Henjo Oliver Richter, (born 24 November 1963 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

) is a guitarist and keyboardist in

Gamma Ray A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...

, the German

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band formed by

Kai Hansen Kai Michael Hansen (born 17 January 1963) is a German musician who is the founder, lead guitarist and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also one of the co-founders of metal band Helloween, which he rejoined in 2016. He is a prominent ...

Biography

Henjo is a self-taught musician and started playing at the age of 13. He is a veteran of the German heavy metal scene, but Gamma Ray is his first major band. He joined them as a replacement for guitarist

Dirk Schlächter Dirk Schlächter (born 15 February 1965, in Bad Nauheim, Germany) is the bassist of the power metal band Gamma Ray and Avalanch from 2018. History Dirk got in touch with music for the first time joining a music school at the age of 8. At the ag ...

(who had switched instrument to bass) on ''

Somewhere Out in Space ''Somewhere Out in Space'' is an album by German power metal band, Gamma Ray. It was released on 25 August 1997 and is the band's fifth studio album. Continuing in the tradition of the previous four albums, it contained yet another different lin ...

'' (1997). However, in the mid-1980s, Henjo was a member of the heavy metal band Rampage, replacing

Roland Grapow Roland Grapow (born 30 August 1959 in Hamburg) is a German professional guitarist and music producer. Grapow is best known for his time in the power metal band Helloween, with which he played for 12 years after replacing founding member Kai Hans ...

. In 2001, Henjo was hired by

Tobias Sammet Tobias Sammet (born 21 November 1977) is a German musician, singer, songwriter, music producer and radio host best known for being the singer and primary songwriter of the power metal band Edguy, and the founder of the metal opera project Avant ...

to be the guitarist of his metal opera project

Avantasia Avantasia is a German supergroup metal opera project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist of the band Edguy. It has been characterized as a rock opera, as it features the contributions of various vocalists and musicians and it consists of concept ...

. In 2017, it was announced on Gamma Ray's website that the debut album of 'The Unity', which Richter founded together with Michael Ehré, was to be released in spring 2017.

Injuries

In 2005, Henjo was forced to miss part of Gamma Ray's tour for their album '' Majestic'' after injuring himself falling down a set of stairs on the ferry going between

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Kasperi Heikkinen replaced Henjo Richter for shows scheduled in Germany and Czech Republic in March 2010 because Henjo was hospitalized on 16 March 2010 due to

retinal detachment Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blin ...

. In 2011, he had a biking accident and broke three ribs and his collarbone.

Discography

With Rampage

*''Love Lights Up the Night'' (1983)

With Gamma Ray

*''

'' (1997) *''

Power Plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

'' (1999) *'' Blast from the Past (compilation album)'' (2000) *'' No World Order'' (2001) *'' Skeletons in the Closet (live album)'' (2003) *'' Majestic'' (2005) *''

Land of the Free II ''Land of the Free II'' is the ninth full-length studio album by Gamma Ray. It was released 19 November in Europe, 21 November in Japan and January 15, 2008 for North America. To promote ''Land of the Free II'', Gamma Ray joined Helloween on the ...

'' (2007) *''

Hell Yeah! The Awesome Foursome ''Hell Yeah!!! The Awesome Foursome'' (subtitled "And the Finnish keyboarder who didn't want to wear his Donald Duck costume: Live in Montreal")) is a live album from the German power metal band Gamma Ray, released in 2008. Track listing Dis ...

(live album)'' (2008) *''

To the Metal ''To the Metal!'' is the tenth full-length studio album by Gamma Ray. It was released on 29 January 2010. To promote the album, the band did a tour with Freedom Call and Secret Sphere. The album was recorded in Kai's own studio in Hamburg in autumn ...

'' (2010) *'' Skeletons & Majesties (EP) (2011) *'' Skeletons & Majesties Live (live album)'' (2012) *'' Empire of the Undead'' (2014) *'' The Best (Of) (compilation album)'' (2015)

With Avantasia

*''

The Metal Opera ''The Metal Opera'' is the first full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German supergroup project, Avantasia. It is a concept album and a rock opera. The album is followed by the sequel ''The Metal Opera Part II''. Both were written over the course ...

'' (2000) *''

The Metal Opera Part II ''The Metal Opera Pt. II'' is the second full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German supergroup project, Avantasia. It is a concept album and a rock opera. The songs carry on the story begun in ''The Metal Opera'', with the same characters. Both a ...

'' (2002)

With The Unity

*''The Unity'' (2017) *''Rise'' (2018)

As a guest

Freedom Call Freedom Call is a German power metal band formed in 1998. The band tours regularly and the current line-up includes two original members including lead vocalist and songwriter, Chris Bay. Freedom Call has released 12 albums in total, nine ...

– ''Taragon (EP)'' (1999) * Avantasia – '' The Scarecrow'' (2008) * Avantasia – ''

Angel of Babylon ''Angel of Babylon'' is the fifth full-length album by Tobias Sammet's rock opera German project Avantasia, released on 3 April 2010, along with ''The Wicked Symphony''. ''Angel Of Babylon'' was released both as part of a box set, with the two albu ...

'' (2010) * Avantasia – ''

The Flying Opera ''The Flying Opera'' is a boxed set containing two DVDs and two CDs by the German power metal band Avantasia, released in March 2011. Avantasia evolved from being a side-project of Edguy vocalist Tobias Sammet to a full-fledged band touring all o ...

(live album)'' (2011) * War Kabinett – ''Made in Mexico'' (2011) * Neopera – ''Destined Ways'' (2014)

References

External links

Profile on official Gamma Ray website
German heavy metal guitarists German male guitarists 1963 births Living people Musicians from Hamburg Gamma Ray (band) members {{germany-guitarist-stub