Gamma Ray

 Today in 2007 Gamma Ray released the album Land of the Free II

Hamburg,Germany Power/Speed Metal

Status:Active

Years active: 1989-present

Gamma Ray ranks alongside Helloween and Blind Guardian as the most popular, and most influential, of the German speed/power metal bands playing today. The similarities between Gamma Ray and Helloween are, of course, not coincidental, as GR founder Kai Hansen played in Helloween in their formative years, leaving after that band's Keeper Of The Seven Keys pair of albums to pursue his own path. Originally he recruited Rob Halford soundalike Ralf Scheepers to sing, but Kai later decided he wanted to sing himself, as he did on the earlier Helloween albums.

Steamhammer

Kai Hansen - vocals, guitar

Henjo Richter - guitars, keyboards

Dirk Schlächter - bass

Dan Zimmermann - drums

Guest/Session

Lara Möller Vocals (choirs)

Wendy Teyssier Vocals (choirs)

Milan Schlächter Vocals (choirs)

Nadine Nottbohm Vocals (choirs)

Henning Basse Vocals (choirs)

1. Into the Storm (3:47)

2. From the Ashes (5:26)

3. Rising Again (0:27)

4. To Mother Earth (5:11)

5. Rain (5:16)

6. Leaving Hell (4:20)

7. Empress (6:22)

8. When the World (5:44)

9. Opportunity (7:14)

10. Real World (5:42)

11. Hear Me Calling (4:14)

12. Insurrection (11:33)

Total Time: 65:16

All songs arranged by Gamma Ray.

Recorded between May & September 2007 at High Gain Recording Studios, Hamburg.

Drums recorded by Tommy Newton

Mixed and mastered by Tommy Newton at Area 51 Studio, Celle.

Cover painting by Hervé Monjeaud.

Japanese bonus track:

13. Blood Religion (live version) (08:11) - recorded in Montreal, later released on "Hell Yeah!!! The Awesome Foursome" live album.

A video was made for "Into the Storm".

Land of the Free II is the ninth full length studio album by Gamma Ray. It was released on November 16, 2007 in Germany, November 19 in Europe, November 21 in Japan and January 15, 2008 for North America. To promote Land of the Free II, Gamma Ray joined Helloween on the 2007/08 Hellish Rock Tour. The song "Into the Storm" is available on the band's MySpace page and its music video on YouTube.

The first-edition CD, released as a Digipak, was limited to 30,000 copies.