KAI HANSEN, earMUSIC and Wacken Foundation are gearing up for the release of XXX, the first solo album by Kai Hansen, one of the most influential guitarists and singers to emerge from Germany during the first part of the 80s.

First with ground-breaking band HELLOWEEN (of which Hansen is one of the founding members) and later with GAMMA RAY, one of the bands that contributed to define the genre power metal, bringing it to generation of devoted fans worldwide since its first album.

XXX is, in pure Hansen tongue-in-cheek style, a reference to over 30 years of involvement in the world of heavy rock, as explained with the album's sub-title, Three Decades In Metal. The album is to be released today, September 16th, via earMUSIC on 1CD, 2CD Special Edition including all 11 songs with Hansen on vocals, 2LP and digital. Audio samples are streaming below.

The tracklist is as follows:

01. Born Free
02. Enemies Of Fun (featuring Ralf Scheepers & Piet Sielck)
03. Contract Sun (featuring Dee Snider & Steve McT as The Manger
04. Making Headlines (featuring Tobias Sammet)
05. Stranger In Time (featuring Michael Kiske, Frank Beck, Tobias Sammet & Roland Grapow - guitar solo)
06. Fire And Ice (featuring Clementine Delauney, Marcus Bischoff, Richard Sjunnesson & Michael Weikath - guitar solo)
07. Left Behind (featuring Alexander Dietz & Clementine Delauney)
08. All Or Nothing (featuring Clémentine Delauney)
09. Burning Bridges (featuring Eike Freese)
10. Follow The Sun (featuring Hansi Kirsch & Tim Hansen - guitar solo)

Here's the video for 'Born Free':