass duties on the recording.
And then there’s “I.D.G.A.F.”
If you’re wondering just how far Hansen is willing to wander from traditional power metal “I.D.G.A.F.” might be the answer.
The track reportedly combines a guitar lick inspired by The Kinks’ “All Day And All Of The Night” with electronic drums that evoke the Miami Vice soundtrack.
Yes, really.
And Hansen apparently knew exactly what kind of reaction this kind of experimentation could produce.
“Don’t Care” was written as a tongue-in-cheek answer to the purists who might complain about electronic, pop and punk elements appearing on a Kai Hansen record.
In other words:
If you came looking for another straight-up Helloween or Gamma Ray album, you might want to adjust your expectations.
No rules. Just Kai Hansen.
Produced by Eike Freese, Kai Hansen and Alexander Dietz, Born With A Hammer sounds like a project built around one simple idea: follow the songs wherever they want to go.
Heavy metal? Absolutely.
Hard rock? Sure.
Punk, pop and electronic touches?
Apparently, why not?
After decades of helping shape a genre, Kai Hansen has earned the freedom to throw a few unexpected things into the mix.
And maybe that’s the most interesting part of Born With A Hammer.
This isn’t Kai Hansen looking backward.
It’s Kai Hansen seeing how far he can take the music when nobody tells him where it has to go. 🤘
Where to Listen & Pre-Order
You can pre-order physical vinyl and CD editions of Born With a Hammer through specialized rock retailers like Napalm Records and Relix Shop or stream and pre-save the digital release directly on Apple Music.
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