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A Live Document From Wacken’s Frontline

The live album and concert film Thank You Wacken is out now, capturing Kai Hansen and his handpicked band in their first and only appearance together at Wacken Open Air. Recorded on a muddy, electric summer evening, it freezes a singular moment in German metal history: the stage debut of the group that co-wrote and recorded Hansen’s 2016 solo album XXX – Three Decades in Metal. The result is a high-voltage chronicle of songs drawn from that record alongside celebratory nods to the legacy that made Hansen a pillar of European power metal.

The Band That Brought the Studio to the Stage

For this unique performance, Hansen assembled a lineup that bridged generations and styles within the heavy spectrum, each player adding color and weight to the material:

• Alex Dietz (Heaven Shall Burn) on bass, grounding the set with muscular low end and road-tested precision.
• Eike Freese (Dark Age) on guitar, balancing incisive riffing with fluid melodic leads. Known for his production work in the studio, he translates that detail-obsessed ear into articulate live phrasing.
• Michael Ehré (Gamma Ray) on drums, delivering the rapid-fire kick patterns and tight turns that power metal demands without sacrificing feel.
• Corvin Bahn (Crystal Breed) on keyboards, threading atmospheric pads, organ swells and carefully placed synth hooks through the arrangements. His studio credits with acts including Neopera, Lord Of The Lost and Beyond The Black show in his textural nuance.
• Clémentine Delauney (Visions Of Atlantis) and Frank Beck (Gamma Ray) on backing vocals, stacking harmonies, gang shouts and responsive countermelodies that lift the choruses into festival-sized anthems.

In keeping with the night’s celebratory spirit, Michael Kiske (Helloween, Unisonic) also steps in for a special cameo, joining Hansen to revisit Helloween classics that ignited a roaring response from the Wacken crowd.

“Contract Song” Live: Sharp Hooks, Iron Nerve

Among the set’s focal points, the live rendition of Contract Song stands out as a quintessential Hansen moment. The track channels the brisk momentum and gleaming melody that defined his blueprint for European power metal, but filters it through the wry self-awareness of a veteran looking back at the business behind the music.

On stage, Freese and Hansen lock into tight, harmonized figures that spark against Ehré’s precise double-kick drive. Dietz’s bass work adds thrust without crowding the guitars, while Bahn’s keys slip between supporting pads and lines that mirror the vocal hooks. Delauney and Beck expand the chorus with layered harmonies and call-and-response accents, amplifying the song’s punch into a true festival chant. The performance keeps the studio version’s clarity intact but adds grit, tempo tension and the kinetic push that only a sea of voices in front of a Wacken stage can provide.

Three Decades, One Night

Thank You Wacken is as much a salute to a community as it is a live album. It ties the autobiographical threads of XXX – Three Decades in Metal to the place where those songs were meant to live: a rain-soaked field of devotees who know every cadence and chorus. The set list draws a thoughtful line between new solo material and the foundations of Hansen’s legacy, culminating in a meeting of eras when Kiske joins the stage. It is a reminder of how the genre grew, and of the melodic verve and high-energy ethos that helped shape it.

Sound, Vision and the Wacken Atmosphere

Shot and recorded in front of one of the world’s most devoted metal audiences, the release balances the spectacle of Wacken Open Air with clear, punchy audio. Guitars are bright without harshness, drums are articulate yet heavy, and the vocals sit forward enough to lead singalongs without losing the texture of the crowd. Camera work captures both onstage interplay and the expanse of the festival field, underlining the communal rush that defines Wacken at its best. It feels immediate, unvarnished and appropriately loud.

Formats Available

Thank You Wacken is available now in multiple formats to suit collectors and live-album devotees alike:

• CD + DVD
• 2LP vinyl
• Blu-ray + CD
• Digital

Why This Release Matters

This is not just another festival set captured for posterity. It is a one-off alignment of players who helped realize Hansen’s vision for XXX – Three Decades in Metal, preserved in the very environment that gave that music its urgency. For fans of Helloween, Gamma Ray and the broader German power metal lineage, Thank You Wacken offers both a fresh chapter and a heartfelt nod to the past. For the uninitiated, it is a concentrated hit of what makes the style endure: velocity, melody, craft and the irrepressible bond between artist and audience.