GAMMA RAY – Blast from the Past (Digitally Remastered) (2023)

”Blast from the Past” is a compilation album that contains re-recordings of older GAMMA RAY material from their first era with Ralf Scheepers at the mic, re-done in 2000’s with new vocalist Kai Hansen singing the vocals. All instruments for old songs were also re-recorded with new arrangements by the then current members of the band. The songs from each era to be included in the compilation were chosen by the band’s fans.
Now more that two decades since released, all these 20 songs are being remastered obtaining a more punchy output. With Hansen on vocals these songs sound melodi-fied, and the guitars, sharper.
This is a definitive collection of the German metal band’s greatest hits from the ’90s, but unlike the vast majority of GH albums, it’s not merely a selection of songs chosen from the band’s previous albums by the record company based on their chart performance thrown onto a new CD, and maybe remastered. The song selection on the album was voted upon by fans in a poll on Gamma Ray’s website, first of all.

For this project, songs from the first four Gamma Ray albums were re-recorded with Kai on vocals, showing a lot of improvement compared to the originals. “One with the World” and “Last Before the Storm” are fine examples of how good songs from the first Gamma Ray era turned into awesome pieces of melodic metal with power.
The second CD features 3 re-recorded songs from “Land of the Free”, which already had Kai on vocals, but these new versions are much more driving and dynamic, like the fast “Man on a Mission”. Other highlights are “Somewhere Out in Space” and “Powerplant”.

As happens with most compilations, some excellent songs were left out, for example, “Gardens of the Sinner” or “All of the Damned”, to name a few, because only 3 songs from each album could be voted. However, it was a great idea from the band to give the fans the opportunity to make the choice.
All in all, this is a strong set of songs / updated versions, and a good start for those who want to know more about one of the foundational melodic power metal acts.
Highly Recommended

01 – Welcome (Remastered)
02 – Lust for Life (Remastered)
03 – Heaven Can Wait (Remastered)
04 – Heading for Tomorrow (Remastered)
05 – Changes (Remastered)
06 – One with the World (Remastered)
07 – Dream Healer (Remastered)
08 – Tribute to the Past (Remastered)
09 – Last Before the Storm (Remastered)
10 – Heal Me (Remastered)
11 – Rebellion in Dreamland (Remastered)
12 – Man on a Mission (Remastered)
13 – Land of the Free (Remastered)
14 – The Silence (Remastered)
15 – Beyond the Black Hole (Remastered)
16 – Somewhere out in Space (Remastered)
17 – Valley of the Kings (Remastered)
18 – Anywhere in the Galaxy (Remastered)
19 – Send Me a Sign (Remastered)
20 – Armageddon (Remastered)

Kai Hansen – vocals, guitar
Henjo Richter – guitar, keyboards
Dirk Schlächter – bass
Dan Zimmermann – drums

Pre order:
napalmrecords.com/english/gamma-ray-blast-from-the-past-digipak-cd.html
www.bengans.com/cgi-bin/ibutik/AIR_ibutik.fcgi?funk=visa_artikel&artnr=4226485