Empire of the Undead

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.

Empire of the Undead
Studio album by Gamma Ray
Released	28 March 2014
Recorded	at Hammer Studios, Hamburg, Germany (partially)
Genre	Thrash metal, 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 ratings

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

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.	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 track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Someday"	Hansen	3:59

European bonus track

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
11.	"Built a World"	Hansen	Andy Portmann, Hansen	4:22

CD/DVD Digipack bonus tracks

No.	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

Charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[7]	12
German Album Charts	13[8]
Czech Album Charts	5[9]
Swedish Album Charts	26[10]

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. "Gamma Ray: Empire Of The Undead" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
8. "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.
9. "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.
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.

External links

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