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)
FAREWELL
Freedom Call Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Forever for the kingdom
Farewell to everyone
Brothers we are wild on the run
Riding high the final Race
We've never done before
Challenging our destiny
We carry on to make our way
Make our dreams come true
Gliding into another day
The world is our home
Welcome to the dome of pleasure
Welcome to the hall of fame
Farewell to everyone
Farewell again
Fly to survive, right to the sky
Believe in the spell of the dawning day
Fly to survive, right to the sky
High on the wings of insanity
Living in our wonderland
We never had before
We return to fantasy
Touch the heavens door
The lyrics of Freedom Call's song "Farewell" seem to be conveying a sense of adventure, freedom, and brotherhood, all wrapped in the pursuit of a common goal. The opening lines of "Together we march in time, Forever for the kingdom" suggest that the song is about a group of people who are united in their quest for something greater than themselves. They are willing to face any challenges and obstacles that may come their way in pursuit of this goal. As the song goes on, the lyrics suggest that the group is on some sort of journey or adventure, and they are enjoying every moment of it.
The middle verse of "Riding high the final race, We've never done before, Challenging our destiny, Brothers we are wild on the run" seems to be highlighting the excitement and thrill of the journey, as they take on new challenges that they have never faced before. And while there may be some sense of uncertainty about their fate, they are confident that they will be able to overcome any obstacles that come their way, together as brothers.
The final verse of "Living in our wonderland, We never had before, We return to fantasy, Touch the heavens door" suggests that the journey has taken them to some sort of magical and fantastical place, where they are experiencing things that they have never experienced before. And as the song comes to a close, the lyrics suggest that this journey has come to an end, and they are bidding "Farewell to everyone" - presumably to the people they have encountered on their journey, and perhaps to the journey itself.
Overall, the lyrics of "Farewell" seem to be about the thrill of adventure, the importance of brotherhood, and the pursuit of a common goal. It's a song about living life to the fullest, taking risks, and enjoying every moment of the journey.
Line by Line Meaning
Together we march in time
We will be united and work towards the same goal
Forever for the kingdom
We will work towards building an everlasting kingdom
Farewell to everyone
We are saying goodbye to everyone before we embark on our journey
Brothers we are wild on the run
We are adventurous and free spirits moving towards our goal at full speed
Riding high the final Race
We are racing towards the end goal with great enthusiasm
We've never done before
We are entering uncharted territory
Challenging our destiny
We are taking control of our fate and challenging what is pre-determined
We carry on to make our way
We continue to make progress towards our goal
Make our dreams come true
We will not let anything stop us from achieving our dreams
Gliding into another day
We are moving forward and embracing new opportunities with ease
The world is our home
We are free to explore and make our mark on the world
Welcome to the dome of pleasure
We are welcoming everyone to join us in our journey towards pleasure and happiness
Welcome to the hall of fame
We will be successful and recognized for our achievements
Fly to survive, right to the sky
We will soar high and overcome any obstacle to survive
Believe in the spell of the dawning day
We believe in a bright future and are excited to embrace each new day
High on the wings of insanity
We will take risks and be daring to achieve greatness
Living in our wonderland
We will create and live in a world of our own making
We never had before
We will experience things we never thought possible
We return to fantasy
We are returning to a state of imagination and freedom
Touch the heavens door
We will reach new heights and achieve our ultimate goal
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHRIS BAY, DANIEL ZIMMERMANN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Diego Socias
Together we march in time
Forever for the kingdom
Farewell to everyone
Brothers we are wild on the run
Riding high the final Race
We've never done before
Challenging our destiny
Brothers we are wild on the run
We carry on to make our way
Make our dreams come true
Gliding into another day
The world is our home
Welcome to the dome of pleasure
Welcome to the hall of fame
Farewell to everyone
Farewell again
Fly to survive, right to the sky
Believe in the spell of the dawning day
Fly to survive, right to the sky
High on the wings of insanity
Living in our wonderland
We never had before
We return to fantasy
Touch the heavens door
Jericho Kővári Toma
Together we march in time
Forever for the kingdom
Farewell to everyone
Brothers we are wild on the run
Riding high the final Race
We've never done before
Challenging our destiny
Brothers we are wild on the run
We carry on to make our way
Make our dreams come true
Gliding into another day
The world is our home
Welcome to the dome of pleasure
Welcome to the hall of fame
Farewell to everyone
Farewell again
Fly to survive, right to the sky
Believe in the spell of the dawning day
Fly to survive, right to the sky
High on the wings of insanity
Living in our wonderland
We never had before
We return to fantasy
Touch the heavens door
Luiz Neto
THIS IS PURE FUCKING POWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!
TOGETHER WE MARCH IN TIME
FOREVER FOR THE KINGDOM
FAREWELL TO EVERYONE
BROTHERS WE ARE WILD ON THE RUN!♫
Greetings from Brazil, my friends!
Diego Socias
Together we march in time
Forever for the kingdom
Farewell to everyone
Brothers we are wild on the run
Riding high the final Race
We've never done before
Challenging our destiny
Brothers we are wild on the run
We carry on to make our way
Make our dreams come true
Gliding into another day
The world is our home
Welcome to the dome of pleasure
Welcome to the hall of fame
Farewell to everyone
Farewell again
Fly to survive, right to the sky
Believe in the spell of the dawning day
Fly to survive, right to the sky
High on the wings of insanity
Living in our wonderland
We never had before
We return to fantasy
Touch the heavens door
Villentretenmerth
This song always makes me happy
Towers
This is the song I was looking, not listening for 10 years, always look, now that I hear is like coming fifteen. greetings from Chile
Tom Samot
Same with me lol that album is fucking nostalgic ...
Spellcaster57
BEST BANDS PERIOD -Freedom Call -Rhapsody of Fire -Noctrunal Rites -Stratovarius
Hank Hill
I love this new generation of music.
Mamiro Rarra
uhm, new?
Josh Meads
The happiest metal out there!
anibaldk
That bell tolling was just the perfect touch!