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 and new drummer Uli Kusch.
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 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 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 have 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.
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 Dan Zimmermann. Zimmerman is also known for being a founding member of the German power metal band Freedom Call. 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.
Work started on the next album, and 1997 saw the release of Somewhere Out in Space, 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, 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, the band was ready for the recording and release of the album No World Order!, which was stylistically similar to NWOBHM bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. 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 and Henjo Richter also participated in Tobias Sammet's project Avantasia, on both The Metal Opera and The Metal Opera Pt. II, along with various other musicians including Hansen's former bandmates from Helloween, Markus Grosskopf and Michael Kiske.
A live DVD, Hell Yeah The Awesome Foursome Live in Montreal was recorded on 6 May 2006 at Le Medley in Montreal, Quebec. The setlist contained songs drawn from all of their albums up to Majestic (excluding Insanity and Genius) and also a cover of the Helloween 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 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 named Guardians of Mankind. His bandmate Kasperi Heikkinen also played on part of the Majestic tour in 2006 following an injury to Henjo Richter. 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. 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 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's Hellish Rock 2007/2008 World Tour, on some shows along with the band Axxis. 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 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.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_Ray_(band)
Studio albums
Heading for Tomorrow (1990)
Sigh No More (1991)
Insanity and Genius (1993)
Land of the Free (1995)
Somewhere Out in Space (1997)
Power Plant (1999)
No World Order! (2001)
Majestic (2005)
Land of the Free II (2007)
To the Metal! (2010)
Empire of the Undead (2014)
Miracle
Gamma Ray Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
An old man came right up to me and said, "I know your name."
He said he'd like to talk to me only for awhile
I had no plans, so I said OK, and he started with a sigh and said:
"I've seen a million years pass right away.
I've seen the gods of yesterday, they're old and grey.
If you will fail, there's only one more way."
Let our hearts cry out, so our voices can be heard
Let us walk away together, from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again.
He said all life he'd been searchin' for a way to find the clue
That love will turn the fear to hope, skies of grey to blue.
"Let the miracle come true my friend", this is what he said
"Let's give ourselves a second chance for another lap in the race.
"And then a million stars will shine to light our way.
And all the tearrs from yesterday, ... forever washed away."
What we need right now, is a miracle on earth
Let our hearts cry out, so our voices can be heard
Let us walk away together, from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again.
Take my hand and you will see the mirror of your destiny
So many came to read the signs, to understand their meaning
Now I see I do not dare, but something's calling me
So many men cannot bread free, the one who will succeed, I wonder if it's me
What we need right now, is a miracle on earth
Let our hearts cry out, so our voices can be heard
Let us walk away together, from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again.
It's a miracle we need
Let hearts unite, so our voices shake the earth
Let us walk away together from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again
We need a miracle, a miracle, a miracle on earth
Let our hearts cry out for the miracle
Let the stars shine on
For the miracle, the miracle on earth
Our hearts, our hearts shall unite for the miracle
The lyrics of Gamma Ray's song “Miracle” are centered on the idea of hope and the power of love to change things, even in the midst of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The song begins on a day with a misty and cold sky but suddenly a strange old man approaches the singer and claims to know his name. The old man begins to talk about his experience, having witnessed a million years passing and the gods of yesterday becoming old and grey. He tells the singer that if he fails, there is only one more way. The old man then explains that what we need right now is a miracle on earth, to let our hearts cry out, so our voices can be heard, and we can walk away together from the never-ending rain until the sun will shine for all of us again.
The old man seems to have an understanding of how love can turn fear to hope and grey skies to blue. He believes that if the miracle comes true, a million stars will shine to light the way while yesterday's tears will be forever washed away. The man points out that so many have come to read the signs and understand their meaning, but only a few can break free. He wonders if he will be the one to succeed. The song ends on the same note it began with the singer echoing the need for a miracle on earth and a call for our hearts to unite.
Line by Line Meaning
I was walking through a misty day, the sky was cold and grey
The singer is describing the day that he was walking through, where the weather is gloomy and dull.
An old man came right up to me and said, "I know your name."
An old man approached the singer and claimed to know the singer's identity.
He said he'd like to talk to me only for awhile
The old man requested a brief conversation with the singer.
I had no plans, so I said OK, and he started with a sigh and said:
The artist agreed to the conversation, and the old man began their discussion with a sigh.
"I've seen a million years pass right away.
The old man implied that he's lived through a long time and seen it go by in a flash.
I've seen the gods of yesterday, they're old and grey.
The old man saw the gods of the past and noted that they have aged and lost their power.
If you will fail, there's only one more way."
The old man warned the singer that there is only one more chance left if he fails.
What we need right now, is a miracle on earth
The artist believes that a miracle is necessary to improve the current state of the world.
Let our hearts cry out, so our voices can be heard
The artist urges people to express their emotions and share their opinions.
Let us walk away together, from the never ending rain
The artist wants people to move away from constant difficulties and negativity.
‘Til the sun will shine for all of us again.
The goal is to reach a brighter, more optimistic future for everyone.
He said all life he'd been searchin' for a way to find the clue
The old man had been looking for an answer or solution throughout his life.
That love will turn the fear to hope, skies of grey to blue.
The old man believes that love can transform negative emotions and situations into positive ones.
"Let the miracle come true my friend", this is what he said
The old man encouraged the singer to believe in the possibility of a miracle.
"Let's give ourselves a second chance for another lap in the race.
The old man wants the singer to have another opportunity to succeed in life.
"And then a million stars will shine to light our way.
The old man envisions a future where many great things will happen.
And all the tears from yesterday, ... forever washed away."
The negativity and past hardships will be forgotten and replaced with better experiences.
Take my hand and you will see the mirror of your destiny
The old man invites the singer to understand his true fate and potential.
So many came to read the signs, to understand their meaning
Many people have tried to interpret the signals of the world and find their purpose.
Now I see I do not dare, but something's calling me
The artist feels reluctant now, but there is a mysterious force motivating him.
So many men cannot break free, the one who will succeed, I wonder if it's me
Many people cannot escape their current situations, but the artist wonders if he can be different and succeed.
It's a miracle we need
The artist restates that a miracle is necessary.
Let hearts unite, so our voices shake the earth
The singer wants everyone to collaborate and make a big statement.
Let the stars shine on
The artist wants the world to be illuminated with great things.
For the miracle, the miracle on earth
The miracle that will make the world better is what everyone needs.
Our hearts, our hearts shall unite for the miracle
The singer believes that if everyone works together, they can achieve the miracle they need.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KAI HANSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Facundo Agustin
Miracle- Gamma Ray
I was walking through a misty day, the sky was cold and
Grey
An old man came right up to me and said, "I know your
Name."
He said he'd like to talk to me only for awhile
I had no plans, so I said ok, and he started with a sigh
And said:
"I've seen a million years pass right away.
I've seen the gods of yesterday, they're old and grey.
If you will fail, there's only one more way."
What we need right now, is a miracle on earth
Let our hearts cry out, so our voices can be heard
Let us walk away together, from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again.
He said all life he'd been searchin' for a way to find
The clue
That love will turn the fear to hope, skies of grey to
Blue.
"Let the miracle come true my friend", this is what he
Said "let's give ourselves a second chance for another
Lap in the race. "and then a million stars will shine to
Light our way.
And all the trears from yesterday,... Forever washed
Away."
What we need right now, is a miracle on earth
Let our hearts cry out, so our voices can be heard
Let us walk away together, from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again.
Take my hand and you will see the mirror of your destiny
So many came to read the signs, to understand their
Meaning
Now I see I do not dare, but something's calling me
So many men cannot break free, the one who will succeed,
I wonder if it's me
What we need right now, is a miracle on earth
Let our hearts cry out, so our voices can be heard
Let us walk away together, from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again.
It's a miracle we need
Let hearts unite, so our voices shake the earth
Let us walk away together from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again
We need a miracle, a miracle, a miracle on earth
Let our hearts cry out for the miracle
Let the stars shine on
For the miracle, the miracle on earth
Our hearts, our hearts shall unite for the miracle
Alex do Rock
que música emocionante, profunda !! toca no fundo de minha alma, nas profundezas de meu ser
Double Dave
I wish more people knew this song and the message within its lyrics. We really do need a miracle......
Gray Foxer
Perfeita ! Solo perfeito ! Excelente musica !
Facundo Agustin
Miracle- Gamma Ray
I was walking through a misty day, the sky was cold and
Grey
An old man came right up to me and said, "I know your
Name."
He said he'd like to talk to me only for awhile
I had no plans, so I said ok, and he started with a sigh
And said:
"I've seen a million years pass right away.
I've seen the gods of yesterday, they're old and grey.
If you will fail, there's only one more way."
What we need right now, is a miracle on earth
Let our hearts cry out, so our voices can be heard
Let us walk away together, from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again.
He said all life he'd been searchin' for a way to find
The clue
That love will turn the fear to hope, skies of grey to
Blue.
"Let the miracle come true my friend", this is what he
Said "let's give ourselves a second chance for another
Lap in the race. "and then a million stars will shine to
Light our way.
And all the trears from yesterday,... Forever washed
Away."
What we need right now, is a miracle on earth
Let our hearts cry out, so our voices can be heard
Let us walk away together, from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again.
Take my hand and you will see the mirror of your destiny
So many came to read the signs, to understand their
Meaning
Now I see I do not dare, but something's calling me
So many men cannot break free, the one who will succeed,
I wonder if it's me
What we need right now, is a miracle on earth
Let our hearts cry out, so our voices can be heard
Let us walk away together, from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again.
It's a miracle we need
Let hearts unite, so our voices shake the earth
Let us walk away together from the never ending rain
'Til the sun will shine for all of us again
We need a miracle, a miracle, a miracle on earth
Let our hearts cry out for the miracle
Let the stars shine on
For the miracle, the miracle on earth
Our hearts, our hearts shall unite for the miracle
David Martinez Millan
Temazo....Kai Hansen siempre toca fibra sensible...nostalgia de esta canción...sacó estas versiones después del Land of the free (joyita)
Gretgor
It's so weird they decided to re-stylize an older song and re-release it, but still, it does sound pretty good!
Gabriel Stern
guys this song turned into man on a mission not a cover version was originally released on an ep called silent miracles in 1995 ahead of the release of land of the free part 1 kai at the time probably made the tempos faster and changed some of the lyrics so the song would fit better into the land of the free concept nevertheless this and man on a mission are great songs but please stop with calling miracle a cover song when in fact it is the original arrangement of man on a mission
Gabriel Stern
Dave Zav yes it was but my understanding was the silent miracles ep was released in 1995 ahead of land of the free album because gamma ray had a tour coming up and the full album was not ready for release in time for the tour, and that land if the free was released in 1996, but maybe I am not entirely correct. Also the 1995 version of the silence which was also on this ep was the vocals from kai from 1989 before Ralph's vocals were added, and some additional guitar parts were added, but because ralph heard the original demo for the silence from 1986, he decided the vocals should be done and sound like Kai's vocals from 1986, that version of the silence can be found on the 2015 rerealease of heading for tommorow.
Gabriel Stern
Dave Zav and yes I am also aware that how many tears was a balad and have heard it, and like it, musically it sounds a bit like queen with weikis vocals sounding like meatloaf trying to sing queen, and the song musically has some similarities to the silence, but if it had been released on walls of Jericho in that arrangement even with vocals from kai, helloween at the time would have been sadly bashed for it, so the idea originally was make the track heavier and faster but have queen like vocals from kai in parts, but I think due to outdated mixing equipment helloween was unable to at the get the results everyone wanted, now if they had waited a couple more years, how many tears could have been recorded and released in its original ballad form, but by then kai would have left helloween anyway.
alejandra ponce
excelente banda muy linda cancion y un gran cantante