Freedom Call is a German power metal band formed in 1998. The band tours regularly and its current line-up includes one original member, lead vocalist and songwriter Chris Bay. Freedom Call has released fourteen albums in total, eleven of which are studio albums. Chris Bay, the band's frontman, developed his vocal skills from his grandfather, an opera singer with the Berlin State Opera, and his mother, a chorus singer. He began playing guitar at age seven and piano at age ten. Bay played in several local rock bands before moving to Hamburg in 1990, where he joined Zed Yago. From 1993 to 1996, he was a member of Hermann Frank's band Moon Doc, recording the albums "Moon Doc" (1995) and "Get Mooned" (1996). In 1998, Bay and Daniel Zimmermann formed Freedom Call during a break from Zimmermann's main band, Gamma Ray, with the aim of creating what they described as "Happy Metal". The band completed a six-song demo with producer Charlie Bauerfeind, and the line-up was finalised with Ilker Ersin on bass and Sascha Gerstner on guitar. Freedom Call released their debut album "Stairway to Fairyland" on 7 May 1999 through NTS Records, selling over 35,000 copies in its first year. The band made their live debut in France supporting Angra and Edguy. Later that year, they recorded the mini LP "Taragon", which included a cover of Ultravox's "Dancing With Tears in My Eyes" and a re-recorded version of "Tears of Taragon" featuring Biff Byford. The band's second album, "Crystal Empire", was released on 22 January 2001. In March 2001, Sascha Gerstner left the band and was replaced by Cédric "Cede" Dupont from Symphorce. In 2002, Freedom Call recorded "Eternity", produced by Bay and Zimmermann, with Charlie Bauerfeind handling drum recordings and mixing. The album was released on 3 June 2002 by Steamhammer. The band toured with Blind Guardian that year and recorded the live album "Live Invasion", released on 10 May 2004. Keyboardist Nils Neumann joined the band permanently. From August to October 2004, Freedom Call recorded "The Circle of Life", released on 21 May 2005. After the release, Dupont and Ersin left the band and were replaced by guitarist Lars Rettkowitz and bassist Armin Donderer. The band released "Dimensions" on 20 April 2007. Songs from the album, including "The Wanderer" and "Dimensions", were used in the online rhythm game "Flash Flash Revolution". In March 2009, bassist Donderer departed and was replaced by Samy Saemann. The album "Legend of the Shadowking" was released on 29 January 2010. Daniel Zimmermann left the band around this period and was succeeded by Klaus Sperling on drums. Freedom Call released their first live DVD, "Live in Hellvetia", on 20 May 2011, recorded in Switzerland. Their next studio album, "Land of the Crimson Dawn", was released on 24 February 2012. On 26 April 2013, the band released their first compilation album, "Ages of Light (1998–2013)". For their 2014 album "Beyond", Ilker Ersin returned on bass and Ramy Ali joined on drums. The album was produced by Chris Bay and Stephan Ernst, with a music video for "Union of the Strong" filmed in December 2013. In May 2015, the reissued album "666 Weeks Beyond Eternity", based on "Eternity", was released with remastered tracks, live recordings, acoustic tracks, and a new song. Freedom Call released their ninth studio album, "Master of Light", on 11 November 2016. The lead single "Hammer of the Gods" was released on 8 July 2016, followed by a promotional video for "Metal is for Everyone". The band conducted the "Master of Light" tour across Latin America and later toured internationally from 2017 to 2018, including performances at 70,000 Tons of Metal, Metalfest Open Air, and Leyendas Del Rock. Their 2024 album "Silver Romance" was released in May by Steamhammer. In addition to his work with Freedom Call, Chris Bay released a solo album, "Chasing The Sun", on 23 February 2018. The singles "Radio Starlight" and "Hollywood Dancer" were released in December 2017 and February 2018, respectively. Bay stated that the album contains songs that were written over the years but did not fit Freedom Call's style. Studio albums Stairway to Fairyland (1999) Crystal Empire (2001) Eternity (2002) The Circle of Life (2005) Dimensions (2007) Legend of the Shadowking (2010) Land of the Crimson Dawn (2012) Beyond (2014) Master of Light (2016) M.E.T.A.L. (2019) Silver Romance (2024) <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Freedom+Call">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.