To the Metal!
| To The Metal! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Gamma Ray | ||||
| Released | 29 January 2010 | |||
| Recorded | at High Gain Studio, Hamburg, Germany | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal, power metal, speed metal | |||
| Length | 48:22 | |||
| Label | earMUSIC/Edel Music | |||
| Producer | Dirk Schlächter and Kai Hansen | |||
| Gamma Ray chronology | ||||
|
||||
To The Metal! is the tenth full length studio album by Gamma Ray. It was released on 29 January 2010.
To promote To The Metal!, Gamma Ray did a tour with Freedom Call and Secret Sphere. The album was recorded in Kai's own studio in Hamburg in autumn 2009.
The band has recorded 12 songs. Ten of them were featured on the regular album release, while the other two were bonus tracks appearing on the different editions of the album.
The band described some of the songs on the official website, revealing that there would be a full-throttle number called "Rise", a rhythmic and melodically diverse song called "Time To Live", and a multilayered anthem titled "All you need to know", featuring ex-Helloween frontman Michael Kiske.
Other songs mentioned are "No Need to Cry", a song written by Dirk Schlächter about the death of his father, "To The Metal", a song they played on various festivals before the album release and the atmospherically and dense "Empathy". It's the last album featuring drummer Dan Zimmermann.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Empathy" | Hansen | 5:04 | |
| 2. | "All You Need To Know" (feat. Michael Kiske) | Hansen | 4:00 | |
| 3. | "Time To Live" | Richter | 4:48 | |
| 4. | "To The Metal" | Hansen | 5:29 | |
| 5. | "Rise" | Zimmermann | 5:05 | |
| 6. | "Mother Angel" | Hansen | 5:20 | |
| 7. | "Shine Forever" | Schlächter | 3:53 | |
| 8. | "Deadlands" | Hansen | 4:23 | |
| 9. | "Chasing Shadows" | Richter | 4:23 | |
| 10. | "No Need To Cry" | Schlächter | 5:56 |
| Bonus Tracks on Collector's Edition (only on 7" Vinyl) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 11. | "Wannabees" | Zimmermann | ||||||||
| 12. | "To the Metal" (demo version) | Hansen | ||||||||
| Bonus Tracks on Japanese Pressing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 11. | "One Life" | Hansen | ||||||||
| 12. | "Wannabees" | Zimmermann | ||||||||
Album versions
- Regular jewel case CD
- Limited edition featuring an additional DVD (including the making-of)
- Red vinyl in gatefold packaging
- Collectors’ edition featuring CD and 7” vinyl with 2 unreleased tracks, completely hand-signed
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Gears of Rock |  [2] |
| BurnYourHears |    [3] |
| BW&BK | [4] |
The critical reception to this album has been mostly positive, with some critics praising the musicianship and the drumming in particular. [1] Others have praised the band for their consistency and for remaining 'one of heavy metal’s most unsung heroes'. [5]
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Provider | Peak position |
Certification | Sales/ shipments[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| German Albums Chart [7] | IFPI/Media Control | 24 | - | - |
| Greek Albums Chart [8] | 2 | - | - | |
| Finland Albums Chart [9] | 31 | - | - | |
| Sweden Albums Chart [10] | 25 | - | - | |
| Switzerland Albums Chart [11] | 55 | - | - | |
| Belgium Albums Chart [12] | 94 | - | - | |
| France Albums Chart [13] | 96 | - | - |
Personnel
- Kai Hansen - vocals, guitar
- Henjo Richter - guitar, keyboards
- Dirk Schlächter - bass, vocals on "No Need to Cry"
- Dan Zimmermann - drums
Guest musician
- Michael Kiske - vocals on "All You Need to Know"
Credits
- Produced and engineered by: Dirk Schlächter, Kai Hansen
- Cover Painting by: Hervé Monjeaud
References
- ^ Freeman, Phil. "Review: To the Metal". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
- ^ "Review: Gamma Ray – To The Metal".
- ^ "Gamma Ray - To The Metal!".
- ^ "GAMMA RAY - To The Metal".
- ^ "Gamma Ray To The Metal Review - Review of To The Metal by Gamma Ray". Heavymetal.about.com. 2010-03-16. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ Certification award levels IFPI. Retrieved August, 2009.
- ^ "Album Top 50 - Alle Musikvideos - Chart". MTV.de. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Gamma Ray - To The Metal!". greekcharts.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ Steffen Hung (2010-09-17). "Gamma Ray - To The Metal!". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Gamma Ray - To The Metal!". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Gamma Ray - To The Metal!". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ "Gamma Ray - To The Metal!". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Gamma Ray - To The Metal!". lescharts.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Read in another language
This page is available in 9 languages
