Having played in various local rock bands, Bay moved to Hamburg in 1990 and got his first serious gig when he worked with Zed Yago. From 1993 to 1996 Chris was a member of former Victory guitarist Hermann Frank's band Moon Doc, with whom he recorded the albums "Moon Doc" (1995) and "Get Mooned" (1996).
Founding (1997–1998)
In 1998 Chris Bay and old friend Daniel Zimmermann formed Freedom Call during an off-period for the latter's main band, Gamma Ray. The two had started writing songs together towards the end of 1997. They eventually completed a six-song demo Freedom Call with well-known producer Charlie Bauerfeind, who offered the tape to several record companies.
At the same time, the Freedom Call line up was completed by Ilker Ersin on bass guitar and Sascha Gerstner on guitar. In 1998 Chris and Dan had seen Sascha playing in a cover band.
Stairway to Fairyland and Crystal Empire (1999–2001)
Freedom Call's debut album, Stairway to Fairyland was released on 7 May 1999 by NTS Records. Stairway to Fairyland would sell over 35,000 copies. On 25 May 1999 Freedom Call made their live debut during a tour of France as support band for Angra and Edguy. At the end of August, Freedom Call commenced recording of the five-track mini LP Taragon. It featured new songs, a cover version of Ultravox's "Dancing With Tears in My Eyes", a new version of "Stairway to Fairyland", a new version of "Tears of Taragon" with Biff Byford, singer with Saxon narrating the "Tale of Taragon" on it. There was also a bonus track for Japan called "Kingdom Come".
By the end of 1999, Freedom Call had entered the studio again to record their second album Crystal Empire, this released on 22 January 2001. Crystal Empire was promoted as the logical musical continuation of Stairway To Fairyland. In March 2001 Sascha Gerstner left Freedom Call (he would later join Helloween). Gerstner was eventually replaced by Cédric "Cede" Dupont, the Swiss guitarist of Symphorce.
Eternity and The Circle of Life (2002–2006)
In the middle of January 2002 the new lineup began recording a new album called Eternity. Dan and Chris produced Eternity on their own this time as Charlie Bauerfeind was not available. He was, however, responsible for the drum recordings and the final mix. Eternity was released on 3 June 2002 by Steamhammer.
Later that year, Freedom Call was invited on tour with Blind Guardian. During this tour they recorded the live album, Live Invasion together with Charlie Bauerfeind in Düsseldorf, Stuttgart and Munich. Live Invasion was released on 10 May 2004 by SPV.
The keyboard player on this tour, Nils Neumann, was soon invited to become the fifth member of the band. After an extended break, the next album The Circle of Life was recorded at Hansen Studio, Hamburg and FC Studios, Nuremberg from August to October 2004. The album was released on 21 May 2005 by SPV.
Shortly after the release of The Circle of Life, both Cédric "Cede" Dupont and Ilker Ersin decided to leave Freedom Call (independently of each other). Replacements were eventually announced in the respective form of the unknown Lars Rettkowitz and Armin Donderer, formerly of Paradox.
Dimensions (2007–2008)
A new album with the title Dimensions was released on 20 April 2007. Commenting on Dimensions, Daniel Zimmerman said: Even if the two predecessors, Eternity and The Circle of Life, took very different directions, both albums had a number of strong moments. Dimensions combines the most successful elements from both albums, in other words: we included our penchant for fast and very melodic numbers from Eternity with the more contemporary, bombastic components of The Circle of Life.
The songs "The Wanderer" and "Dimensions" were also used in the online rhythm game "Flash Flash Revolution".
Legend of the Shadowking and Land of the Crimson Dawn (2009–2012)
In March 2009, the band announced that they were putting the finishing touches to a new album, Legend of the Shadowking, and that they had parted ways with bassist Armin Donderer, who would be replaced by Samy Saemann. Legend of the Shadowking was released on 29 January 2010 by SPV.
For the 2010 touring cycle, Dan Zimmerman announced that he would be replaced by Klaus Sperling as during this time he [Zimmerman] would be on the road with Gamma Ray. It was later confirmed on the band's website that Zimmermann had officially left the band. Live in Hellvetia was the first live DVD by Freedom Call. It was released on 20 May 2011 by SPV. Live in Hellvetia was recorded on 29 December 2010 in Z7 Pratteln, Switzerland.
The title of the next Freedom Call studio album, Land of the Crimson Dawn, was announced in September 2011. Chris Bay had previously announced that the band was working on the album and it would be released sometime in February 2012. Land of the Crimson Dawn was released 24 February 2012 by SPV.
Beyond and Master of Light (2013–present)
Ages of Light (1998–2013) is the first best-of compilation by Freedom Call. It was released on 26 April 2013 by SPV. The band announced on 15 September 2013 that they were working on a new album, Beyond, with a new lineup. Ilker Ersin returned to the band to resume bass duties and Ramy Ali joined the band on drums. A music video was filmed on 15 December 2013 for the song Union of the Strong. The shoot took place in the vicinity of Nuremberg and Franconia, the song was taken from the album Beyond that was released on 21 February 2014. A vinyl version of the album was released on 14 March 2014. It was produced by Chris Bay and Stephan Ernst at the Separate Sound Studios in Nuremberg and at Freedom Call's own studio.
In May 2015 Freedom Call released 666 Weeks Beyond Eternity, a reissued edition of their 2002 studio album, Eternity. As the title suggests, 666 Weeks Beyond Eternity was released 666 weeks after the release of the original album. The re-issue is a two disc set featuring the original album which has been remastered, plus bonus content on the second disc including live tracks, acoustic tracks, special versions of their songs, as well as a new song written exclusively for this release. In support of the album release, the 666 Weeks Beyond Eternity Tour 2015 occurred between October 2015 (Glasgow, UK; 9 Oct) and December 2015 (Augsburg, Germany; 22 Dec).
Freedom Call's next album, Master of Light was released on 11 November 2016 (18 November in USA). The first single taken from the album, Hammer of the Gods, was released on 8 July 2016. A promotional video for the track Metal is for Everyone became available on 2 November 2016. Following a release party at Rockcafe Brown Sugar in Nürnberg on 10 November 2016, the four-city Master of Light Latin America tour ran from 25 November until 2 December 2016. The tour commenced in 2016 and continued through 2017 and concluded in 2018. Countries visited (or to be visited) as part of the 2017–2018 legs of the tour include Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and the UK. A number of festival dates also took place, with others scheduled for 2018 that included 70,000 Tons of Metal from 1 to 5 February 2018, and include Metalfest Open Air 2018 and Leyendas Del Rock 2018.
The band's most recent studio offering, M.E.T.A.L., was released on 23 August 2019.
Chris Bay solo
In November 2017 Chris Bay announced that he would be releasing his first solo album, Chasing the Sun, on Steamhammer/SPV records on 23 February 2018. The first single from the album, Radio Starlight, was released on 1 December 2017. Of the album and its content Bay commented: "I permanently write songs and am constantly working on ideas in the studio... ...that's why I've collected a whole lot of tracks over the years that on the one hand don't really suit Freedom Call and on the other are just too good to gather dust in my archive." The second single from the album, Hollywood Dancer, was released on 2 February 2018.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Call
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)
Ages of Power
Freedom Call Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Under the skies of love, we're thriving on and on
As the years go by, on the stage of life
With blinded eyes, we believe in lies
Back to the ages of power, it's time for us to learn
One day it's far too late, too late for a return
Arise from the cower from the day on we have learned
We glorify all our endless crimes
In a high degree, will we ever see the signs?
We will prevail, we will never fail
We pay for all, we're the last to fall
Back to the ages of power, it's time for us to learn
One day it's far too late, too late for a return
Arise from the cower from the day on we have learned
It's high time to break the spell that's chaining up the world
Time for return is here
We overcome our fear
Will we ever see our agony?
Will we ever try?
Unleashed, the beast is raging on
Dark angel with the serpent's tongue
Beware that the ending has begun
Back to the ages of power, it's time for us to learn
One day it's far too late, too late for a return
Arise from the cower from the day on we have learned
It's high time to break the spell that's chaining up the world
The lyrics of Freedom Call's song Ages of Power revolves around the theme of the human experience; how we go from being innocent and carefree to being burdened by our own sins and lies. The song acknowledges how as time passes and we start to see the world more clearly, we realize that we have been living under a spell, unable to break free from the cycle of endless crimes and mistakes. The chorus calls for us to go back to the ages of power, to learn from the past and break the spell that's holding the world captive.
The first verse indicates the beginning of life, where we are innocent of sins and are free to love and thrive. However, as time goes on, we start to lose sight of reality and become blinded by lies that we have been told. The second verse speaks of the consequences of our actions and how we pay for our mistakes, but ultimately, we will never fail. The bridge is a clarion call for action and reminds us that the time for return has arrived, and we must overcome our fear and try to make things right. The last line warns that the beast within us has been unleashed, with a dark angel and a serpent's tongue, indicating a sense of urgency to break the spell and save the world before it's too late.
Line by Line Meaning
When life begins, young and free from sins
At the start of life, we are innocent and unburdened by mistakes.
Under the skies of love, we're thriving on and on
Love sustains us throughout our lives.
As the years go by, on the stage of life
Life is like a play, with each passing year revealing new scenes.
With blinded eyes, we believe in lies
We often accept falsehoods without even realizing it.
Back to the ages of power, it's time for us to learn
We should look back to the past to better understand the present and future.
One day it's far too late, too late for a return
If we wait too long to make changes, it will be too late.
Arise from the cower from the day on we have learned
We should be empowered by our knowledge and not cower in fear.
It's high time to break the spell that's chaining up the world
We have a duty to free the world from the harmful influences that hold it back.
We glorify all our endless crimes
We often celebrate harmful actions without considering their true impact.
In a high degree, will we ever see the signs?
Despite how obvious the signs of destruction may be, we often fail to recognize them.
We will prevail, we will never fail
We have the power to succeed in our efforts to make the world a better place.
We pay for all, we're the last to fall
We bear the weight of the consequences of our actions, but we are also strong enough to overcome them.
Time for return is here
The time has come to make a change.
We overcome our fear
We must not let fear hold us back from doing what is right.
Will we ever see our agony?
Will we ever truly recognize the pain that our actions can cause?
Will we ever try?
Will we make the effort to change our ways and make a positive impact?
Unleashed, the beast is raging on
Unchecked destruction and chaos are wreaking havoc.
Dark angel with the serpent's tongue
Evil influences are deceiving and causing harm.
Beware that the ending has begun
We must be aware that the current trajectory will not end well if we do not make changes.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHRIS BAY, DANIEL ZIMMERMANN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@awieabi
This is the best album of fc and also one of the best songs it's so powerful
@FranciscoLopez-xh2rf
When you can't hear more epic tunes, you find this
@rautamiekka
I beg to differ: if you check my 'MUSIC: awesome only', and the 1st 20 in my 'MUSIC: English' list as of this comment, you'll find some good shit you never knew existed. The word 'awesome' has an extremely specific meaning to me, so if I use the word, it's definitely warranted.
This track's good, no argument from me, though. It's a classic.
@arnold_1998
¡Wow! ¡Fenomenal!
@DrgnLord92
Love the demonic overlap of Black Metal and Death Metal near the end of the song. Complements the Power Metal tale nicely \m/
@Moredhel1983
It's so over the top silly, it's actually epic!
@Fabsi16
Very good song!!
@nazyks2532
Back to the ages of power, it's time for us to learn
One day it's far too late, too late for a return
Arise from the cower from the day on we have learned
It's high time to break the spell that's chaining up the world
@Zepheeros
este Tema es genial SUBLIMEE!!!!
@JesusHernandez-kd6or
3:30 mi parte favorita