He is one of the founding fathers of power metal — and now KAI HANSEN is stepping out on his own again. The HELLOWEEN co-founder and GAMMA RAY mastermind has announced his new solo album, "Born With A Hammer," due September 18, 2026 via earMUSIC, and shared its first single and video, "Feeding The Beast."
It is HANSEN's first proper solo effort since 2016's "XXX - Three Decades In Metal," and by his own account it is a looser, wilder, more personal record. earMUSIC describes "Born With A Hammer" as "raw, energetic, rebellious and unmistakably personal," blending classic heavy metal with punk attitude, hard rock swagger, soaring melodic hooks and the kind of fierce guitar work that made HANSEN a hero to a generation of metal guitarists.
The album was produced by Eike Freese, who also contributes guitar, and features a heavyweight supporting cast drawn from across the modern metal underground: Alexander Dietz of HEAVEN SHALL BURN and Tim Hansen of INDUCTION on guitar, and CARCASS drummer Dan Wilding behind the kit. It is a lineup that signals HANSEN has no intention of coasting on nostalgia.
The ten-song tracklist runs: "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" and "Wonderland."
As the man who wrote some of HELLOWEEN's most enduring anthems before launching GAMMA RAY and helping define European power metal, HANSEN has nothing left to prove. That he is still swinging the hammer this hard in 2026 — title track and all — is reason enough for celebration. "Born With A Hammer" arrives September 18.