Gamma Ray: Collection (1995 - 2007) [8CD, Japanese Edition]

Kai Hansen formed Helloween in 1984, playing guitar and singing on the speed metal band's first four albums. He left in early 1989, however, and founded Gamma Ray with vocalist Ralf Scheepers (formerly with Tyran Pace). The duo intended to record a one-off project that Hansen originated while in Helloween, so they recruited bassist Uwe Wessel, drummer Matthias Burchardt, and several other musicians. The album, Heading for Tomorrow, was released in 1990 and proved a hit with fans and critics, so much so that Hansen, Scheepers, and Wessel decided to tour the album with added members Dirk Schlacter (guitar) and Uli Kusch (drums). During the tour the Heaven Can Wait EP was released. By 1991, Gamma Ray produced another album of new material, entitled Sigh No More. Following 1993's Insanity & Genius, vocalist Scheepers departed to try out for Judas Priest; he didn't get the gig, but opted to form a new band called Primal Fear rather than return to the fold, leaving Hansen to take over vocal duties on 1995's Land of the Free. Further recordings with Hansen as lead vocalist followed, including 1997's Somewhere Out in Space, 1998's Valley of the Kings, and 1999's Power Plant. Blast from the Past was released in 2000. Gamma Ray returned to a raging New Wave of British Heavy Metal style for 2001's No World Order, and followed that album with the live set Skeleton in the Closet. Gamma Ray returned in 2005 with Majestic, the release of which was accompanied by a world tour. In 2007, Gamma Ray released Land of the Free II (the sequel to 1995's Land of the Free), and went on tour with Helloween to promote the album. Three years later, the band released its tenth full-length album, To the Metal! In 2012, drummer Daniel Zimmermann left the group after 15 years. He was replaced by Michael Ehre. The band released their eleventh studio album, Empire of the Undead, which took the band's sound in a more thrash-oriented direction, in the spring 2014.

by John Bush, allmusic

The stigma of Helloween is a hard one to get rid off, as illustrated on Gamma Ray's first three LPs. Kai Hansen succeeded in creating a band of his own, but he couldn't come up with an idiosyncratic style or even implement it well. Land of the Free is, however, a complete success considering Hansen's progression. Land of the Free intriguingly breaks the basic concept that Gamma Ray's contemporaries have used so much. The opener, "Rebellion in Dreamland," for example, doesn't have a decent structure. The seven-minute piece is constructed in many different parts, instead of the verse-chorus-verse pattern that is so typical of other metal bands. Also, most importantly, their large sound is achieved by using synths and sound effects, so Land of the Free offers a lot more than just distorted guitars and high-pitched singing. The songs themselves have their downsides, but mostly – because of their structure – the riffs are very inventive and succeed in being both catchy and diverse. The actual songs (there are many short pieces between songs) as wholes are flawless, so Land of the Free is an almost-perfect album. It really serves the definition of power metal well and is indeed one of the most metal albums of the late '90s.

by Antti J. Ravelin, allmusic

This release was one of the few power metal releases that made being a North American a bonus, for the USA release actually contained a bonus CD with material recorded with Ralf Scheepers still at the helm in 1993. The CD contains much of the best songs from the 3 albums of their early era, the stand out performances being “No Return”, “Heading for Tomorrow/Dream Healer” and “Last Before the Storm”.

Most of the best tracks off of the “Land of the Free album” made it into the performance, including such classics as “Man on a Mission” and “Rebellion in Dreamland”. Other classic Gamma Ray material includes “Space Eater” and “Lust for Life’ off of their first album, as well as “Heal Me” and “Tribute to the Past” off of Insanity and Genius. Kai Hansen’s renditions of the old Scheepers material is extremely well done, especially considering the range and power of the latter’s voice, and the fact that he didn’t have a guitar in his hand while performing (as Kai was, often playing lead).

Not to forget where he comes from, Kai and his band have also seen fit to include two classic Helloween tracks composed by himself. “Future World” is a particularly interesting track because we find Kai singing a song originally performed by Michael Kiske, another formidable vocalist whose shoes are extremely difficult to fill. He pulls it off well, though I did find myself missing the flash and flair of the original vocalist of the song. “Ride the Sky” sees Kai returning to what he originally did best, throwing out high notes like there is no tomorrow. This particular performance is so much like the original version of the song that I often find myself checking the CD jacket to make sure I’m listening to a live album.

The other musicians perform their parts well, particularly Dirk Schlachter during the various guitar solos, and the few instances where he is manning the keyboards. The rhythm section is tight and together, Thomas Knack has done some amazing work with Iron Savior of late, and this album sees the early period in which his drumming is already starting to develop into something spectacular. Here is how I rate the tracks.

Exceptional: Land of the Free, Man on a Mission, Rebellion in Dreamland, The Savior, Abyss of the Void, Lust for Life, No Return, Ride the Sky.

Good: Tribute to the Past, Last Before the Storm, Future World, Heavy Metal Mania, Space Eater, Heal Me, Fairytale, Future World, Heading for Tomorrow/Dream Healer.

Fair: Changes, Insanity and Genius, Future Madhouse.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this live album to fans of Gamma Ray and Helloween alike. Fans of Iron Savior and Primal Fear may also wish to check this album out since members of those two bands are present on this album. Metal fans in general will like this, though obviously the ones who hate melody will not be pleased, which comes as no surprise of course.

by hells_unicorn, metal-archives

Recorded in 1997 and released in the U.S. a year later, Gamma Ray's fifth studio recording, Somewhere out in Space, is a concept album paying tribute to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The music largely follows the gothic Euro-metal style Kai Hansen employed with Helloween.

by Steve Huey, allmusic

Kai Hansen left Helloween in 1989 because, as he saw it, the band was straying from its roots in high-speed yet melodic, British-derived metal. His refusal to bow to trends and stick to the style he clearly loves is admirable, but on the other hand, it doesn't allow for much growth or evolution. Power Plant is more of the same from Gamma Ray, inarguably well done, but hard to differentiate from their many other albums in this particular metal style.

by Steve Huey, allmusic

The members of Gamma Ray are caught in a timewarp, and if one is a die-hard fan of old-school '70s and '80s power metal, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Throughout the '90s, the German headbangers offered no acknowledgment of post-'80s alternative metal trends – and when the early 2000s arrived, they were still partying like it was 1984. This live double-CD was recorded at concerts in Barcelona, Spain and Strasbourg, Germany during Gamma Ray's European tour of 2002, but stylistically, Skeleton in the Closet might as well have been recorded 18 or 20 years earlier – the performances are right out the classic Iron Maiden/Judas Priest/Queensrÿche/King Diamond school of power metal, and Gamma Ray is totally oblivious to punk-influenced styles such as metalcore, grunge, death metal/black metal, grindcore, doom metal, stoner rock and rap-metal. But if Wynton Marsalis and the derivative Young Lions of hard bop and post-bop can be praised for their retro outlook, there is no reason why Gamma Ray should feel obligated to change with the metal times if they don't want to – and judging from the roaring applause that one hears throughout Skeleton in the Closet, the headbangers' European followers seem to agree that if it isn't broke, don't fix it. In fact, Kai "Helloween" Hansen and friends bring so much conviction and passion to these performances that one is glad to see them sticking with the type of aggressive yet melodic power metal that they do best. No one will accuse Gamma Ray of being the most groundbreaking or distinctive band in the world, but for those who never lost their love of old-school power metal, Skeleton in the Closet is an exciting, if predictable, document of the German metalheads on-stage in 2002.

by Alex Henderson, allmusic

If Gamma Ray's rousing power metal sounds a little dated in 2005, well, it is. But with metal's ever-increasing hybridization, it's almost comforting to hear a band standing so proudly outside that fusionist circle. Majestic changes little from 2001's No World Order, or the albums before that. This is power metal through and through, with Kai Hansen's high-pitched wail leading his band at a double bass gallop through songs about Hell, spiritual dictators, and dark destinies. Opener "My Temple" features some great rapid-fire sections alongside a chorus intoning, "Evil comes, evil's done," and "Hell Is Thy Home" – besides its terrifically antiquated title – features lines like "Into oblivion you take their lives." Hansen, of course, pronounces it "lyyy-EEEEVes!" This isn't to poke fun at Gamma Ray. Yes, their lyrics seem torn from fantasy literature. Yes, they're posed with a hairy, cloaked nether-beast in Majestic's liner notes. But it's refreshing to hear and see this, because it gives the music a classicist feel. "Blood Religion," for example, begins as a righteous dirge before switching into a Judas Priest strut. At the four-minute mark everything suddenly drops out; the scary choir is back to stoically sing the song's title, and a tempo change sets up the flailing solos that fill its final minutes. You can't ask for power metal more committed than this in 2005, when bands are either too busy layering wordless screams over chunky hardcore riffs or playing a game of "having a laugh or aren't we?" like the Darkness. With Majestic Gamma Ray prove that, even in their excess, they are nothing but genuine.

by Johnny Loftus, allmusic

Given the way Gamma Ray have remained stubbornly committed to '70s/'80s-style power metal, one would think that all of the people attending their concerts in the 21st century would be people over 40. But in fact, Gamma Ray acquired a lot of new fans in the '90s and 2000s – people in the Gen-X and Gen-Y/Echo Boomer demographics – and those post-'80s converts have really connected with their old-school approach regardless of how dated it sounds. Actually, the fact that this 2007 release sounds like it could have been recorded 25 years earlier might be a big part of its appeal to children and grandchildren of baby boomers. Someone who was 18 or 19 in 2007 wasn't old enough to remember the heyday of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ronnie James Dio or Queensrÿche – hell, 2007's college freshmen weren't old enough to remember when Nirvana and Pearl Jam set off the grunge/alternative rock explosion in the early '90s – and artists who stick to old-school power metal give them a chance to experience something from an era that they missed. Of course, there is nothing wrong with sounding dated if you are good at what you do; quality, not whether artists sound modern or old-fashioned, is the main thing, and Land of the Free II is clearly a solid example of the classic power metal sound. Gamma Ray do not alter their musical recipe one bit on this 65-minute CD; they remain firmly committed to that old-school Judas Priest/Iron Maiden/Queensrÿche/Helloween aesthetic, which means larger than life lyrics, soaring melodies and choruses, and a big dose of fantasy and escapism. Land of the Free II is not about keeping it real; it is about keeping it in the fantasy realm, and Gamma Ray do that with plenty of passion on this enjoyable, well-crafted addition to their

by Alex Henderson, allmusic