GAMMA RAY Members Talk About New Album; Video Available

Video footage of German power metallers GAMMA RAY talking about several specific tracks that appear on the band's new album, "To The Metal", can be viewed below.

"To The Metal" is scheduled for release on January 29, 2010 via earMUSIC/Edel. GAMMA RAY — Kai Hansen (vocals/guitar),Dirk Schlächter (bass),Henjo Richter (guitar) and Daniel Zimmermann (drums) — recorded a total of twelve new songs earlier this fall at its own studio in Hamburg. Ten of the tracks will appear on the regular album release, while the remaining two cuts will surface on various editions of the album.

"To The Metal" will be made available in four versions:

* As a regular jewel case CD
* As a limited edition featuring an additional DVD (including an exciting making-of)
* As a red vinyl in gatefold packaging
* as a collectors' edition featuring CD and 7" vinyl with two unreleased tracks, hand-signed

The cover artwork was designed by Herve Monjeaud.

"To The Metal" track listing:

01. Rise
02. Deadlands
03. Mother Angel
04. No Need To Cry
05. Empathy
06. To The Metal
07. All You Need To Know
08. Time To Live
09. Shine Forever
10. Breaking Away

DVD (included in limited-edition version):

* 60-minute documentary shot in HD, featuring interviews, "making-of-the-album" material, performance footage of classic GAMMA RAY songs.

Bonus material:

* Three video clips (including "To The Metal")
* Full unedited interview with Kai Hansen

A three-minute snippet of the "To The Metal" title track is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

According to a press release, the new GAMMA RAY CD is "classy, fast-paced and deep, and holds a few surprises in store which distinguish the band from the mass of acts who try their hand at similar styles and sounds. . . The band's stylistic range [includes] a full-throttle number such as 'Rise', the rhythmic and melodically diverse 'Time To Live', and the multilayered anthem 'All You Need To Know' (which has given rise to speculation about a spectacular guest singer),as well as the sensitive ballad 'No Need To Cry', composer/lyricist Dirk Schlächter's attempt to come to terms with the untimely death of his father. Of course, there's also the awesome title track — first introduced at the Wacken Open Air 2009 and a number of festivals in Scandinavia (see video below) and considered absolutely indispensible by the fans, which GAMMA RAY recorded as a classic metal track in the midtempo range, making it a real anthem. The atmospherically dense 'Empathy' sees GAMMA RAY prove their amazing musical potential again, which keeps manifesting itself in exceptional and eminently interesting compositions. This song includes all the features of a diverse, exciting and multi-faceted number, in other words: sweeping sounds, cool grooves, a progressive touch and then — almost as if from nowhere — a chorus which seriously bowls you over. Subsequently, the band soar up to an almost oriental-sounding solo part, changing key several times within the track."

GAMMA RAY will present its new material for the first time when it hits the road on February 6 as part of an extensive European tour with support from FREEDOM CALL and SECRET SPHERE.

Limited-edition CD+DVD:

Red vinyl:

Regular jewelcase: