Thomas Rettke

Thomas Rettke — German vocalist — was the voice of Heavens Gate, a power metal band active in the 1980s and 1990s. Heavens Gate belongs to the second generation of German melodic metal, the one that came after Accept and Helloween and helped consolidate the genre as a national school. It worked with the vocabulary that would become the European standard: fast harmonised guitars, wide choruses and high-register vocals. Rettke has exactly the kind of voice that repertoire requires — high range with sustained power — and is remembered above all for that in the German scene of the period. He also took part in side projects and guest work, common practice among singers of the genre in Germany, where the circuit is interconnected and musicians move between bands frequently. 1990s Germany produced a remarkable number of power metal bands, only some of which achieved lasting international reach. Heavens Gate is part of the layer that sustained the scene — groups with a settled audience at home and recognition on the European circuit, without reaching the reach of Helloween or Blind Guardian.