Henjo Oliver Richter, (born 24 November 1963 in Hamburg, West Germany) is a guitarist and keyboardist in Gamma Ray, the German power metal band formed by Kai Hansen.

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 (who had switched instrument to bass) on Somewhere Out in Space (1997). However, in the mid-1980s, Henjo was a member of the heavy metal band Rampage, replacing Roland Grapow. Coincidentally, Michael Weikath considered Richter to join Helloween. Had this happened, he would have replaced Grapow just like he did in Rampage. In 2001, Henjo was hired by Tobias Sammet to be the guitarist of his metal opera project Avantasia. 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 and Finland. 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. In 2011, he had a biking accident and broke three ribs and his collarbone. In 2024, he was ran over

Discography

With Rampage

With Gamma Ray

With Avantasia

With The Unity

As a guest