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Gamma Ray - Empire Of The Undead



7.8 | 293 votes |
Release date: 28 March 2014
Style: Power metal

Owners:

227 have it
33 want it


Disc I
01. Avalon
02. Hellbent
03. Pale Rider
04. Born To Fly
05. Master Of Confusion
06. Empire Of The Undead
07. Time For Deliverance
08. Demonseed
09. Seven
10. I Will Return
11. Built A World [European bonus]
12. Someday [Japanese bonus]
13. Avalon [live] [Digipack bonus]
14. The Spirit [live] [Digipack bonus]
15. Empire Of The Undead [live] [Digipack bonus]

Disc II [DVD Digipack version] [live]
01. The Spirit
02. Empire Of The Undead
03. Demonseed
04. Empathy
+ Tour Of Hamburg with Gamma Ray
+ Interview with Kai Hansen & Gamma Ray
+ To The Metal Promo Video
+ Live Videos From Skeletons & Majesties
    1 - Gamma Ray
    2 - Wings Of Destiny
    3 - Send Me A Sign [acoustic version]

Line-up
Kai Hansen - vocals, guitars
Henjo Richter - guitars, keyboards
Michael Ehré - drums
Dirk Schlächter - bass

Session musicians
Corvin Bahn - keyboards

Additional info
Producer: Kai Hansen.
Co-producer: Dirk Schlächter.
Recording: Kai Hansen & Dirk Schlächter.
Mixing & mastering: Eike Freese & Alexander Dietz.
Cover art & photography: Antje Schröder & Alexander Mertsch.

Staff review by
R Lewis
Rating:
8.0
The more 2014 goes on, the more it confirms that, this year, power metal is clinging to its heavyweights. After Iron Savior, Freedom Call, Sonata Arctica, Primal Fear and Edguy, now it's the time for Gamma Ray to unleash their opus.

Read more ››
published 10.05.2014 | Comments (5)

02.04.2014
I lost faith in power metal many years ago. An exhausted genre that is going nowhere. But at least some veterans still know how to play it

Daniell's picks | More picks ››
Thumbs up: wormdrink414, D.T. Metal

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Comments

Comments: 43   Visited by: 943 users
24.02.2013 - 04:03
mikeprado30
Awaiting from this day!!!
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BARDS WE ARE, BARDS WE WILL BE!
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24.02.2013 - 19:44
Rating: 8
Metal Invader
Hope it will be better then last few albums
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28.02.2013 - 21:51
Rating: 7
Patrick.
Written by Metal Invader on 24.02.2013 at 19:44

Hope it will be better then last few albums

I hope so too , even though I really like the two latest albums as well (especially Land Of The Free II). For some reason, because Kai has had a lot of time to recharge and take a break with Unisonic and because Helloween has been extremely consistent for a long time now, I have the feeling that this new Gamma Ray might be the masterpiece we've been waiting for. Kai and company have something to prove now, that they can still show all the youngsters how Power Metal is to be created and that they can fully establish themselves again as a force to be reckoned with alongside Helloween, Blind Guardian, etc (though in my humble opinion they never failed to do that).
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01.03.2013 - 00:38
Rating: 8
Metal Invader
Written by Patrick. on 28.02.2013 at 21:51

Written by Metal Invader on 24.02.2013 at 19:44

Hope it will be better then last few albums

I hope so too , even though I really like the two latest albums as well (especially Land Of The Free II). For some reason, because Kai has had a lot of time to recharge and take a break with Unisonic and because Helloween has been extremely consistent for a long time now, I have the feeling that this new Gamma Ray might be the masterpiece we've been waiting for. Kai and company have something to prove now, that they can still show all the youngsters how Power Metal is to be created and that they can fully establish themselves again as a force to be reckoned with alongside Helloween, Blind Guardian, etc (though in my humble opinion they never failed to do that).

Well LOTFII imo is better then To The Metal witch i dont like cos it sound to "forced"..from a teaser of few songs(to little to make a real opinion) it doesent sound that new album will be something fresh and great(but that i whas thinking about Helloween new album also and it turn out to be really good album) so we shall see..but damm its to long to wait

And your opinion bout Kai and Unisonic:man,like you copy/paste that from some of mine early post but i cant remember where i wrote this
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01.03.2013 - 01:00
Lord_Regnier
Written by Metal Invader on 24.02.2013 at 19:44

Hope it will be better then last few albums

Should not be hard to beat "To The Metal". This album sucked.
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"Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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01.03.2013 - 01:11
Angelic Storm
Melodious
The last Gamma Ray album I really enjoyed was "Majestic". "Land Of The Free II" had a small amount of standout tracks, but overall, it was pretty average stuff. "To The Metal" was for the most part, an excercise in treading water, to me.

As was the case before the last album was released, my expectations for this one are low. It's frustrating, cos I know Kai is capable of writing amazing power metal, but over the last few years, he has been writing a lot of derivative and generic stuff. I can only hope he finds his mojo again for this latest album!
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01.03.2013 - 01:24
Lord_Regnier
Written by Angelic Storm on 01.03.2013 at 01:11

The last Gamma Ray album I really enjoyed was "Majestic". "Land Of The Free II" had a small amount of standout tracks, but overall, it was pretty average stuff. "To The Metal" was for the most part, an excercise in treading water, to me.

As was the case before the last album was released, my expectations for this one are low. It's frustrating, cos I know Kai is capable of writing amazing power metal, but over the last few years, he has been writing a lot of derivative and generic stuff. I can only hope he finds his mojo again for this latest album!

Imo, "Majestic" and "LOTF II" were not great albums but they were not bad either. Personally, I prefer LOTF II.
"To The Metal", I can't stand.

My expectations are low now when it comes to Gamma Ray. Because their recent albums have not been great. Because it's an aging band and, from my experience, bands rarely get any better when the members are over 40. And because it is Powermetal and we rarely get anything good from this genre nowadays, from my point of view. The genre seems very exhausted if we compare to the mid and late 90s.
----
"Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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01.03.2013 - 01:31
Rating: 7
Patrick.
Quote:
Written by Metal Invader on 01.03.2013 at 00:38

I hope so too , even though I really like the two latest albums as well (especially Land Of The Free II). For some reason, because Kai has had a lot of time to recharge and take a break with Unisonic and because Helloween has been extremely consistent for a long time now, I have the feeling that this new Gamma Ray might be the masterpiece we've been waiting for. Kai and company have something to prove now, that they can still show all the youngsters how Power Metal is to be created and that they can fully establish themselves again as a force to be reckoned with alongside Helloween, Blind Guardian, etc (though in my humble opinion they never failed to do that).

Well LOTFII imo is better then To The Metal witch i dont like cos it sound to "forced"..from a teaser of few songs(to little to make a real opinion) it doesent sound that new album will be something fresh and great(but that i whas thinking about Helloween new album also and it turn out to be really good album) so we shall see..but damm its to long to wait

And your opinion bout Kai and Unisonic:man,like you copy/paste that from some of mine early post but i cant remember where i wrote this

Yes I agree about To The Metal, it does sound forced at times. There's also a thing with the production that annoys me slightly with that album, but I can't put a finger on what exactly. Lately I have to say that Land Of The Free II has really grown on me. There are some absolutely brilliant stuff on that album, f.ex. the very Maiden-esque "From The Ashes", or the 11-minute towering epic "Insurrection". I feel I've written that album off too quick in the past and actually not given it the proper light of day.

From the new clips, "Master Of Confusion" (from the few seconds) didn't sound too bad (it reminded me heavily of another GR song, don't know which).

Oh, I apologize if I did that, if so it was unconscious and done on auto-pilot.
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01.03.2013 - 01:50
Rating: 8
Metal Invader
Quote:
Yes I agree about To The Metal, it does sound forced at times. There's also a thing with the production that annoys me slightly with that album, but I can't put a finger on what exactly. Lately I have to say that Land Of The Free II has really grown on me. There are some absolutely brilliant stuff on that album, f.ex. the very Maiden-esque "From The Ashes", or the 11-minute towering epic "Insurrection". I feel I've written that album off too quick in the past and actually not given it the proper light of day.

From the new clips, "Master Of Confusion" (from the few seconds) didn't sound too bad (it reminded me heavily of another GR song, don't know which).

Oh, I apologize if I did that, if so it was unconscious and done on auto-pilot.

It reminded me to of song from Power Plant i think..maybe im wrong
And as for copy/paste thing i will not sue you if you send couple of beers
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01.03.2013 - 02:13
Rating: 8
Metal Invader
Written by Lord_Regnier on 01.03.2013 at 01:00

Written by Metal Invader on 24.02.2013 at 19:44

Hope it will be better then last few albums

Should not be hard to beat "To The Metal". This album sucked.

Well yea it does but i dont want that they just beat that album i want that GR(and Helloween)kick ass cos i like them and power metal as genre,even(like you said)there is nothing much to offer since 80s..But Helloween(with Nabataea and few other songs)imo shows that they still have "that something" even they are over 40.
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01.03.2013 - 02:31
Lord_Regnier
Written by Metal Invader on 01.03.2013 at 02:13

power metal as genre,even(like you said)there is nothing much to offer since 80s..

The second half of the 90s have been a good time for Powermetal.
And to tell the truth, I have not been into this genre for a very long time. I only follow it very casually.
I'm into Black Metal mostly and some Thrash.
----
"Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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01.03.2013 - 11:44
Rating: 7
Patrick.
Written by Metal Invader on 01.03.2013 at 01:50

It reminded me to of song from Power Plant i think..maybe im wrong
And as for copy/paste thing i will not sue you if you send couple of beers

Yeah, it could be! I hope there's less of that on this new album. I like the fact that Gamma Ray is able to sound very Gamma Ray'ish, but I wouldn't mind them branching out a little to explore some unknown lands (like you mentioned with Helloween and "Nabateae"). It could be interesting f.ex. if they went back to the drawing board used for "Majestic", and make this new one a little heavier and faster again, just to mix things up a bit. Or, I don't know, maybe do a concept-album again(?).

Yeah, I'll do that hehe, cheers!
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01.03.2013 - 13:54
Rating: 8
Metal Invader
Written by Lord_Regnier on 01.03.2013 at 02:31

Written by Metal Invader on 01.03.2013 at 02:13

power metal as genre,even(like you said)there is nothing much to offer since 80s..

The second half of the 90s have been a good time for Powermetal.
And to tell the truth, I have not been into this genre for a very long time. I only follow it very casually.
I'm into Black Metal mostly and some Thrash.

Yea i forget to write 90s..i have a flu so i dont control my Head
I saw on your profile that you are into black metal..that is not for me some Thrash i can listen also
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01.03.2013 - 14:04
Rating: 8
Metal Invader
Written by Patrick. on 01.03.2013 at 11:44

Written by Metal Invader on 01.03.2013 at 01:50

It reminded me to of song from Power Plant i think..maybe im wrong
And as for copy/paste thing i will not sue you if you send couple of beers

Yeah, it could be! I hope there's less of that on this new album. I like the fact that Gamma Ray is able to sound very Gamma Ray'ish, but I wouldn't mind them branching out a little to explore some unknown lands (like you mentioned with Helloween and "Nabateae"). It could be interesting f.ex. if they went back to the drawing board used for "Majestic", and make this new one a little heavier and faster again, just to mix things up a bit. Or, I don't know, maybe do a concept-album again(?).

Yeah, I'll do that hehe, cheers!

I would not have anything against heaver and faster but i dont like "Majestic" much..well we all have our own taste!:)
Thanx for Beer,you are a free man now!;)
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01.03.2013 - 22:26
Angelic Storm
Melodious
Written by Lord_Regnier on 01.03.2013 at 01:24
Imo, "Majestic" and "LOTF II" were not great albums but they were not bad either. Personally, I prefer LOTF II.
"To The Metal", I can't stand.

My expectations are low now when it comes to Gamma Ray. Because their recent albums have not been great. Because it's an aging band and, from my experience, bands rarely get any better when the members are over 40. And because it is Powermetal and we rarely get anything good from this genre nowadays, from my point of view. The genre seems very exhausted if we compare to the mid and late 90s.

Well, I like "Majestic" a lot, although I wouldn't place it in the "classic" bracket alongside SOIS and "Land Of The Free".

As for powermetal these days, I have to say I've enjoyed Helloween's more recent albums immensely, and their last 2 albums are vastly superior to the last 2 Gamma Ray albums, in my opinion. I also loved the last Blind Guardian album, so I still think there's life in the genre yet. Overall, the genre is much less abundant in great material now compared with late 80's, and mid-late 90's, but there's still some good stuff in there if you look hard enough. lol
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01.04.2013 - 23:57
Rating: 8
Mountain King
K i K o
Written by Angelic Storm on 01.03.2013 at 22:26

Written by Lord_Regnier on 01.03.2013 at 01:24
Imo, "Majestic" and "LOTF II" were not great albums but they were not bad either. Personally, I prefer LOTF II.
"To The Metal", I can't stand.

My expectations are low now when it comes to Gamma Ray. Because their recent albums have not been great. Because it's an aging band and, from my experience, bands rarely get any better when the members are over 40. And because it is Powermetal and we rarely get anything good from this genre nowadays, from my point of view. The genre seems very exhausted if we compare to the mid and late 90s.

Well, I like "Majestic" a lot, although I wouldn't place it in the "classic" bracket alongside SOIS and "Land Of The Free".

As for powermetal these days, I have to say I've enjoyed Helloween's more recent albums immensely, and their last 2 albums are vastly superior to the last 2 Gamma Ray albums, in my opinion. I also loved the last Blind Guardian album, so I still think there's life in the genre yet. Overall, the genre is much less abundant in great material now compared with late 80's, and mid-late 90's, but there's still some good stuff in there if you look hard enough. lol

Just like any other genre, SOMETIMES you have to look hard for good releases. Power Metal is always great I would say, Stratovarius Helloween Serenity and Avantasia have released great albums so far. 4 albums in 3 months, I would say the genre still offers a lot of great music and I'm sure there are other bands that released good albums or will in the near future...
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13.11.2013 - 06:01
Darth Revan
Well, it's almost December 2013... where the fuck are you Empire of the Undead?
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13.11.2013 - 07:05
Rating: 9
JÄY
Metal slave
Written by Darth Revan on 13.11.2013 at 06:01

Well, it's almost December 2013... where the fuck are you Empire of the Undead?

Yeah prolly not happening this year
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19.11.2013 - 17:05
Risto
Wandering Midget
This may get delayed as Hammer Studios has burned down! No one was hurt in the fire.

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26.02.2014 - 07:43
Darth Revan
So far everything I've heard from this album I've liked, this looks to be a return to form, unfortunately ugly ass cover art notwithstanding XD
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28.02.2014 - 01:00
John Shock
This is going to be heaven!!! \m/
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Album Release day (March 28, 2014)
28.03.2014 - 01:20
Rating: 5
Rulatore
I'm just finishing this one and I'm kind sad. Never been a fan of their music, but I enjoy power metal and I was hoping to hear something cool. Unfortunally this is more filler than killer (a lot more filler) with just some 3 songs that I really liked. ANd from what I remember, the other albums have this problem.

Would someone kindly recommend me an album that sounds like "Empire of the Dead", "Hellbent", "I will return", "Avalon" ?
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28.03.2014 - 04:30
Rating: 9
JÄY
Metal slave
Best since No World Order, for sure!

Actually, maybe better than NWO....
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28.03.2014 - 10:15
Rating: 8
R Lewis
Pahaha the riffs from "Master Of Confusion" and "Seven" are almost the same. I sincerely hope they did it on purpose.

Really good album tho
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We could be so much more than we are. Stop.
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28.03.2014 - 15:10
Angelic Storm
Melodious
Written by R Lewis on 28.03.2014 at 10:15

Pahaha the riffs from "Master Of Confusion" and "Seven" are almost the same. I sincerely hope they did it on purpose.

Really good album tho

I noticed that right away as soon as I heard "Seven". They are too similar for my liking, and it does inhibit my enjoyment of "Seven"...

As for the album, I've noticed the guitars are tuned lower than before, and there seems to be an emphasis on modern, groove based riffage in some songs. Still, most of the songs are great, apart from "Demonseed", which is a bit boring.
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28.03.2014 - 16:48
Rating: 5
Rulatore
Written by Angelic Storm on 28.03.2014 at 15:10

I've noticed the guitars are tuned lower than before

I noticed that too, well, not that I can really compare it to the other albums, but it was pretty low.

Also, at first I thought that time for deliverance was a Queen Cover
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28.03.2014 - 16:57
Angelic Storm
Melodious
Written by Rulatore on 28.03.2014 at 16:48
Also, at first I thought that time for deliverance was a Queen Cover

Ah yes... the chorus is a bit like "We Are The Champions".
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28.03.2014 - 22:11
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Good power metal, I dont know this band so much when I was listening 1th time I thought is about space n what so ever, but well music is heavy more closer to HM to cheasy flower, seems Kai Hansen is maybe one of best figures on German PM ... if we compare whit Blind Guardian and Hansi Kurch .... he is way degredated, this etleast stay in same lavel as in 90's
----
I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens.

Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"

I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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29.03.2014 - 11:01
DeathSlyzer
Written by Rulatore on 28.03.2014 at 01:20

I'm just finishing this one and I'm kind sad. Never been a fan of their music, but I enjoy power metal and I was hoping to hear something cool. Unfortunally this is more filler than killer (a lot more filler) with just some 3 songs that I really liked. ANd from what I remember, the other albums have this problem.

Would someone kindly recommend me an album that sounds like "Empire of the Dead", "Hellbent", "I will return", "Avalon" ?

I liked this album, but I do get what you're saying. Some of these songs could have been written with more thought to them.

Try the new Sinbreed album. That might be just what you're looking for. Pretty much all the songs were pretty fast, yet melodic, so that might be to your liking.

Written by Angelic Storm on 28.03.2014 at 16:57

Written by Rulatore on 28.03.2014 at 16:48
Also, at first I thought that time for deliverance was a Queen Cover

Ah yes... the chorus is a bit like "We Are The Champions".

Haha, you guys also noticed this huh? I did like the song a lot, but I did start to sing the chorus to "We Are The Champions" when I heard it.
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I sold my soul to any fool who'd buy it!
What's it gonna take to make you riot!?
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04.04.2014 - 19:54
Rating: 8
Mountain King
K i K o
The song "Avalon" is the best thing I've heard in months...Good album
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