If you don't know GAMMA RAY, you don't know what German metal is, what power and speed are all about... because it's like not knowing IRON MAIDEN, METALLICA, or AC/DC — yes, the band doesn't fill 50,000-seat stadiums on their own, but their contribution to heavy music is enormous.
But let's state right away: can we examine GAMMA RAY's body of work without discussing the personality of Kai Hansen? The answer is simple and obvious — no, absolutely not. GAMMA RAY could just as well have been called KAI HANSEN, akin to DIO, OZZY, and a whole series of other bands. So, in the early '80s, this young man picked up a guitar and decided to deliver his own interpretation of heavy metal — what came of it, everyone learned in 1985, when a mini-album and then the first full-length by HELLOWEEN were released. Albums still recognized as the benchmark of speed metal. Then came the Keepers. Let me stop here. How many people, what a mass, began their journey into metal music precisely with "Keeper of the Seven Keys" — that spectacular, genius diptych that clearly explained to everyone what power metal should be and how. Then came the well-known conflict between Hansen and primarily Weikath, and at the time, Kiske's siding with Weikath — but let's not dwell on that. The fact is: Hansen created his own project, where he intended to do what he wanted, without any decisive outside participation. But here's the problem — Hansen doesn't possess Kiske's voice, capable of brilliantly squealing in the second octave; nor does his voice have the memorable solemn gruffness of Hansi Kursch, who, with Hansen's support incidentally, had already begun his own journey. And yet Kai didn't consider heavying up the genre, despite the obvious successes of German thrash at that moment. Hansen remained true to himself and played the music whose style he himself had invented — forever dedicating himself to the "bright" side of heavy music.
For the first three albums, the solution was simple — Ralf Scheepers sang for Hansen. The latter lasted three albums: "Heading For Tomorrow" (1989), "Sigh No More" (1991), and "Insanity And Genius" (1993) — and left the band on his own terms; Hansen would later help him organize PRIMAL FEAR. Let's say right away: the first album is a classic; from the second album, very little gets played at concerts; from the third, nothing at all. The fourth album, "Land Of The Free," features Hansen's own vocals — fundamentally different. He reaches the high notes, while at the same time his voice is completely devoid of the tearfulness characteristic of many of his power metal peers, which gives detractors of the genre reason to invoke Farinelli.
The album is successful — it's followed by Hansen's equal partnership in IRON SAVIOR, a project of Piet Sielck. They once played together in the band destined to become HELLOWEEN. Piet Sielck had spent those years primarily doing sound engineering for various bands, first and foremost BLIND GUARDIAN. At the same time, in that same 1997, a new GAMMA RAY release comes out: "Somewhere Out In Space." Kai would split himself between two projects for 4 years. One of the band's most melodic albums, "Powerplant," is considered by many to be GAMMA RAY's best work, alongside the hard speed-power of IRON SAVIOR. In 2001, Kai would definitively part ways with that project, but remarkably, that same year he released an album that was the heaviest-sounding in all of GAMMA RAY's history. Accusations of imitating JUDAS PRIEST emerged — they were unwarranted, and yet they persisted even after the release of the current album, "Majestic."
So today, Kai is focused on his sole project — GAMMA RAY — which now boasts 8 studio and 2 live albums, numerous singles, and compilations in which Hansen re-records early songs originally sung by Scheepers.
Talk of the famous band visiting russia had repeatedly surfaced and faded — dates were nearly set and then cancelled. So when rumors of the Germans' arrival appeared again in late 2005, people didn't believe it. But then the venue was confirmed — USZ Druzhba — tickets appeared and sold like hotcakes, and finally the day arrived: January 27, 2006 — GAMMA RAY's first ever concert in moscow.
It all began with a press conference. To say the central Soyuz store was packed would be an understatement — at least 400 people crammed into a small space, given that officially the press conference was scheduled for 20 minutes and the autograph session for just 40. Naturally, everything ran well behind schedule.
Let's note right away that the band arrived in moscow without guitarist Richter, who had injured his hand during a concert in Finland. His place was taken by a guitarist from a Finnish GAMMA RAY tribute band, while that band's keyboardist had been traveling with the Germans for nearly the entire tour. What caught the eye — of course, the man in the black hat and khaki pants, smiling, somewhere around forty, very calm, friendly, and open to conversation. To Kai's left sat the Finns; to his right, Zimmermann and Schlachter. Questions about the DVD, side projects, impressions of russia — everything proceeded noisily, with people pressing against the barrier from behind. Finally, the autograph session began — some people had Kai sign all GAMMA RAY discs, plus 4 IRON SAVIOR and 4 HELLOWEEN albums...
Well, that was the daytime. Now the evening — people gradually converged on USZ Druzhba, slowly but surely. Passes into the hall, OMON battles with smokers in the restrooms — all as usual, except for one thing: just a little bit more and... And with horrible sound, SHADOWHOST performed — it felt like black metal was being played. A shame, but the sound was dreadful. Many feared something similar awaited GAMMA RAY.
Contrary to expectations, there was no sold-out show — just over 4,000 people, perhaps not even that. This was very surprising, but the fact remains: at the first-ever concert by the great GAMMA RAY in russia, the turnout was far lower than expected.
Among the attendees, most russian power-metal musicians were spotted, along with representatives of all print publications and the vast majority of serious heavy-music internet portals. The age range ran the full gamut — from practically children to grey-haired gentlemen.
The minutes of waiting were very long, that's a fact, but ultimately all expectations were rewarded. The famous "Welcome" intro, first appearing on the 2000 compilation, rings out — the band is on stage! Yes, it has happened! All-too-familiar chords, and Kai, now dressed all in black, begins singing the well-known "Gardens Of The Sinner." He's not the only one singing — everyone is, your humble servant included. After the song ends, Hansen introduces the Finnish stand-in guitarist, explains the Richter situation, then announces one of the band's biggest hits — "Heaven Can Wait." And this anthem of optimists rings out; the sound is already well balanced, all instruments clearly audible, though the vocals still have some issues.
"You know, we have a new album called 'Majestic,' and now we'll play a song called 'My Temple' from it" — as practice showed, the audience didn't know the new material very well. Another interesting detail: the final guitar solo was played by Hansen himself, apparently to ease the burden on the young Finnish session man. For this reason, Kai took on about 70% of the solos (and that's exactly how it was). By the way, bassist Schlachter joined as second vocalist during the song; it should also be noted that the performance was slightly faster than the album version.
Songs from the latest album continued with "Fight," and then, with a sly smirk, Kai announced the next song was about vampires and girls' necks — within minutes, absolutely everyone was chanting the titular phrase of "Blood Religion" on his command.
Next came the only song that day from the band's second album, "Sigh No More" — and naturally it was "One With The World," flowing into one of the band's anthems, "Heavy Metal Universe." What's a heavy or power metal concert without a singalong with the hall? Well, here was its turn. The singalong was relatively brief, and ultimately the chanting of HEAVY METAL UNIVERSE engulfed everyone present. The song ended and Zimmermann played a drum solo — objectively, there was nothing extraordinary about it, but nobody really expects miracles of a Mike Portnoy or Richard Christy from a power metal drummer. It was more a chance for the other band members to catch their breath. At the same time, the audience could take a break from the songs.
What's next? Next came the fun, rousing "Beyond The Black Hole" — what a wonderful call to arms: "Fly — Beyond the gates of space and time / Another universe is mine / And I can't wait until tomorrow." The song ended, "New World Order" was received without much enthusiasm, but then — the hall nearly exploded as the beloved ballad from the very first album rang out: "The Silence." Personally, after this ballad, I definitively understood that Hansen is far from the last vocalist in power metal by academic standards, but that's not what wins you over — it's the soulfulness and sincerity emanating from his vocal timbre.
Time for the epic — "Rebellion In Dreamland." Some people grew wistful — honestly, I did too, for a different reason: Hansen cut the song midway to start the song about the land of the free. Here everyone sang from start to finish. Still, it was a shame that the first song from that glorious album was so mercilessly truncated — at that moment, anyway. Thanks to the audience, and the band exits.
But it's obvious to everyone this can't be all — it simply cannot be, by definition. Naturally, the band returns for their standard encore — "Valley Of The Kings" and "Somewhere Out In Space," except the latter, instead of five and a half minutes, lasted almost twelve, transitioning at the finish into the ending of "Rebellion In Dreamland" — the song was indeed completed. But I seem to have completely forgotten to mention how Hansen came back onstage — he appeared with a cigarette in one hand and a liter bottle of russian Standard vodka in the other. A few swigs and only then did he start singing the encore — it looked spectacular!
The band exits again, a few minutes and... the lights come on — cries of indignation — but suddenly they're back onstage! Hansen shouts something and the band launches into "RIDE THE SKY" — the first HELLOWEEN album, naturally. Didn't forget the second, either? Midway through, "Future World" began — Hansen sang for propriety's sake, but the audience clearly participated more. Here, everyone knew every word. And for the grand finale (Hansen had promised at the press conference that HELLOWEEN songs would definitely be present), "I Want Out" was played in its entirety.
The nearly two-hour concert has ended. Drawing conclusions is pointless — I feel for everyone who wasn't at USZ Druzhba that day. We waited for them, and we got what we waited for. The start of the 2006 concert season was, in my view, simply spectacular!
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Written by Alan
Special thanks to SPIKA MERCHANDISING for the provided accreditation.
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Setlist: Intro / Welcome / Gardens Of The Sinner / Heaven Can Wait / My Temple / Fight / Blood Religion / One With The World / Heavy Metal Universe / Drum Solo / Beyond The Black Hole / New World Order / The Silence / Rebellion In Dreamland (1st part) / Land Of The Free / Encore 1: Valley Of The Kings / Somewhere Out In Space (long version) / Rebellion In Dreamland (finale) / Encore 2: RIDE THE SKY / Future World / I Want Out