Gamma Ray - Hell Bent for Metal from Empire of the Undead

Sounds good !

Liking that.

Heck yeah!! Go Kai!!!

$45.86 on Amazon and for the regular jewel case edition without bonus DVD... wtf!

Dumb lyrics, but great song.

I've found the last few Gamma Ray albums to be incredibly dull. However, this and the earlier released title track have given me some hope for Empire of the Undead. This track sounds great, sounds like they've got some fire back.

"To the Metal!" was great album. It would be very hard for this one to top it.

The song echoes Walls of Jericho, which is amazing.

First day purchase for me. I don't need to sample.

Rocking, I liked what I heard

mc666 wrote:

Dumb lyrics, but great song.

Like most Gamma Ray...   

Recipe is there, ingredients not so much.

The Amazon price is for imports which makes me wonder about a U.S. release date?

BearOnUnicycle wrote:

The song echoes Walls of Jericho, which is amazing.

Yeah, I thought that too, which is great as I love WOJ. Toying with a vinyl pre order

I preordered the standard jewel case version.

Arrived in the mail today. On the day of release, how about that?! I'll post first impressions later. It comes with a "european bonus track" Built a World

Lari wrote:

Arrived in the mail today. On the day of release, how about that?! I'll post first impressions later. It comes with a "european bonus track" Built a World

Waiting!!    

MoonChild wrote:

Lari wrote:

Arrived in the mail today. On the day of release, how about that?! I'll post first impressions later. It comes with a "european bonus track" Built a World

Waiting!!    

I'm about to give it a spin now.



There in the back you can see the band members painted white, or covered with chalk or whatever powder. The booklet has more pictures like that - looking at the track list it must be a reference to Pale Rider? All in all kind of similar to what they did with the Power Plant photo sessions when they were all blue as smurfs.

First impressions, then.

Avalon reminds me of something off of Majestic. A great track. 70's heavy metal, with tempo changes and a memorable chorus. Nice sound, bursting with life. Not like the overproduced and layered To the Metal. Kai Hansen sounds great. A little rough, just like it should be. I was wondering if I'd like the new drummer, but all is well here. Immediately grabbed my attention.

Hellbent is a power metal track, the core essence of the meaning of power metal. Early Helloween. Frantic thrashing drumming. Hellbent for metal. This is a Kai track.

Pale Rider is next and it's contributed by the new drummer Michael Ehre. Somewhat an oddball song. Mid tempo, dropping the F word in the chorus, kind of heavy and leaning on a simple guitar line. don't know if I like this one that much after one listen. Is this Gamma Ray or Bloodhound Gang? Maybe it'll grow on me.

On to the next one - Born to Fly. Right at the moment the intro hits, you just know it's a Henjo track without even looking at the credits. A great main riff and guitars are just running wild here. Awesome track, even the "flying high like an eagle" lyrics don't bother me.

Next it's the two tracks that were already included in the 2013 EP. Since I don't have it, this was my first time hearing these songs. Master of Confusion is a fun, catchy tune. Another Send Me A Sign? Empire of the Undead sounds like a fast 70's Priest song. Exciter or something. I love it. Fast songs are always my favourites.

After these six tracks I took a break, refilled my glass of whiskey, and came back listening to the same tracks again. I think I'll save the rest for another day.

After another listen, despite still not having heard the whole album, I love what I'm hearing so far. I already like it a lot better than To the Metal. A little bit of Majestic and Land of the Free II, and I loved both those albums.

I hear up-tempo 70's heavy metal with a modern sound. Modern, yet warm.

Speaking of warm, Gamma Ray's studio burnt down in a fire last year.

I ordered their ep master of confusion which is excellent.

Will get the new album for sure.

Bitchin' review Lari; you just sold me a copy.

Found this:


Hell yeaaaah!

I ordered my copy via amazon uk. Can't wait   

This is very heavy . gamma ray never disappoints . I have almost all of their discography , really good band overall

This is a great album, and their best in a decade or so.