Empire of the Undead

2014 studio album by Gamma Ray

Empire of the Undead

Studio album by

Gamma Ray

Released| 28 March 2014
Recorded| at Hammer Studios, Hamburg, Germany (partially)
Genre|

* Power metal

Length| 56:46
Label| earMUSIC
Producer| Eike Freese and Dirk Schlächter
Gamma Ray chronology
| Master of Confusion
(2013)  | Empire of the Undead
(2014)  |

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
About.com| [1]
AllMusic| [2]
Blabbermouth.net| [3]
Metal Hammer| [4]
Metal Storm| [5]

Empire of the Undead is the eleventh studio album by German power metal band Gamma Ray, released on 28 March 2014. It was their first album to feature new drummer Michael Ehré following Dan Zimmermann's departure in 2012.

## Background

[edit]

Kai Hansen revealed in an interview with Metal Blast in April 2013 that their upcoming album, Empire of the Undead, to be released in 2014, would have a "more thrashy" sound. In the same interview, Dirk Schlächter announced that the band would do a headlining tour following its release, in March or April 2014.[6]

## Track listing

[edit]

Credits via the album's liner notes.

No.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Avalon"| Kai Hansen| Hansen| 9:21
2.| "Hellbent"| Hansen| Hansen| 5:22
3.| "Pale Rider"| Hansen| Michael Ehré| 4:23
4.| "Born to Fly"| Henjo Richter| Richter| 4:31
5.| "Master of Confusion"| Hansen| Hansen| 4:54
6.| "Empire of the Undead"| Hansen| Hansen| 4:25
7.| "Time for Deliverance"| Dirk Schlächter, Hansen| Schlächter| 5:10
8.| "Demonseed"| Hansen| Schlächter| 6:38
9.| "Seven"| Hansen| Hansen| 5:07
10.| "I Will Return"| Richter| Richter| 6:55
Total length:| 56:46

Japanese bonus trackNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

11.| "Someday"| Hansen[citation needed]| 3:59

European bonus trackNo.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Length

|
|
|
|

11.| "Built a World"| Hansen| Andy Portmann, Hansen| 4:22

CD/DVD Digipack bonus tracksNo.| Title| Length

|
|

12.| "Avalon" (live from the final studio sessions)| 9:52
13.| "The Spirit" (live from the final studio sessions)| 4:19
14.| "Empire of the Undead" (live from the final studio sessions)| 4:27

## Personnel

[edit]

* Kai Hansen – Lead vocals, guitar
* Henjo Richter – Guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
* Dirk Schlächter – Bass, backing vocals
* Michael Ehré – Drums

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (2014)  | Peak
position

|

Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7] | 46
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8] | 104
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[9] | 71
Czech Album Charts[10] | 5
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] | 12
French Albums (SNEP)[12] | 89
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] | 13
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[14] | 52
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15] | 26
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] | 21
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[17] | 38
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[18] | 15

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Drago, Dan. "Gamma Ray - Empire Of The Undead Review". About.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-11. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
2. ^ Heaney, Gregory. "Empire of the Undead - Gamma Ray - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
3. ^ Van Horn Jr, Ray (16 June 2014). "CD Reviews - Empire Of The Undead Gamma Ray - Blabbermouth.net". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
4. ^ Kessler, Sebastian (2014-03-12). "Review of the Album of the Month April EMPIRE OF THE UNDEAD by Gamma Ray 2014 - METAL HAMMER". metal-hammer.de. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
5. ^ Lewis, R (2014-05-10). "Gamma Ray - Empire Of The Undead review - Metal Storm". Metal Storm. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
6. ^ "Gamma Ray Interview @ PPM 2013". Metal Blast!. Metalblast.net. 25 April 2013.
7. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Gamma Ray – Empire of the Undead" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
8. ^ "Ultratop.be – Gamma Ray – Empire of the Undead" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Gamma Ray – Empire of the Undead" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
10. ^ "Bravewords.com > News > GAMMA RAY Hits Highest Chart Position Ever In Germany With Empire Of The Undead". Bravewords.com. 2014-04-21. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
11. ^ "Gamma Ray: Empire of the Undead" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
12. ^ "Lescharts.com – Gamma Ray – Empire of the Undead". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Gamma Ray – Empire of the Undead" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
14. ^ "エンパイア・オブ・ジ・アンデッド". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
15. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Gamma Ray – Empire of the Undead". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
16. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Gamma Ray – Empire of the Undead". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
17. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
18. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Empire of the Undead album release, from Gamma Ray's website

* v
* t
* e

Gamma Ray

* Kai Hansen
* Dirk Schlächter
* Henjo Richter
* Michael Ehré
* Frank Beck

* Dan Zimmermann
* Ralf Scheepers
* Uli Kusch

Studio albums|

* Heading for Tomorrow
* Sigh No More
* Insanity and Genius
* Land of the Free
* Somewhere Out in Space
* Power Plant
* No World Order
* Majestic
* Land of the Free II
* To the Metal!
* Empire of the Undead

EPs|

* Heaven Can Wait
* Rebellion In Dreamland
* Silent Miracles
* Valley of the Kings
* Skeletons & Majesties
* Master of Confusion

Live albums|

* Alive '95
* Skeletons in the Closet
* Hell Yeah! The Awesome Foursome
* Skeletons & Majesties Live
* Heading for the East

Compilations|

* Blast from the Past
* The Best (Of)

Related articles|

* Helloween
* Primal Fear
* Iron Savior
* Blind Guardian
* Avantasia
* Masterplan
* Angra
* Freedom Call
* Unisonic
* Neopera

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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