Kai Hansen details solo project XXX

Kai Hansen
Kai Hansen (Image credit: Getty)

Kai Hansen will unveil his debut solo album XXX – Three Decades In Metal in August.

The former Helloween and current Gamma Ray guitarist and vocalist teams up with Alex Dietz of Heaven Shall Burn on bass, Eike Freese on guitar and Carcass drummer Daniel Wilding on the record.

He also announced he’ll donate money from the album to the Wacken Foundation – a charity which helps young hard rock and metal bands.

Hansen says: “I am celebrating 30 years of being able to do what I like best. On XXX I am reflecting on my roots, where I come from, how it all started for me.

“I believe you need a certain drive, passion and, of course, a bit of luck and coincidence to make it in the music world – and, of course, some financial support. Hopefully, with my donation, young musicians are given the same chance that I was given a long time ago, too. And who knows, maybe we all will be playing together at Wacken in 20 years.”

Kai Hansen’s XXX project will also perform a one-off show at Wacken Open Air in Germany in August.

Kai Hansen tour dates 2016

Jun 25: Balatonszemes Rock Part Festival, Hungary
Jul 07: Ballenstedt Rock Harz Open Air, Germany
Sep 07: Torre del Mar Weekend Beach Festival, Spain
Oct 06: Solvesborg Sweden Rock Festival, Sweden

Gamma Ray: Empire Of The Undead

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.