Gamma Ray (band)
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Gamma Ray is a German
power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
band from
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
, founded and fronted by
Kai Hansen Kai Michael Hansen (born 17 January 1963) is a German musician who is the founder, lead guitarist and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also one of the co-founders of metal band Helloween, which he rejoined in 2016. He is a promine ...
after his departure from power metal band
Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...
, in 1989. He is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist and chief songwriter. Between 1990 and 2014, Gamma Ray recorded eleven studio albums.


Biography


Formation

In 1988, after four years with the German
power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
band
Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...
, guitarist and songwriter
Kai Hansen Kai Michael Hansen (born 17 January 1963) is a German musician who is the founder, lead guitarist and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also one of the co-founders of metal band Helloween, which he rejoined in 2016. He is a promine ...
decided to leave the group. Hansen claimed that Helloween had become too big for him to handle, although the group's troubles with financial issues and their record company,
Noise Records Noise Records is a German heavy metal record label founded in 1983 by German music industry personality Karl-Ulrich Walterbach as an expansion of his company Modern Music Records. It was sold to the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001 and ceased any ...
, most likely played a part as well. He proceeded to do some studio work with German
power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
band
Blind Guardian Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres.Ralf Scheepers Ralf Scheepers (born 5 February 1965) is the vocalist for the German heavy metal band Primal Fear. He has a relatively high-pitched tenor-esque singing voice and sometimes uses a shriek reminiscent of Judas Priest's Rob Halford, although it is ...
, former vocalist of the band Tyran Pace. This two-man project grew into a four-man band with the addition of Uwe Wessel on bass and Mathias Burchardt on drums. This was the first line-up of Gamma Ray, bearing a sound understandably close to that of Helloween of that period.


The Scheepers era (1989–1995)

The original line-up released the album '' Heading for Tomorrow'' in February 1990 and, later that year, the '' Heaven Can Wait EP'', with new guitarist
Dirk Schlächter Dirk Schlächter (born 15 February 1965, in Bad Nauheim, Germany) is the bassist of the power metal band Gamma Ray and Avalanch from 2018. History Dirk got in touch with music for the first time joining a music school at the age of 8. At the a ...
and new drummer
Uli Kusch Ulrich Kusch (born 11 March 1967) is a heavy metal drummer. He is best known for playing with Helloween, Gamma Ray, Masterplan and Holy Moses, among others. He is known for his technical style of playing, fast-paced speed metal-like rhythm, an ...
. In February 1991, the band began rehearsing for the recording of their second album in a small, remote house in Denmark. With some brand new songs written, Gamma Ray entered the studio under the supervision of producer Tommy Newton and recorded their second album '' Sigh No More'', which was released in September 1991. The style differed vastly from that of ''Heading for Tomorrow'', featuring darker lyrics inspired by the
Persian Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
that was raging at the time. A 50-date worldwide tour followed. After the Japanese tour at the beginning of 1991, Gamma Ray underwent another personnel change: the rhythm section (Wessel and Kusch) left due to a personal disagreement and were replaced by Jan Rubach (bass) and Thomas Nack (drums), both from the Hamburg band Anesthesia. The band also began to build their own studio, so work on their new album did not start until 1993. The album '' Insanity and Genius'' was released in June 1993, with a style which was closer to that of ''Heading for Tomorrow'' than ''Sigh No More''. In September 1993 Gamma Ray, along with Rage, Helicon and Conception, embarked on the Melodic Metal Strikes Back tour. The tour contributed to the release of the double CD ''Power of Metal'', and the videos ''Power of Metal'' and ''Lust for Live'', in December.


''Land of the Free'' to ''Majestic'' (1995–2006)

More changes in the line-up were to follow for Gamma Ray. Vocalist Ralf Scheepers, who lived far away from the other band members hometown of Hamburg, was attempting to become the new
Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
singer after Rob Halford left. He felt that his position in the band had been strained due to the distance between him and the other members. Hansen and Scheepers agreed to an amicable departure. After failing to be recruited for Judas Priest, Scheepers started his own band, Primal Fear. Hansen said in an interview 1999 about why Scheepers left: ''"There were two main reasons. One was after the first three Gamma Ray albums we said - now we want to do a really, really good album, something really killer. But Ralf was not living in Hamburg, he was living 700km away from here. For that reason he only came up for a while for rehearsal or for the recordings. But to do an album which was really good we needed him there constantly. In years before we had been talking about him moving to Hamburg but at that time he still had a job going on...he still does and he's never going to leave it somehow. He could not really make up his mind to move to Hamburg and there was one problem with that because when we wrote the songs I was always trying to think of his voice but on the other hand it would of been a lot better if he write his own vocal lines, melodies and lyrics. When he came to Hamburg most of the times I was singing in the rehearsal room when he was not there and I was singing on my demos so it was like everything was more or less fixed and he could not really change it. We wanted that to change, therefore we wanted him to move to Hamburg, he could not make up his mind. Then we said either you do it or you die somehow you know...like putting the pistol to his chest. Well....on the other hand he had this Judas Priest thing going on. He wanted to be given a chance. I was the idiot who told him maybe for fun just try it out when it was clear they were searching for a singer because Judas Priest was always his favorite band. We were thinking about him doing the Gamma Ray album and then going to Judas Priest. All in all it led to the point where we said we'd rather split our ways at that point because it doesn't make sense to go on like that."'' Hansen then began to search for a new vocalist but, due to demand from friends and fans, took on the guitar-vocal duties himself as he had done for Helloween's first EP and
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
. In a 2008 interview, Hansen spoke about the importance of the Land of the Free album and what it represented: "''We made it exactly at a time point when this kind of metal was proclaimed to be dead as can be. Where it was almost like if a drummer came up with a double bass drum people would say 'ya dooga daga yourself out of here man.' Everything was ruled by Kurt Cobain and the alternative to the alternative and all that kind of stuff. So at that point we made an album like this and it went down very successful. That was cool, that was something special. I think it was the album that gave Gamma Ray the acceptance as being a band not only a Kai Hansen project."'' In 1995 the fourth album, '' Land of the Free'', the first to feature Hansen on vocals, was released. The album was praised by critics and fans alike. The tour following the album, ''Men on a Tour'', brought the recording and release of the live album '' Alive '95'' in 1996. Soon after, there was yet another major lineup change. Jan Rubach and Thomas Nack both left in order to return to Anesthesia and in came new
drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
Dan Zimmermann Daniel Hans Erwin Zimmermann (born 30 October 1966 in Nürnberg, West Germany) is a retired heavy metal drummer. Dan is best known as having been the drummer of German power metal bands Gamma Ray and Freedom Call from 1997 to 2012. He was ...
. Zimmerman is also known for being a founding member of the German power metal band
Freedom Call Freedom Call is a German power metal band formed in 1998. The band tours regularly and the current line-up includes two original members including lead vocalist and songwriter, Chris Bay. Freedom Call has released 12 albums in total, nine ...
. Schlächter, who was originally a bass player, as can be seen on the 1990 video '' Heading for the East'', left the second guitar spot and took back his original instrument, being replaced on guitar by
Henjo Richter Henjo Oliver Richter, (born 24 November 1963 in Hamburg, West Germany) is a guitarist and keyboardist in Gamma Ray, the German power metal band formed by Kai Hansen. Biography Henjo is a self-taught musician and started playing at the age of ...
. Work started on the next album, and 1997 saw the release of ''
Somewhere Out in Space ''Somewhere Out in Space'' is an album by German power metal band, Gamma Ray. It was released on 25 August 1997 and is the band's fifth studio album. Continuing in the tradition of the previous four albums, it contained yet another different li ...
'', which marked the beginning of the band's thematic concentration on space. The album featured the hit "Valley of the Kings" and entered in the charts of many European countries. After two years of touring came the album ''
Power Plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...
'', which was a continuation of ''Somewhere Out in Space'''s lyrical approach, but a new direction musically. The album was highly acclaimed throughout the world and gained even more chart success than its predecessor. For Gamma Ray's next work, Hansen decided to do things differently from the usual compilation of songs. He let the fans decide by voting on their website for their three favorite songs on each album, then the band went back to the studio to re-record the old tracks from the first three albums and made remixed versions for the songs on the later ones. '' Blast from the Past'' was the name chosen for this double album. After a break of one year, when Hansen concentrated on his side project
Iron Savior Iron Savior is a German power metal band that was formed in Hamburg in 1996. Following a period of several years working behind the scenes in music production, multi-instrumentalist and producer/engineer Piet Sielck joined with former Helloween ...
, the band was ready for the recording and release of the album '' No World Order'', which was stylistically similar to
NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term ...
bands such as
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
and
Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
. Again, the album was highly praised and the ''No Order World Tour'' saw the band visiting dozens of European countries and Japan. After resting from the tour, the band went on with the ''Skeletons in the Closet'' tour, which saw the band performing songs that they never or rarely played live before. Once again, the setlist was voted by the fans on the band's website. Only a few shows were played on this tour but two of those were recorded for the live album '' Skeletons in the Closet''.
Kai Hansen Kai Michael Hansen (born 17 January 1963) is a German musician who is the founder, lead guitarist and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also one of the co-founders of metal band Helloween, which he rejoined in 2016. He is a promine ...
and
Henjo Richter Henjo Oliver Richter, (born 24 November 1963 in Hamburg, West Germany) is a guitarist and keyboardist in Gamma Ray, the German power metal band formed by Kai Hansen. Biography Henjo is a self-taught musician and started playing at the age of ...
also participated in
Tobias Sammet Tobias Sammet (born 21 November 1977) is a German musician, singer, songwriter, music producer and radio host best known for being the singer and primary songwriter of the power metal band Edguy, and the founder of the metal opera project Avant ...
's project
Avantasia Avantasia is a German supergroup metal opera project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist of the band Edguy. It has been characterized as a rock opera, as it features the contributions of various vocalists and musicians and it consists of concept ...
, on both
The Metal Opera ''The Metal Opera'' is the first full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German supergroup project, Avantasia. It is a concept album and a rock opera. The album is followed by the sequel ''The Metal Opera Part II''. Both were written over the course ...
and
The Metal Opera Part II ''The Metal Opera Pt. II'' is the second full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German supergroup project, Avantasia. It is a concept album and a rock opera. The songs carry on the story begun in ''The Metal Opera'', with the same characters. Bot ...
, along with various other musicians including Hansen's former bandmates from
Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...
,
Markus Grosskopf Markus Grosskopf (born 21 September 1965) is a German musician who is the bass guitarist, backing vocalist and a founding member of the power metal band Helloween. Biography Grosskopf started playing bass at the age of 15 when he became friend ...
and
Michael Kiske Michael Kiske (born January 24, 1968) is a German singer and lead vocalist for the German power metal band Helloween. Kiske has released four solo albums, two albums with the hard rock band Unisonic, has participated on various metal and rock ...
. A live DVD, '' Hell Yeah - The Awesome Foursome (And The Finnish Keyboarder Who Didn't Want To Wear His Donald Duck Costume) Live in Montreal'' was recorded on 6 May 2006 at Le Medley in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. The setlist contained songs drawn from all of their albums up to '' Majestic'' (excluding ''Insanity and Genius'') and also a cover of the
Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...
hit " I Want Out". The DVD finally saw release on 4 November 2008. It entered the German media control charts at No. 9 and the Swedish charts at No. 1, according to the band's official website.


''Land of the Free II'' to ''Empire of the Undead'' (2007–2014)

In recent years, Gamma Ray have made use of touring keyboard players to fully augment their sound in a live environment.
Axel Mackenrott Axel Mackenrott (6 September 1969 in Hamburg, Germany) is the keyboard player for the heavy metal band Masterplan. Axel began playing at around 11 years of age with piano lessons, and went on to eventually acquire a Bachelor of Arts in musica ...
of Masterplan fulfilled these duties in the past and was followed by Eero Kaukomies, a Finn who also plays in a Gamma Ray
tribute band A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as Elvi ...
named Guardians of Mankind. His bandmate
Kasperi Heikkinen Kasperi Heikkinen (born 1980) is a guitar player who is best known as a member of Finnish symphonic power metal band Amberian Dawn. He played in the band from early 2007 until late 2012. He is also the guitarist for Finnish metal bands Merging Fl ...
also played on part of the ''Majestic'' tour in 2006 following an injury to
Henjo Richter Henjo Oliver Richter, (born 24 November 1963 in Hamburg, West Germany) is a guitarist and keyboardist in Gamma Ray, the German power metal band formed by Kai Hansen. Biography Henjo is a self-taught musician and started playing at the age of ...
. On their most recent "To The Metal" tour, Kasperi Heikkinen replaced Henjo Richter once again for shows scheduled in Germany and Czech Republic in March 2010. Richter was hospitalized on 16 March 2010 due to
retinal detachment Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blin ...
. Heikkinen also shared stage with fellow axemen Hansen and Richter making "a three guitar special" for the encore numbers at the Nosturi club in Helsinki, Finland on 29 March 2010. ''
Land of the Free II ''Land of the Free II'' is the ninth full-length studio album by Gamma Ray. It was released 19 November in Europe, 21 November in Japan and January 15, 2008 for North America. To promote ''Land of the Free II'', Gamma Ray joined Helloween on the ...
'' was released in late 2007 as a sequel to the hugely successful ''Land of the Free'' album. To promote the album, Gamma Ray were the "very special guest" on
Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...
's Hellish Rock 2007/2008 World Tour, on some shows along with the band
Axxis Axxis is a German heavy metal band that was founded in 1988. Their debut album, ''Kingdom of the Night'', became the best-selling debut album by a hard rock band in Germany in 1989. Biography Axxis' musical roots lie within the traditional h ...
. For the final encores of the evening, Hansen and members of Gamma Ray joined Helloween to play a couple of songs from when he was in the latter band. Hansen would also regularly join Helloween co-founder Michael Weikath at center stage to the delight of fans of both bands. '' To the Metal!'' was released as the tenth studio album by the band. It was released on 29 January 2010 to modest critical praise, but disappointed some fans, who felt that it was uninspired and a weaker effort than ''Land of the Free II''. On 31 May 2011, Gamma Ray released an EP entitled ''Skeletons and Majesties''. It contains newly recorded, rarely played material (Skeletons) and acoustic versions of other older songs (Majesties). Hansen stated in an interview in February 2012 that he expected the next Gamma Ray album to be released in January 2013. On 1 September 2012, the band announced Michael Ehré as their new drummer, replacing Daniel Zimmermann who chose to retire after 15 years of band activity. Kai Hansen revealed, in an interview with ''Metal Blast'' in April 2013 that their eleventh album, '' Empire of the Undead'' would have a "more thrashy" sound. In the same interview,
Dirk Schlächter Dirk Schlächter (born 15 February 1965, in Bad Nauheim, Germany) is the bassist of the power metal band Gamma Ray and Avalanch from 2018. History Dirk got in touch with music for the first time joining a music school at the age of 8. At the a ...
announced that the band would do a headlining tour following its release. ''Empire of the Undead'' was released in March 2014, despite Gamma Ray's studio being completely destroyed by a fire.


Additional vocalist and new album (2015–present)

In October 2015, it was announced that Frank Beck would be a new lead vocalist of Gamma Ray, in addition to Hansen. This was due to Hansen's degrading vocals due to lengthy tour schedules, as well as Hansen's desire to have more freedom onstage. On 10 August 2017, the band announced that they would be releasing a 25th anniversary edition of ''Land of the Free''. In June 2021, on the Scars and Guitars podcast, Kai Hansen stated that despite his reunion with Helloween, he is not letting Gamma Ray die, and that he is preparing material for a new album to be tentatively released in 2022.


Members

Current members *
Kai Hansen Kai Michael Hansen (born 17 January 1963) is a German musician who is the founder, lead guitarist and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also one of the co-founders of metal band Helloween, which he rejoined in 2016. He is a promine ...
– guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals (1989–present) *
Dirk Schlächter Dirk Schlächter (born 15 February 1965, in Bad Nauheim, Germany) is the bassist of the power metal band Gamma Ray and Avalanch from 2018. History Dirk got in touch with music for the first time joining a music school at the age of 8. At the a ...
– backing vocals (1990–present), guitars, keyboards, piano (1990–1997), bass (occasionally: 1990–1993, full time: 1997–present) *
Henjo Richter Henjo Oliver Richter, (born 24 November 1963 in Hamburg, West Germany) is a guitarist and keyboardist in Gamma Ray, the German power metal band formed by Kai Hansen. Biography Henjo is a self-taught musician and started playing at the age of ...
– guitars, keyboards, backing vocals (1997–present) * Michael Ehré – drums (2012–present) * Frank Beck – lead vocals, backing vocals (2015–present) Former members *
Ralf Scheepers Ralf Scheepers (born 5 February 1965) is the vocalist for the German heavy metal band Primal Fear. He has a relatively high-pitched tenor-esque singing voice and sometimes uses a shriek reminiscent of Judas Priest's Rob Halford, although it is ...
– lead vocals (1989–1994) * Uwe Wessel – bass, backing vocals (1989–1993), occasional guitar (1990–1993) * Jan Rubach – bass (1993–1997) * Mathias Burchard – drums (1989–1990) *
Uli Kusch Ulrich Kusch (born 11 March 1967) is a heavy metal drummer. He is best known for playing with Helloween, Gamma Ray, Masterplan and Holy Moses, among others. He is known for his technical style of playing, fast-paced speed metal-like rhythm, an ...
– drums, backing vocals (1990–1992) * Thomas Nack – drums (1993–1997), backing vocals (1995) *
Dan Zimmermann Daniel Hans Erwin Zimmermann (born 30 October 1966 in Nürnberg, West Germany) is a retired heavy metal drummer. Dan is best known as having been the drummer of German power metal bands Gamma Ray and Freedom Call from 1997 to 2012. He was ...
– drums, backing vocals (1997–2012) Guest studio musicians *
Michael Kiske Michael Kiske (born January 24, 1968) is a German singer and lead vocalist for the German power metal band Helloween. Kiske has released four solo albums, two albums with the hard rock band Unisonic, has participated on various metal and rock ...
– vocals on "Time to Break Free" and "Land of the Free" (1995), in "All You Need to Know" (2010). *
Hansi Kürsch Hans Jürgen "Hansi" Kürsch (born 10 August 1966) is a German singer, songwriter and former bass guitarist, best known as a member of the power metal band Blind Guardian. One of the founders of the band, he has been its lead vocalist since its ...
– vocals on "Farewell" and "Land of the Free" (1995). * Tommy Newton – guitars (1989, 1990, 1991) * Tommy Hansen – keyboards (1991) *
Piet Sielck Piet Sielck (born 14 November 1964) is a German power metal guitarist, vocalist and producer. He is member of the power metal, power/speed metal band Iron Savior as well as owner of the studio Powerhouse in Hamburg. Early years Born in Hamburg ...
– vocals, keyboards, guitars (1989, 1990, 1991, 1997) * Tammo Vollmers – drums also stand in drummer for space eater video (1989) * Mischa Gerlach – keyboards, piano (1989) *
Sascha Paeth Sascha Paeth (born 9 September 1970 in Wolfsburg, West Germany) is a German guitarist, bassist, musical producer, and mixer known for working with heavy metal bands such as Avantasia, Edguy, Angra, Shaaman, Rhapsody of Fire, Kamelot, After ...
– keyboards (1993, 1995) *
Thomas Stauch Thomas "Thomen" Stauch (born 11 March 1970), also known by his nickname The Omen, is a German heavy metal drummer, mostly known as the co-founder and former drummer of Blind Guardian. Biography He began his career in 1984 the band Luciferâ ...
– drums (1997) *
Axel Mackenrott Axel Mackenrott (6 September 1969 in Hamburg, Germany) is the keyboard player for the heavy metal band Masterplan. Axel began playing at around 11 years of age with piano lessons, and went on to eventually acquire a Bachelor of Arts in musica ...
– keyboards (2005) Guest live musicians * Henning Basse – vocals (2008) * Jorn Ellerbrock – keyboards, piano (1990-1991) *
Mike Terrana Mike Terrana (born January 21, 1960) is an American hard rock and heavy metal drummer. His first professional work was in 1984 with the MCA band Hanover Fist from Toronto, Canada, after which he recorded and toured with other bands, playing m ...
– drums (1998) * Dan Olding – keyboards (2001) *
Axel Mackenrott Axel Mackenrott (6 September 1969 in Hamburg, Germany) is the keyboard player for the heavy metal band Masterplan. Axel began playing at around 11 years of age with piano lessons, and went on to eventually acquire a Bachelor of Arts in musica ...
– keyboards (2004) *
Kasperi Heikkinen Kasperi Heikkinen (born 1980) is a guitar player who is best known as a member of Finnish symphonic power metal band Amberian Dawn. He played in the band from early 2007 until late 2012. He is also the guitarist for Finnish metal bands Merging Fl ...
– guitars (2006, 2010) * Eero Kaukomies – keyboards (2005–2007) *
Michael Kiske Michael Kiske (born January 24, 1968) is a German singer and lead vocalist for the German power metal band Helloween. Kiske has released four solo albums, two albums with the hard rock band Unisonic, has participated on various metal and rock ...
– vocals (2011) * Michael Ehre – drums (2011, 2012) *
Ralf Scheepers Ralf Scheepers (born 5 February 1965) is the vocalist for the German heavy metal band Primal Fear. He has a relatively high-pitched tenor-esque singing voice and sometimes uses a shriek reminiscent of Judas Priest's Rob Halford, although it is ...
– vocals (2015, 2020)


Timeline


Discography

*'' Heading for Tomorrow'' (1990) *'' Sigh No More'' (1991) *'' Insanity and Genius'' (1993) *'' Land of the Free'' (1995) *''
Somewhere Out in Space ''Somewhere Out in Space'' is an album by German power metal band, Gamma Ray. It was released on 25 August 1997 and is the band's fifth studio album. Continuing in the tradition of the previous four albums, it contained yet another different li ...
'' (1997) *''
Power Plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...
'' (1999) *'' No World Order'' (2001) *'' Majestic'' (2005) *''
Land of the Free II ''Land of the Free II'' is the ninth full-length studio album by Gamma Ray. It was released 19 November in Europe, 21 November in Japan and January 15, 2008 for North America. To promote ''Land of the Free II'', Gamma Ray joined Helloween on the ...
'' (2007) *'' To the Metal!'' (2010) *'' Empire of the Undead'' (2014)


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gamma Ray German power metal musical groups German speed metal musical groups German heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1989 RCA Records artists Musical quintets Noise Records artists Sanctuary Records artists