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)
Mother Earth
Freedom Call Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Island of life, out of the dust she has come
Be aware of the dream we live in
Realize that the chance is given
My life, my love
In the hand of destiny
Mother Earth - Oasis of life
Mother Earth - The flame of universe
Your tears of pain rain down on the world
Shine in the night, a diamond in blue, she's the one
Symbol of light, the reign of the fool shad begun
Be aware of the world we're sharing
Realize that the times are changing
My love, my life
You can seal my destiny
[Chorus]
Highest time that the world is learning
Keep in mind that the big wheel's turning
My love, my life
You're the only one for me
[Chorus]
The verses of "Mother Earth" by Freedom Call are about the creation and importance of nature in the universe. The first verse describes Earth as a child of destiny who came out of the dust and is an island of life in the vastness of the universe. The lines "Be aware of the dream we live in, Realize that the chance is given" serve as a reminder that we must take care of the planet and realize the responsibility bestowed upon us. The singer recognizes that their life and love are in the hand of destiny, implying the acceptance of the natural cycle of life.
The chorus of the song pays tribute to Mother Earth as the voice, oasis, and flame of the universe. It acknowledges the pain and suffering that the Earth is going through, as conveyed in the line "Your tears of pain rain down on the world." The second verse talks about the Earth being a diamond in blue, symbolizing the planet's uniqueness and beauty. The reign of the fool implies the ravaging of the planet by irresponsible and selfish actions of human beings. The lines "Be aware of the world we're sharing, Realize that the times are changing" call for people to be responsible and sensitive towards their environment. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the importance of the Earth.
The overall message of "Mother Earth" is to emphasize the importance of taking care of our planet and the responsibility that we have towards it. The song calls for people to be mindful of their actions and their impact on the environment.
Line by Line Meaning
Destiny's child, aeons away from the sun
We are all children of destiny, born ages ago in the vastness of the universe.
Island of life, out of the dust she has come
Our home, Earth, is a miraculous creation that emerged from the cosmic dust and gave rise to all kinds of life.
Be aware of the dream we live in
We must realize that the world we perceive is nothing but a dream, a construct of our senses and mind.
Realize that the chance is given
We should recognize that we have been given the unique opportunity to experience this dream of life on Earth.
My life, my love
Our lives and loves are precious gifts that we should cherish and celebrate.
In the hand of destiny
Ultimately, the course of our lives and the fate of the universe are determined by a force beyond our control.
Mother Earth - The voice of the universe
Earth is not just a planet, but a living organism that speaks in the language of nature and the cosmos.
Mother Earth - Oasis of life
Earth is a haven of diversity and beauty, offering us a home and sustenance that we often take for granted.
Mother Earth - The flame of universe
In the grand scheme of things, Earth is a beacon of light and warmth on which the survival of many species depends.
Your tears of pain rain down on the world
As Earth suffers from human activities and natural disasters, her tears of sorrow and anger affect all living beings.
Shine in the night, a diamond in blue, she's the one
Earth is a jewel of blue and green, shining in the darkness of space and captivating our hearts with her beauty and mystery.
Symbol of light, the reign of the fool shad begun
Yet, despite all her wonder, Earth is often treated with disrespect and ignorance by those who seek power and profit, to the detriment of all.
Be aware of the world we're sharing
We must acknowledge that we are all part of an interconnected web of life, and our actions affect others and the planet.
Realize that the times are changing
We need to confront the challenges of our age, such as climate change, inequality and conflict, and adapt to a new era of global cooperation and sustainability.
You can seal my destiny
Our individual choices and actions can shape our destiny, either for good or ill, as well as that of the planet and humanity.
Highest time that the world is learning
It is urgent that we learn from our past mistakes and strive for a better future for ourselves and other species.
Keep in mind that the big wheel's turning
We should remember that history is in motion and that we can make a positive difference if we act with wisdom, compassion and courage.
You're the only one for me
Ultimately, each of us has a unique and vital role to play in the unfolding drama of life, and we can find love, meaning and fulfillment by serving the greater good on Mother Earth.
Chorus
The refrain of the song, which emphasizes the beauty, significance and fragility of Earth, as well as our responsibility and potential to care for her.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHRIS BAY, DANIEL ZIMMERMANN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
18isnine
i can't get enough of this band!
FreedomCall90
All of the Freedom Call Songs are great. Yes I love Freedom Call and in the next time I will upload more of them. See you later alligator after a while crocodile and have a nice day too.
ikku iikxer
this song reminds me of good times... !
ignorance saves
woohooo! awesome! especially the part before refrain ^^
Silvio Gremista
the best song !
Rawney
GO FREEDOM CALL!!!
oh no
just brilliant.
Adrian Detânico
freedom call is absolutment the best
blisk20
dude this is power metal...if you dont like it go listen to some death or black metal
Hekatoncheires
Chris Bay ist einfach der beste Sänger überhaupt ;)