Gamma Ray

Spyke005 · Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:04 pm Post subject: Gamma Ray

This is the band Kai Hansen formed after leaving Helloween.
They've recently caught my ear and I've been blitzkrieging their stuff and I have to say.
Kai Hansen is a god.
His vocal work is VERY good almost as good as his riffing skills.
From their album "Land of the Free" and onwards, Kai Hansen has taken on role as lead vocalist next to his guitar duties.
IMO he is faaaaar better than Ralf Scheepers.

Gamma Ray is a power metal band with a lot A LOT of influence from the greats before them. Judas Priest, Dio, Black Sabbath, Manowar.
That stuff and a running gag they have is to sample a riff in a different key in one of their songs now and again that comes from one of these bands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJVztkKHUW0 <- an example of their stuff, a song called Armageddon.

They've had the guest vocal work of Hansi Kursch and Michael Kiske on their Land of the Free album.

Stained Class · Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:46 am Post subject:

They are definitely a great band indeed both live and in the studio.

I personally prefer Scheepers at the mic but thats just me Very Happy

- the albums just have a great vibe for me.

Recently though from the No World Order album onwards they have become extremely derivative of (read: imitating) Maiden and Priest which is extremely saddening given the talent the band has.

There are a number of clips highlighting this on youtube but the best example is Solid on the No World Order album which is a blatant rip-off of Rapid Fire by Priest.

When not "paying tribute" as some put it to the afore mentioned bands though, Gamma Ray are fantastic with both Kai and Scheepers at the mic.

Having said that, Scheepers really came into his own with Primal Fear - another awesome band and improved massively on his work with Gamma Ray.

Spyke005 · Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 8:43 am Post subject:

Well, its more of a gimmick than anything else, little pieces of Maiden and Priest songs here and there are all over the place throughout Gamma Ray's history.

Rebellion in Dreamland, the opening track for Land of the Free itself blows away ANY Scheepers material and even so, Kai really outdid himself with the re recordings on Blast from the Past.

powerslave · Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 38

I was listening to No World Order the other day and think it is a really good album,can anybody recommend some other Gamma Ray albums that are worth getting?

Spyke005 · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:51 am Post subject:

Land of the Free, Power Plant, Somewhere Out in Space, Majestic, Land of the Free II
All significantly more power metal based than NWO but still awesome!

powerslave · Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 38