I could just use every clichéd description known to the English language for this review and then just fluff it out with song titles and shit, but that would be a cop out that would diminish the impact of the album and I’m not out to do that, so I have to be as objective as possible with this and not just dissolve into obvious fandom with this.

Unlike fellow Power Metallers Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray go for a less symphonic take on the genre and just go for the collective throat. So with the follow up to 2010’s To the Metal! Gamma Ray have stuck with the formula that has gotten them this far: write badass music that makes you feel alive and happy to be a Metalhead.

So yeah, there are songs on here, ten of them to be exact, and while not all of them are complete barn burners, they each breath with their own vitality. “Avalon” starts the album with an ambitious nine minutes that is both savage and beautiful at the same time, while “Hellbent” is just a tribute to Metal, this is a track that has a great sing-a-long potential. “Master of Confusion” reminds me so much of Helloween (particularly that opening riff that sounds so much like “I Want Out” that it made me want to listen to that song). The one thing that I have never liked about Power Metal though, is the ballads. So yeah, there is a ballad here, “Time for Deliverance” isn’t a bad song, but it follows the absolutely crushing title track and just takes away from that. The remaining three tracks, “Demonseed”, “Seven” and “I Will Return” pretty much keep to a mid-paced tempo with the exception being “I Will Return” which starts off with a Terminator sample before kicking into overdrive and becoming one of the best album closers.

The spot on production allows each instrument it’s own space, and Kai Hansen has never sounded better. Honestly though, this album couldn’t have come at a better time. I’ve always felt that Spring is the perfect season for Power Metal and this album just cements that idea for me. Empire of the Undead is the perfect background music to your backyard Bar-B-Que, pool party or high speed chase. Check it out for sure.

Daniel Zimmermann: Oh yeah, we are in Mexico City today.  We have an off-day today, and yesterday we had a great show there — many, many people.  Good show, as always, in Mexico.  So far, our around-the-world trip is running really well.  We have some more shows—Venezuela is the next show, then Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Sao Paulo, and then we go back to Germany.

Well, that’s very cool.  I’m glad to hear that you guys had a good show last night.  It looks like you also recently played your first show in China, is that right?

Yeah, but the show in China was canceled before, because I think that two days before we arrived, the government held a mourning day because there was an earthquake, and 2000 people died, I think one or two weeks before we came.  And the mourning day was exactly the day we should have played in China, so the show was canceled.  We were there to at least make a press conference, and to sign some stuff for the fans.  But it was a pity; it was very sad, because we were really upset and looking forward to playing China, because for us it’s the first time, and no one had ever been there.  So, it was not only a little disappointing, it was very disappointing to us.

I was kind of looking over the tour schedule, and it looks like you guys are kind of going from place to place to place pretty quickly.  How are you guys coping with the tight tour schedule?

In the beginning, it was alright to…I mean, the tour schedule is not too tight.  But, for instance, I think it was four days ago, we had a very long trip. We went from Taiwan to Tokyo. From Tokyo to San Francisco, Houston, all the way to Guatemala City.  This was a really, very long ride, and it was really tiring.  We were all exhausted.  And then we played that show in Guatemala, then on the next morning at 4 AM, we had to get up and fly over to Mexico, and in the evening we played that show.  This was really strong for us, and everyone was like, feeling so tired.  Yeah, but you’ve got to go through it.  The organization of this tour was not doable in a different way, so we had to accept it, and as long as it’s not every day that you have to get up early in the morning and play a show in the night, as long as this doesn’t happen every day, it’s okay for us.  Like, now we have an off-day; everyone can sleep as much as he needs.  And yeah, for us, it’s good to do that — touring activities — to do it all in a row. Like Europe, and a break, then doing the rest of the world is good, because when the motor is running, and the engine is running, and the band playing well and everything, the show is running smooth, it’s not good to make a longer break, because then we have to start again somehow.  It’s better.  We started on the 6th of February in Hamburg, and had a couple of small breaks in between, and have been on tour until now, and that’s okay.  I mean, we know that when we go home on the 12th of May, then we have a big break over summer — I mean, we have some festivals, of course — but the next tour should be in August, and that’s okay for us.

Well, I’m glad that you guys had the opportunity to, like you said, get a little rest between some of the shows.  I can’t even imagine what it would be like traveling around touring for a couple of months in a row.  It seems insane.

Yeah, it’s quite strong.  If you’re away for a long time, and the thing is, you go from Taiwan to Guatemala City, and you are jet-lagged.  And yeah, if you have many of these long-distance travels, then it’s really hard for your body, so that means no party, not too much alcohol, sleep a little bit, rest, so that you don’t lose your energy and your power.

Are there any plans to hit North America this year?

Yeah, the plans are to do that right after summer, but so far there is no dates confirmed.  The plan is we all want to, like in, for instance, September or October, to do some touring there, but I cannot say how long it will be and where we are going to play.  But we want to do that.

It would be great to see you guys come here.  Okay, moving on a little bit… To the Metal! was released, here in the US, in March.  It looks like it’s done well in several European countries.  How has the reception been in North America so far, or do you know?

I mean, I don’t know how the album is running in North America.  I haven’t heard anything.  I don’t know.  We got no feedback from the record company.  We know that they are, in general, very satisfied with the sales and the way it’s running, but I don’t know anything special about North America.  I hope it’s running well.

I’ve been kind of reading online and it looks like people are kind of mixed about the new album, from what I’ve seen, anyway.  Some people really love it, and some people…it’s kind of a polarizing thing.

That’s the thing.  We had this some years ago with the Majestic album.  I mean, it was well-accepted in some countries, but like, in Germany, they didn’t like that album so much because the songs were too progressive for GAMMA RAY, too much parts in it and not so easy to listen to, and the lyrics were a little bit darker and not so optimistic.  It was like some loved it and some hated it, this album.  And with the new one so far — I don’t know about America, as I’ve already said — but in the rest of the world, it’s accepted quite well, at least I have the impression it’s running good.  The shows are crowded, and sales should be okay, and I mean, it’s always, you cannot satisfy everyone when you make an album.  Some people say, ‘Ah, that’s nice;’ for some people it’s maybe too straight, too easy, too commercial, whatever.  I mean, we know about this, and we hope that when we go to the States, that the people will attend our shows anyway.  Just in case they might not like that album so much, we also play different songs, old songs.

Recorded in Montreal, Canada on the band’s 2007 tour, Hell Yeah (the album) is 2 full CD’s loaded with megatons of live Heavy Metal grandeur. Loaded with Gamma Ray classics like “Blood Religion”, “Heavy Metal Universe”, “Beyond The Black Hole”, “Rebellion In Dreamland” and “Land Of The Free”, as well as the expected nod to Hansen’s former band Helloween in “I Want Out”. The DVD set contains the show filmed with great camera angles and perfectly captured light show. The band appears to be having a great time on stage, relishing every moment in front of their adoring fans that, quite obviously, are very energetic and into the show. The banter is cut on the CD, but it’s cool to watch Kai interact with the crowd. The second DVD in the set is packed to the seams with live and studio footage beginning in ’94. Here we can find television/backstage/live footage from the ’97 and ’00 Japanese tours, 7 music videos (a couple with original singer Ralf Scheepers), Wacken ’03 & ’06 footage, Unplugged In Japan & a 15-minute tour doc.

All in all, it’s a Gamma Ray fan’s smorgasbord. That’s the point of these types of releases anyway, right? It’s supposed to be sort of a “thank you” to the fans for all their support by offering pieces of the band’s history. I’d say it’s a must have for Gamma Ray fans.

The same can be said of “Land of the Free II,” however, the gap here is much smaller than between, say, Queensryche’s “Operation: Mindcrime” records. Gamma Ray does indeed return to the happier, faster brand of power metal that they made their name playing, and while it probably won’t equal the first in most people’s minds, it’s not a bad record by any means.

The announcement that the band is going back to basics is made with the quick blast of the opening track, “Into the Storm,” which features the Gamma Ray trademark big melodies and hooks. Second track, “From the Ashes,” finds them in a galloping bit of Iron Maiden worship, which works really, really well right up to the chorus, which takes a left turn into generic power metal. Maiden is a recurring heavy influence throughout the album, as they have been throughout Gamma Ray’s career, popping up again on songs like “When the World.”

Fans of Gamma Ray’s classic sound should be most pleased with “To Mother Earth” and “When the World” which have all the speed, blazing riffs and soaring chorus vocals you expect from the band. As for me, I prefer the slightly heavier and darker tunes like “Rain.” That said, one of the strongest tunes here is also one of the bounciest and happiest, “Empress.” The song has an infectious, upbeat opening and a great chorus melody. Surprisingly, the epic number here, “Insurrection,” is solid, too. I always groan a little when I see a power metal song clocking in at 11-plus minutes because they tend to drone on. But with this tune, Gamma Ray makes it interesting.

Though overall perhaps a bit more restrained and toned down than the first installment of “Land of the Free,” this record is that rare album with a number behind it that really does signal a return to better times. Vocalist Kai Hansen still has the great pipes, and he and Henjo Richter deliver great riffs that range from memorable traditional metal to fast, precision power metal.

Fans of Gamma Ray should not be disappointed.