Power Metal Legend Kai Hansen's 5 Favorite Non-Metal Albums

Power metal legend Kai Hansen (Helloween, Gamma Ray) has named his five favorite non-metal albums.

The 63-year-old just released his very first solo studio album, Born With a Hammer, a 10-track affair in which he's joined by his son Tim and Dark Age singer Eike Freese on guitars, Carcass drummer Daniel Wilding and Heaven Shall Burn guitarist Alexander Dietz on bass.

It's nothing too unexpected from Hansen, save for perhaps the industrial-tinged "Wait and See," placing the guitarist and singer's penchant for rock-steady good-time tracks, middle finger attitude and speedy, cosmic-obsessed melodic metal front and center.  And for fans of Hansen's brand, it more than scratches the itch without a new Gamma Ray album since 2014 and only a small handful of writing credits on the last two Helloween records.

Check out the opening song "Feeding the Beast" for a taste of Born With a Hammer.

READ MORE: The 50 Best Opening Songs of '80s Metal Albums (Ranked)

While Hansen is indeed a man who pioneered and helped shape an entirely new branch of heavy metal, just like the rest of us, he doesn't only listen to metal.

Among his most cherished non-metal albums is a modern LP by one of rock's longest-running bands, so this isn't just a pure nostalgia trip for Hansen, either. You'll find pop-punk, post-heyday prog rock, goth rock and pure punk, all in Hansen's selections below.

Come, feed your own beast and see Kai Hansen's five favorite non-metal albums and snag your copy of Born With a Hammer (on vinyl or CD) through the webstore buttons above.

Below, see the best metal album of each year since 1970: