Henning Basse

Hi!
Check out my Website

My name is Henning Basse, Leadsinger of Metalium.
www.metalium.de.
We did 6 releases + 2 DVDS so far. I also do different
cover projects like Tribut to Iron Maiden "Powerslave".
In the near future you will have more information
about me on my new Website:
www.Henningbasse.de
Since 2000 I am a voice coach in my own school.
In my private time I go out for a walk around my
hometown. We have a very beautiful nature and woods
around Lüneburg,so i enjoy that."Animals" another passion
I share as often i can, I spend my time with them. Feel
free to write me! Rock on!!! Later you can see some
videos and pictures!
Henning Basse belongs to the best and most
successful singers in the field of rock and metal.
Being front man of Brainstorm he toured throughout
Europe, with his current band Metalium he has been
on tour within and outside Germany for several times.
Singing became his passion already when he was a child.
At the tender age of six he started in the children’s
choir of Lüneburg, on recommendation of his mother.
He stayed there for four years, having a couple of gigs
in various churches. What followed were two years as a
gospel singer, during that time he could hardly control
his impulsive temper, being a notorious fidget.
Nevertheless the fact was: Henning Basse had found his
instrument (that is his voice)!
This was the reason why he then enjoyed a fundamental
song training with a theatre-instructor, who taught him
all necessary basic elements of classical singing. However,
Basse was not really happy in this field either, searching
yet for his very own personality as a singer. He dealt
with the most different stylistics of music, and therefore
he was nick-named “The Wandering Encyclopaedia Of Music”
at school. Moreover he got a lot of Metal- and Hard Rock-CDs
from his stepfather, among others discs from Accept,
Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Queen, AC/DC and Judas Priest.
Basse remembers: “When for the first time I heard the
intro-riff of Accept’s "Fast As A Shark’, I only could stare
with mouth wide open. At once I got a clear idea of the
direction into which I wanted to develop in future.”
In the beginning he was smiled at by some of his school
mates as a day-dreamer, who would anyhow never be able
to realize his vision of a CD-production of his own. But still
at school the ambitious singer met some like-minded mates
who were also keen to make music and to write songs of
their own.
So Basse’s first serious group Bad Obsession came into
existence by means of some of his mates, the program of
which consisted by 50% of cover songs (above all from
Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC).
The first songs written by the band members themselves
were from a similar stylistic direction. Rehearsals at that time
took place at the then guitarist’s, to be more particular in his
parents’ living room. However, an unmistakable “visit” of the
police interrupted this event. The group found shelter at
“1000 Steine” in Lüneburg, a project which places rehearsal
rooms and equipment at the bands’ disposal for free. “In return
we were obliged to take part in their festivals announced under
the motto ‘Rock instead of Drugs’, Basse remembers. “But we
ourselves didn’t hold on to it for too long and were soon caught
with bottles of beer backstage.”
But this slight incident, however, changed nothing at the band’s
activities. Bad Obsession had several gigs in and outside
Lüneburg and produced demos by means of their first fees.
Frequently the band played in small pubs und so got to know
a lot of colleagues from other rock groups. And this in turn
unavoidably led to a rising interest in Henning Basse, whose
giant talent could not be ignored from the beginning. “One
night the bass player of a band named Bourbon Street handed
me their demo and asked me to come around for a rehearsal.”
Although the band members looked clearly older than those of
Bad Obsession, Basse agreed and went to an exceptionally
successful audition: “After I had had my audition they all
agreed that this was really rocking. And I was enormously
impressed, too: the backline, the professionalism of the
musicians. So I decided to join Bourbon Street.” Rapidly
Bourbon Street became the local heroes of the town,
regularly playing at town feasts, in pubs and clubs.
A new demo and a CD were produced in this phase,
becoming secret tips in the North German scene of rock music.
By means of a new management Bourbon Street got the
chance not only to play outside the town boundaries, but
even to go on a first German tour. The group presented
itself as a homogeneous unit even not leaving out any party
after the gigs. During the group’s first concert in Hamburg
Basse became acquainted with the members of Iron Maiden
Tribute-Band, founded 1993. Bourbon Street did develop
step by step, but the band had to cope with some changes
of cast, so Basse started searching for a more constant
formation. He found his luck with Errantry
(www.mp3.de/musik/genre/band/080000/606641),
playing traditional German metal. At the same time he
started helping other groups with writing songs and
taking over choral singing in the studio for them.
The talented singer realized that he had not yet reached
his limits, neither vocal nor regarding his popularity.
“Everything had developed so well, but I didn’t want
to come to a standstill, and I wanted to get out off
Lüneburg by all means,” he admits. Hamburg scene
was simply perfect to establish contacts and to
orientate oneself newly. When Basse performed with
Iron Maiden Tribute Band in the Hanseatic town for
the first time, he became acquainted with colleagues
becoming very important for him, regarding both
human and musical relations. Basse tested nearly
30 bands, meeting among others Henjo Richter
whom he later suggested as a guitarist at Gamma Ray.
Richter and Basse together composed some titles,
originally thought for a mutual project, but finally
ending in the program of Gamma Ray (‘Guardians of
Mankind’, ‘Winged Horse’).
After visiting a band rehearsing next door to
Gamma Ray, a closer contact arouse to Kai Hansen
(singer and lead guitarist of Gamma Ray), who promptly
invited him to a jam-session. “After Ralf Scheepers’
retirement Kai had just recorded the songs for the
latest album. He liked the records, especially as he
knew the situation from his time as a singer and
guitarist at Helloween. But he was somehow fascinated
of my style of singing. That’s why he wanted by all means
to get an impression of how the material would sound with
my voice. While he was on a promotion-tour through Japan,
I invested in the studio all my passion for this music and recorded the material once more, singing it all again.”
Hansen was then totally enthusiastic about the result,
but he had to take distance of engaging Basse firmly for
Gamma Ray, because in Japan, after all one of the most
important markets for the band, the fans insisted on Hansen
going on taking over the singing himself, like in the old days
of Helloween.
Nevertheless this was an important and instructive
experience for Basse, who then, beside Errantry and
his Iron Maiden Tribute-Band, joined another project:
Catch The Rainbow, a tribute-band in spirit of Richie
Blackmore’s Rainbow. The line-up was really worth seeing:
Henjo Richter, guitar (Gamma Ray), Ulli Kusch, drums
(ex-Helloween, Masterplan), Jens Becker, bass (Grave Digger),
Axel Mackenroth, keyboards (Masterplan). Catch The Rainbow
not only performed great gigs in Germany and abroad, but
also published an album with cover versions of Rainbow,
which first appeared in Japan and then throughout Europe.
By the way, except Basse you could find two more exceptional
German singers on this album, Andi Deris (Helloween) and
Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear).
Then followed Basse’s engagement at Brainstorm, one of the
most important and most successful German metal-bands. The
contact came about by Gamma Ray bass player Dirk Schlächter,
who had produced the latest album for Brainstorm and suggested
the Lüneburg singer to solve Brainstorm’s internal problems.
Basse: “The group had personal difficulties with their singer at
that time. Moreover they planned a Europe-wide tour as a
supporting program to Iced Earth. So I took the place of the
singer for the whole tour. The show including some additional
gigs in Greece was a complete success for the band.”
Nevertheless Basse did neglect neither Catch The Rainbow
nor his two other formations, Errantry respectively Iron Maiden
Tribute-Band, and had numerous gigs with them.
Short time before that he had met Lars Ratz, not only
belonging to Zed Yago and Velvet Viper, but also leading
his own booking-agency in Hamburg. Ratz at once realized
Basse’s incredible talent and, without hesitating, started
forming a band around him. “One day Lars called me and
declared: ‘Guess who is on board: Chris Caffery of Savatage
and Mike Terrana of Yngwie Malmsteen.’ ”Of course Basse
was torn to and fro: On the one hand there was the lucrative
offer of Brainstorm to remain a steady member of the band even
after the tour, on the other hand the prospect of having his own
band in Hamburg, with well-known co-musicians like Caffery
and Terrana, was extraordinary attractive. Basse decided on Ratz
and Hamburg. He freely admits: “Probably there would have
been no problem to sing in both bands, but the far distance
between Hamburg and the South German home of Brainstorm
certainly played a role.”
Metalium was born! Basse left Brainstorm and Errantry and
turned to his new band with full ambition. Metalium without
problems obtained a well remunerate disc contract, and with
their first album they published the most successful metal-debut
in 1999. Moreover Basse was elected best rock singer of the
country by Götz Kühnemund, editor-in-chief of metal-magazine
‘Rock Hard’. At the first go the group was the talk of the town,
toured throughout Europe and provided furore overseas as well
(see also www.metalium.de). Besides Chris Caffery went back
to New York with the final mix of the CD and introduced it to
success producer Paul O’Neill. The one promptly invited Basse
to an audition for his extraordinarily successful rock-musical
Trans-Siberian Orchestra. O’Neill was deeply impressed by Basse.
“Up to now I have close contact to the boys in New York, so that
at any time cooperation is possible at short notice.” There was
also the chance of being engaged by Savatage. Only three singers
were tested to follow Zachary Stevens, one of them was Henning
Basse. Savatage at long last decided in favour of an American for
organizational reasons, but they expressed their great enthusiasm
about the song talent of the North German.
During the past seven years Metalium have established themselves
as a firm size in the European music scene. Up to now they have
produced six CDs and two DVDs, which provided gigantic
attention worldwide (www.metalium.de). Basse himself has
worked as a song teacher for more than six years. “What
seems to be more reasonable than to stay in my field and
to pass my true profession to others,” he says. He himself
acquires his basic knowledge both autodidactic and through
specific training at various schools, seminars etc. Since 2002
he has, moreover, been singing in the cover band Fahrenheit,
whose repertory includes different styles like pop, soul, funk
and rock. The band performs in various line-ups, either as a
duet, as a quartet or as a big band.
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