Empire of the Undead

Empire of the Undead
Studio album by
Gamma Ray
Released28 March 2014
Recordedat Hammer Studios, Hamburg, Germany (partially)
Genre
Length56:46
LabelearMUSIC
ProducerEike Freese and Dirk Schlächter
Gamma Ray chronology
Master of Confusion
(2013) 		Empire of the Undead
(2014)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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

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

Credits via the album's liner notes.

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Avalon"Kai HansenHansen9:21
2."Hellbent"HansenHansen5:22
3."Pale Rider"HansenMichael Ehré4:23
4."Born to Fly"Henjo RichterRichter4:31
5."Master of Confusion"HansenHansen4:54
6."Empire of the Undead"HansenHansen4:25
7."Time for Deliverance"Dirk Schlächter, HansenSchlächter5:10
8."Demonseed"HansenSchlächter6:38
9."Seven"HansenHansen5:07
10."I Will Return"RichterRichter6:55
Total length:56:46
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Someday"Hansen[citation needed]3:59
European bonus track
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
11."Built a World"HansenAndy Portmann, Hansen4:22
CD/DVD Digipack bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
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

Charts

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

  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. "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". 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.