Kai Hansen (4,598 views)

[Rodney Blazershorts]

Vocal Range: B1-B5
Associated Acts: Helloween (1983-1989; 2016-present), Gamma Ray, Iron Savior (1996-2001)

Significant high notes:
B5: "Surprise Track (White Christmas - I'll Be Your Santa Claus)"
B♭5: "The Guardians of Mankind", "Love Live Rock 'n' Roll"
A5: "Halloween" Edinburgh 1988, "Judas", "Man on a Mission", "Metal Invaders", "Murderer", "Phantoms of Death", "Solid", "Somewhere Out in Space", "A Tale That Wasn't Right",
G♯5: "Anywhere in the Galaxy", "Blood Religion", "Dream Healer" Blast from the Past, The Heart of the Unicorn", "Heavy Metal Is the Law", "Last Before the Storm" Blast from the Past, "Lost in the Future", "Mirror Make Believe", "New World Order", "Ride the Sky", "Salvation's Calling", "Starlight", "Tribute to the Past" Blast from the Past, "Valhalla"
G5: "Abyss of the Void", "Chasing Shadows", "Cry for Freedom", "Demonseed", "Downcast", "Dr. Stein", "Gardens of the Sinner", "Gods of Deliverance", "Gorgar", "Halloween" Edinburgh 1988, "Heal Me", "Heavy Metal Mania", "Hold Your Ground" Skeletons & Majesties, "How Many Tears", "It's a Sin", "Land of the Free", "Lost Angles", "Out for Glory", "Pale Rider", "Rebellion in Dreamland" Alive '95, "Salvation's Calling", "Save Us", "Seven", "The Silence" Silent Miracles, "Somewhere Out in Space", "Strangers in the Night", "Victim of Changes"
F♯5: "Anywhere in the Galaxy", "Armageddon", "Beyond the Black Hole", "Blood Religion", "Chains of Slavery", "Changes" Blast from the Past, "Deadlands", "Dethrone Tyranny", "Down in the Dumps", "Eagle", "From the Ashes", "Future World" Alive '95, "Hand of Fate", "Heading for Tomorrow" Blast from the Past, "Heavy Metal Is the Law", "Heavy Metal Universe", "Hellbent", "I'm Alive", "Induction", "Judas", "Land of the Free", "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll", "Lost in the Future", "Lost in the Twilight Hall", "Lust for Life" Alive'95, "Man on a Mission", "March of Time" Edinburgh 1988, "Miracle", "Money", "Murderer", "No Stranger (Another Day in the Life)", "Oernst of Life", "One With the World" Blast from the Past, "Rebellion in Dreamland", "Rich and Famous" Blast from the Past, "Ride the Sky", "Shine Forever", "Shine On", "Solid", "Steel Redeemer", "To Mother Earth", "To the Metal!", "Trouble", "Victim of Changes", "Warrior", "Watcher in the Sky"
F5: "As Time Goes By" Pre-production version, "Blood Religion", "Cry for Freedom", "Damn the Machine", "Empire of the Undead", "Fight", "Future World" live versions, "Hand of Fate", "Heal Me", "Hear Me Calling", "Heaven Can Wait" Blast from the Past, "Heavy Metal Universe", "Hell Is Thy Home", "Hellfire", "Lake of Tears", "Last Before the Storm" Blast from the Past, "Leaving Hell", "Majesty", "Man on a Mission", "Metal Invaders", "Money", "My Temple", "New World Order", "No Stranger (Another Day in the Life)", "One With the World" Blast from the Past, "Pumpkins United", "Razorblade Sigh", "Real World", "Rich and Famous" Blast from the Past + live versions, "Rise", "The Saviour" Alive '95', "Send Me a Sign", "Shine Forever", "Somewhere Out in Space", "Space Eater" Alive '95, "Starlight", "Steel Redeemer", "Time Machine", "Tribute to the Past" Blast from the Past + Alive '95, "We Are Real", "The Winged Horse"
E5: "Afterlife", "Armageddon", "Born to Fly", "Changes" Blast from the Past, "Empire of the Undead", "Follow Me", "Gorgar", "Guardians", "Halloween" Edinburgh 1988, "Heal Me", "The Heart of the Unicorn", "Heavy Metal Mania", "Hellbent", "How Long", "How Many Tears", "I Want Out", "Insurrection", "Judas", "Lost in the Twilight Hall", "March of Time" Edinburgh 1988, "Metal Invaders", "Mother Angel", "Murderer", "Oernst of Life", "Opprotunity", "Pale Rider", "Phantoms of Death", "Rebellion in Dreamland", "Reptile", "Revelation", "Ride the Sky", "Rise", Shine On", "Solar Wings", "Spiritual Dictator", "Starlight", "Strangers in the Night", "The Temple of Hate", "Time to Live", "To Mother Earth", "Valhalla", "Valley of the Kings", "Victim of Fate", "Wannabees", "Warrior", "Watcher in the Sky", "The Winged Horse"
E♭5: "All of the Damned", "All You Need to Know", "Anywhere in the Galaxy", "As Time Goes By" Pre-production version, "Beyond the Black Hole", "Chalice of Agony", "Deadly Sleep", "Dethrone Tyranny", "Dream Healer" Blast from the Past, "Fight", "Gardens of the Sinners", "The Guardians of Mankind", "Hear Me Calling", "Heaven Can Wait" Blast from the Past, "Heaven or Hell", "Heroic Deathe", "I Want Out" Hammerfall version, "I Can" United Alive, "I Will Return", "It's a Sin", "Last Before the Storm" Blast from the Past, "Leaving Hell", "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll", "Luna", "Lust for Life" Blast from the Past + Alive '95, "Majesty", "Master of Confusion", "Men, Martians and Machines", "My Temple", "Pray", "Predators", "Razorblade Sigh", "Return to Fantasy", "Revelation", "The Silence" Silent Miracles, "Shine On", "Short as Hell", "Solid", "Someday", "Space Eater" Alive '95, "Strange World", "Steel Redeemer", "To the Metal!", "Trouble", "Wings of Destiny"
D5: "As Time Goes By" Pre-production version, "At Daggers Dawn", "Brothers" Skeletons & Majesties, "Built a World", "Chasing Shadows", "Deadly Sleep", "Deliverance", "Demonseed", "Empathy", "Empire of the Undead", "Empress", "Farewell", "Fire Below", "Forevermore", "Future World" live versions, "Guardians", "Hand of Fate", "Hell Is Thy Home", "Hellbent", "Hellfire", "I Want Out", "I Will Return", "Insurrection", "Leaving Hell", "Majesty", "Man on a Mission", "Mother Angel", "One Life", "Pale Rider", "Rain", "Real World", "Revelation", "Salvation's Calling", "Seven", "Shine Forever", "Skyfall", "Solar Wings", "Solid", "Spiritual Dictator", "Warrior", "Watcher in the Sky", "When the World"
C♯5: "Blood Religion", "Break It Up", "Built a World", "Deadly Sleep", "Demonseed", "Dream Healer" Blast from the Past, "Eagle", "Fairytale", "From the Ashes", "Gardens of the Sinner", "Heading for Tomorrow" Blast from the Past, "The Heart of the Unicorn", "Heaven or Hell", "Heavy Metal Is the Law", "How Long", "I Want Out" Hammerfall version, "I'm Alive" Edinburgh 1988, "Lust for Life" Blast from the Past, "Man on the Silver Mountain", "Mirror Make Believe", "New World Order", "No Return" Skeletons in the Closet, "No Stranger (Another Day in the Life)", "Opprotunity", "Pray", "Rain", "Shine On", "Sign of the Cross", "Skyfall", "Strange World"
C5: "All You Need to Know", "Avalon", "Chasing Shadows", "Devliverance", "Farewell", "Fire Below", "From the Ashes", "Gods of Deliverance", "Heal Me", "Heavy Metal Universe", "Lake of Tears", "Land of the Free", "Leaving Hell", "One Life", "Opprotunity", "Phantoms of Death", "Real World", "Rich and Famous" Blast from the Past + live versions, "Send Me a Sign", "Seven", "Somewhere Out in Space", "Strangers in the Night", "The Temple of Hate", "Time to Live", "Tribute to the Past" Blast from the Past + Alive '95, "Trouble", "Valley of the Kings", "When the World", "A While in Dreamland"
B4: "Abyss of the Void", "Afterlife", "Anywhere in the Galaxy", "Are You Metal?", United Alive, "Armageddon", "Beyond the Black Hole", "Brothers" Skeletons & Majesties, "Changes" Blast from the Past, "Damn the Machine", "Deadlands", "Empress", "Fairytale", "Farewell", "Follow the Sign", "Forevermore", "From the Ashes", "Gods of Deliverance", "Gorgar", "Halloween", "Heading for Tomorrow", "Heaven or Hell", "Hold Your Ground" Skeletons & Majesties, "How Many Tears", "Inside", "Insurrection", "Into the Storm", "A Little TIme", "Miracle", "No Need to Cry", "No Stranger (Another Day in the Life)", "Pray", "Rebellion in Dreamland", "Reptile", "Salvation's Calling", "The Silence" Silent Miracles, "To Mother Earth", "We Are Real"
B♭4: "All of the Damned", "Avalon", "Built a World", "Condemned to Hell", "Cry for Freedom", "Dethrone Tyranny", "Down in the Dumps", "Dream Healer" Blast from the Past, "Empire of the Undead", "The Guardians of Mankind", "Heaven Can Wait" Blast from the Past, "Heroic Deathe", "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll", "Luna", "Lust for Life" Blast from the Past + Alive '95, "Man on a Mission", "My Temple", "New World Order", "One Life", "One With the World" Blast from the Past, "Razorblade Sigh", "Revelation", "The Saviour" Alive '95', "Send Me a Sign", "Seven", "The Seven Angels", "Victim of Fate", "Warrior", "Wings of Destiny"
A4: "Are You Metal?" United Alive, "Break It Up", "Fight", "Forevermore", "Metal Invaders", "Miracle", "No Need to Cry", "Oernst of Life", "Perfect Gentleman" United Alive, "Pumpkins United", "Rebellion in Dreamland", "Return to Fantasy", "Rise and Fall", "Time to Live", "To the Metal!", "We Got the Right", "Watcher in the Sky", "A While in Dreamland", "The Winged Horse"

Significant Low Notes
E3: "Best Time", "Born to Fly", "Chasing Shadows", "Cry for Freedom", "Eagle Fly Free" United Alive, "From the Ashes", "Hold Your Ground" Skeletons & Majesties, "Land of the Free", "Miracle", "Money", "Rise and Fall", "Shine Forever", "The Silence" Silent Miracles, "Trouble", "Victim of Changes", "Warrior", "We Are Real"
E♭3: "Changes" Blast from the Past, "Dethrone Tyranny", "Fight", "Fire Below", "Lost in the Future", "Money", "Rain", "Razorblade Sigh", "Rise and Fall", "Send Me a Sign", "Short as Hell", "Solar Wings", "To the Metal!", "Valley of the Kings"
D3: "All of the Damned", "Demonseed", "Empathy", "Future World" live versions, "Majesty", "Murderer", "Salvation's Calling", "Skyfall", "Strangers in the Night"
C♯3: "Abyss of the Void", "At Daggers Dawn", "Blood Religion", "The Guardians of Mankind", "Hand of Fate", "Heading for Tomorrow" Blast from the Past, "I Want Out" Hammerfall version, "Insurrection", "Lake of Tears", "New World Order", "No Return" Skeletons in the Closet, "No Stranger (Another Day in the Life)", "Rain", "Shine On", "Tribute to the Past" Blast from the Past
C3: "All You Need to Know", "Brothers" Skeletons & Majesties, "Demonseed", "Dr. Stein", "Empire of the Undead", "Hellfire", "How Many Tears" United Alive, "Last Before the Storm" Blast from the Past, "Master of Confusion", "Mirror Make Believe", "Perfect Gentleman" United Alive, "Real World", "Rebellion in Dreamland", "Rise", "Rise and Fall" United Alive, "Space Eater" Alive '95, "Watcher in the Sky"
B2: "Heal Me" Blast from the Past, "Heaven or Hell", "Pale Rider", "Strange World", "Strangers in the Night", "Trouble", "Valley of the Kings"
B♭2: "Abyss of the Void", "Armageddon", "Gardens of the Sinner", "Heading for Tomorrow" Blast from the Past, "Lake of Tears", "My Temple", "One Life", "Opportunity", "Revelation", "Short as Hell", "To Mother Earth", "Tribute to the Past" Blast from the Past + Alive '95
A2: "Farewell", "Gods of Deliverance", "Heal Me", "Hellfire", "Indestructible", "Master of Confusion", "Revelation", "Ride the Sky" Van Canto version
G♯2: "Anywhere in the Galaxy", "Dream Healer" Blast from the Past, "Heal Me" Blast from the Past, "Hell Is Thy Home", "Skyfall", "Somewhere Out in Space", "Strange World", "Wings of Destiny"
G2: "Deliverance", "Gardens of the Sinner", "Insurrection", "It's a Sin", "No Need to Cry", "Opportunity", "Perfect Gentleman" United Alive, "Rebellion in Dreamland" Blast from the Past + Skeletons & Majesties, "Salvation's Calling", "Send Me a Sign" Skeletons & Majesties, "Seven", "Someday", "Valley of the Kings", "We Are Real"
F♯2: "Changes" Blast from the Past, "Empress", "Follow Me", "Lust for Life" Blast from the Past, "Men, Martians and Machines", "Rich and Famous" Blast from the Past + live versions, "Shine On", "Somewhere Out in Space", "To the Metal!"
F2: "Armageddon", "Blood Religion", "One With the World" Blast from the Past, "Strangers in the Night", "Yesterday" RNE 2012
E2: "Hear Me Calling", "Hold Your Ground" Skeletons & Majesties, "Leaving Hell", "Out for Glory", "Skyfall", "Waiting for the Thunder" United Alive
E♭2: "Wannabees"
D2: "Brothers" Skeletons & Majesties, "Hellbent", "Seven", "Waiting for the Thunder" United Alive
B1: "Wannabees"
.......................................................
*Blue marks soft falsetto notes.
*Green denotes heavily distorted passages.
*Underline mark notes that are obscured in the song mix.
*Italics mark non-melodic notes.
*Boldface marks notes that are considered to be particularly notable examples of this person's vocal capabilities.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}C♯6: "I Want Out" Hammerfall version ^[5], "Watcher in the Sky" ^[5]
B♭5: "Victim of Fate" ^[5]
G5 :"No Need to Cry" ^[2]
E5: "Halloween" ^[2][5]

F♯2: "Heal Me" Blast from the Past ^[3]
D2: "Pumpkins United" ^[2]
C♯2: "Someday" ^[4]
...................................
[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips and whispers in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Album Ranges}Helloween
1985: Helloween: D3-A5
1985: Walls of Jericho: F♯3-A5
2021: Helloween: E2-E3-G5

Gamma Ray
1995: Land of the Free: G2-G5-A5
1996: Alive '95: B♭2-G5
1997: Somewhere Out in Space: F♯2-G5-B♭5
1999: Power Plant: F2-G5-G♯5
2000: Blast from the Past: F2-F♯2-G♯5
2001: No World Order: F♯2-B♭2-A5
2003: Skeletons in the Closet:
2005: Majestic: F2-F♯5-G♯5
2007: Land of the Free II: E2-G2-F5-F♯5
2008: Hell Yeah! The Awesome Foursome:
2010: To the Metal!: E♭2-F♯5-G5
2011: Skeletons & Majesties: G2-B♭4-G5
2012: Skeletons & Majesties Live:
2014: Empire of the Undead: D2-G5

[Rodney Blazershorts]

Still need to listen to the live albums, and I'm probably going to nix the F3 section. Feedback on bolds and missed stuff is welcome as always.

Alsoooooo
There's been some contention over whether the C#6 in Hammerfall's "I Want Out" is sufficient enough to be counted. Being that it is an extremity, I'm less favorable to doing so, but the reasoning is not very solid. Please help me.

[Henny Macc]

You already know that I (reluctantly) favor counting it, but I'm hearing it as a C6. He was clearly aiming to match the pitch of the instrument, but he fell a bit flat. It's a little difficult to tell though because the instrument gives the illusion of that pitch for the vocal.

[clem]

The "I Want Out" w/Hammerfall note is a bit flat, but I think it does lean closer to the C♯ than the C. I'd say it's just about countable too.

[begram]

I've been listening to Kai for years, I find it interesting, genuine. Its highest notes I've heard are:
-(maybe) A6# in studio version of Valhalla (Blind Guardian feat Kai Hansen)
- E6 in Valhalla live version, Blind Guardian feat e  Kai Hansen recorded whith a phone

[Rodney Blazershorts]

Mar 29, 2022 17:36:18 GMT begram said:

I've been listening to Kai for years, I find it interesting, genuine. Its highest notes I've heard are:
-(maybe) A6# in studio version of Valhalla (Blind Guardian feat Kai Hansen)
- E6 in Valhalla live version, Blind Guardian feat e  Kai Hansen recorded whith a phone

I have no idea where you're getting A6#(?) from, that's definitely not in there. Very interested in hearing that live version though.

[Henny Macc]

Knowing concert recordings and phone quality, I wouldn't be surprised if that E6 turned out to be like an E5 with overtones and/or mic feedback, but I'm open to hearing it. Seems unlikely though, given Kai's general tessitura.

[begram]

Mar 31, 2022 23:33:09 GMT Rodney Blazershorts said:

Mar 29, 2022 17:36:18 GMT begram said:

I've been listening to Kai for years, I find it interesting, genuine. Its highest notes I've heard are:
-(maybe) A6# in studio version of Valhalla (Blind Guardian feat Kai Hansen)
- E6 in Valhalla live version, Blind Guardian feat e  Kai Hansen recorded whith a phone

I have no idea where you're getting A6#(?) from, that's definitely not in there. Very interested in hearing that live version though.

At time 1:23

[Henny Macc]

Thanks

[Rodney Blazershorts]

Apr 1, 2022 18:34:41 GMT begram said:

Mar 31, 2022 23:33:09 GMT Rodney Blazershorts said:

I have no idea where you're getting A6#(?) from, that's definitely not in there. Very interested in hearing that live version though.

At time 1:23

That's a G#5, as I wrote in the OP. Octave confusion is common depending on what you are using to pitch, but I'm not sure how you got A# out of that. Hansen has sang Valhalla live a few times and nailed the E5, which I'm assuming is the same issue.

[Henny Macc]

Just notewatched the entire Edinburgh 1988 concert that was used for Helloween's Live in the U.K. live album, and actually got way more new notes for Kai out of it than I did for Kiske:


I see you've already got the A5 from this performance listed, which was a good find, but there are also G5s on every chorus harmonizing with Kiske's E5s. Sounds like Kai also scales up to a B4 just before that chorus at 6:28, and there are A4s on the other pre-choruses in the part 1 video of this song.
I also see you have this performance listed for F5s though, which I don't recall hearing anywhere. Do you remember where those are?


I also see you've got the F♯5s and E5s from this performance listed, but I found a D5 here as well.


E5s here, then B4s at 1:20


E5 here...I think it's Kai? Sounds more like his tone than Kiske's, but I'm not quite sure.


A4s here, followed by some C♯5s shortly after


B4s here


A4s here


C5 here, though it sounds like these ones might be pre-recorded backing tracks of some sort


A4s here, but this is another one where I'm skeptical as to whether they're actually natural live vocals

[Rodney Blazershorts]

May 1, 2023 22:25:12 GMT Henny Macc said:

Just notewatched the entire Edinburgh 1988 concert that was used for Helloween's Live in the U.K. live album, and actually got way more new notes for Kai out of it than I did for Kiske:

Generally when I watch live tracks I only include the highest or lowest notes if they exceed the original recording, especially if it's harmony. In the case of something like "Halloween", I might as well include the G5s since they're repeated regularly, but I wouldn't typically bother with B4s in a performance like that. (Also, what F5 lol)

E5s here, then B4s at 1:20

Hard to make out, but yeah I could throw that to Kai.

E5 here...I think it's Kai? Sounds more like his tone than Kiske's, but I'm not quite sure.

See to me that sounds like Kiske, but it's hard to tell whose mic that is

A4s here, followed by some C♯5s shortly after

Good call on that, just missed it for some reason.

B4s here

Could probably give him the studio version as well.

C5 here, though it sounds like these ones might be pre-recorded backing tracks of some sort

Sounds like it, plus I've got plenty of notes from that song already.

A4s here, but this is another one where I'm skeptical as to whether they're actually natural live vocals

Already in the OP

[Henny Macc]

May 7, 2023 16:01:27 GMT Rodney Blazershorts said:

May 1, 2023 22:25:12 GMT Henny Macc said:

Just notewatched the entire Edinburgh 1988 concert that was used for Helloween's Live in the U.K. live album, and actually got way more new notes for Kai out of it than I did for Kiske:

Generally when I watch live tracks I only include the highest or lowest notes if they exceed the original recording, especially if it's harmony. In the case of something like "Halloween", I might as well include the G5s since they're repeated regularly, but I wouldn't typically bother with B4s in a performance like that. (Also, what F5 lol)

I can agree with the logic of only including the highest or lowest notes if they exceed the original recording, but I figured that pertained more to the vocalist that originally sang the studio version of the song. For most of these songs, Kai doesn't have any vocals on the studio version (that we know of anyway), so any less extreme notes from those live versions aren't as redundant as they otherwise would be.

With all that said, I admittedly didn't notice that you already had a lead vocal (though italicized) B4 listed for him from the studio version of that song until after I made that post, so yeah it's not a tremendous loss to not include those in this case. I'm glad you added the G5s though cause those are pretty crazy, and not worth overlooking for just the A5. As for the "F5", I could've sworn you had that listed in the OP from this performance before and I didn't know where it was supposed to be, but maybe I imagined that.

May 7, 2023 16:01:27 GMT Rodney Blazershorts said:

E5 here...I think it's Kai? Sounds more like his tone than Kiske's, but I'm not quite sure.

See to me that sounds like Kiske, but it's hard to tell whose mic that is

Hmmm...Zedd Squared you wanna weigh in here? This is in regards to the note from "Living Ain't No Crime" that I linked above. It makes more sense that Kiske would do it, but the tone has more of the kind of thinness and grit that I associate with Kai. 

Anyway, I reckon the "I'm Alive" A4s, the "Eagle Fly Free" A4s, the "Dr. Stein" B4s, and "March of Time" D5s could still be worth listing for the reasons I mentioned above, but I think that's about as deep as it goes with this batch of notes. I'm gonna start notewatching the United Alive in Madrid album soon though, so I'll presumably drop another list of notes from that in here once I'm done.

[Zedd Squared]

I really don't know what to make of that Livin' Ain't No Crime E5. It's a pretty throwaway intro note (borderline italic really) so it wouldn't shock me if Kiske hit it without his usual tone just as an exclamation, but there's not really enough context to tell for 100% that it isn't Hansen instead. Putting it in the spoiler for uncertain identity is what I'd vote for personally.

[Henny Macc]

Surprisingly, of the three Helloween vocalists, Kai seems to have the most new notes on United Alive in Madrid, including some impressively solid second octave singing!


Great G2s and an F2 here! Then possibly even some D2s at 1:24?


G2s here, C3s at 0:57 and an A4 at 2:08.


E♭5 here I guess? Sounds like the intended note was a D5, but it's a very wide vibrato. Repeats at 2:59 (where it sounds a bit more like a D5 I guess) and 4:10.


E♭3s and a C3 here.


Sounds like this gets down to a C3 and some E3s.


Backing A4s here, and backing B4s at 3:49.


Backing E3 here.


F3 here I guess since those are being counted as lows.