German power metallers GAMMA RAY have unveiled their new video, 'Into The Storm' - click here to view. The track is pulled off of the band's forthcoming album, Land Of The Free II. The tracklisting is as follows: 'Into The Storm', 'From The Ashes', 'Rising Again', 'To Mother Earth', 'rain', 'Leaving Hell', 'Empress', 'When The World', 'Opportunity', 'Real World', 'Hear Me calling', 'Insurrection'.

Audio samples can be heard at this location.

“After Majestic, we all agreed that the style of the new album’s songwriting had to be clear and unambiguous instead of fraying out into all kinds of different directions,” vocalist and guitarist Kai Hansen (ex-HELLOWEEN) explains. “Majestic presented Gamma Ray’s dark side, while its predecessor, No World Order, was more of an eighties-inspired record. This time we wanted to turn our attention to a side of the band that has always been our greatest strength: positive power, as featured on Land Of The Free I.”

After the classic album kept coming up in various discussions among the band members, Gamma Ray arrived at the only logical conclusion. Hansen: “We said to ourselves: Why not write Part II, seeing that people keep comparing our releases to Land I anyway.” A wise decision, as the result proves. Land Of The Free – II presents Gamma Ray in top form – fast-paced, anthemnic, deeply melodic and incredibly diverse. There are the unmistakable chorus parts, haunting rhythms and amazing solos that are so typical of this band, but also progressive elements similar to the multifaceted ingredients on Land I. Prime examples are tracks such as ‘To Mother Earth’, the perfect incarnation of tough melodic speed metal, ‘Real World’ (an instant classic in the tradition of ‘Heaven Can Wait’ and the Hansen-composed Helloween classics, ‘I Want Out’ and ‘Future World’), and ‘When The World’, an ultimate and diverse headbanger par excellence. At the epicentre of the album is the thirteen-minute monumental epos, ‘Insurrection’, taking up effortlessly where the band had left off with the Land 1 anthem, ‘Rebellion In Dreamland’. Hansen: “It’s impossible to describe every detail of this song. You have to listen to ‘Insurrection’ to feel its depth.”

Talking of depth: Land Of The Free – II sees Gamma Ray pick up the leitmotif of its successful namesake. “It’s about freedom in all its forms of expression, particularly that of mind of body,” Hansen explains. “At the same time, it’s not the kind of concept album that tells a continuous story, but a collection of songs, some of which mesh and follow the same basic idea. Pretty much the same way as Land I worked.”

Gamma Ray produced their new album themselves. All four musicians, Kai Hansen, Henjo Richter (guitar), Dirk Schlächter (bass) and Daniel Zimmermann (drums), are experienced enough to translate their ideas at the studio - as the brilliant results of their previous self-produced albums prove. But for the first time in ages, the band allowed themselves the luxury of enlisting outside support for certain stages of the recording process.

“We wanted to have a clear head in some areas to be able to concentrate on the important things,” Hansen explains the enlistment of Tommy Newton (Helloween, UFO, etc.) and his Area 51 studio in Celle, where the new material was mixed. Newton also took care of the drum parts as a sound engineer at Gamma Ray’s own studio, allowing the band to focus on guitar arrangements and vocals.

“Land Of The Free – II is atmospherically extremely dense, with lots of overdub guitars and choirs, the way Queen used to have them, making the album almost orchestral, without neglecting Gamma Ray’s typical metallic toughness, based on the multi-layered guitar sounds and vocals. Excessive keyboard parts weren’t even necessary.”

Starting at the end of November, the band will embark on the Hellish Rock 2007/08 tour, alongside Helloween - a special project, promising to give the fans their money’s worth. “The idea for the tour matured during a number of major festivals, where Gamma Ray and Helloween both played. We even did a jam session together at the Monsters Of Rock in Bulgaria, which was celebrated enthusiastically by the audience. As both bands’ schedules are running parallel for the first time in years, we decided to put this idea into practice at last.“

The fans can look forward to a full 70-minute Gamma Ray show with their own stage set, plus a nightly session together with Helloween, likely to feature a number of classics from Kai Hansen’s own Helloween era. Another way of expressing the freedom of mind and body, as conjured up on Land Of The Free – II.

Land Of The Free II will be released through SPV in Germany on November 16th and in the rest of Europe on November 19th. A January 2008 release date is slated for North America.

Gamma Ray live dates with Helloween and Axxis include:

November

16 - Budapest, Hungary at Petofi Hall
17 - Belgrade, Serbia at Hala Sportova
18 - Sofia, Bulgaria at Festivalna Hall
21 - Istanbul, Turkey at Venue TBA
23 - Thesaloniki, Greece at Principal
24 - Athens, Greece at Cultural Center Hellinikos Kosmos (NEW VENUE)
27 - Rome, Italy at Tendastrisce
28 - Milano, Italy at Alcatraz
29 - Dietikon, Switzerland at Stadthalle

December

1 - Lichtenfels, Germany at Stadthalle
2 - Bremen, Germany at Aladin
4 - Goteborg, Sweden at Liseberghallen
5 - Oslo, Norway at Rockefeller
7 - Lund, Sweden at Mejeriet
8 - Stockholm, Sweden at Arenan
10 - Tampere, Finland at Pakkahuone
11 - Helsinki, Finland at Kaapelitehdas
14 - Plzen, Czech Republic at Hala Lokomotiva
15 - Zlin, Czech Republic at Hala Novesta
16 - Pardubice, Czech Republic at CEZ Arena
18 - Kosice, Slovakia at Cassosport Sport Hall
19 - Bratislava, Slovakia at PKO
21 - Langen, Germany at Stadthalle
22 - Kaufbeuren, Germany at All Karthalle

January

6 - Paris, France at Elysee Montmatre
7 - Tilburg, Holland at 013
8 - London, UK at The Forum
10 - Antwerp, Belgium at Hof Ter Lo
11 - Tuttlingen, Germany at Alte Festhalle
12 - Karlsruhe, Germany at Europahalle
13 - Oberhausen, Germany at Turbinenhalle
15 - Barcelona, Spain at Razzmatazz
18 - Bilbao, Spain at Rockstar Live
20 - Madrid, Spain at La Riviera

February

8 - Fukuoka, Japan - Drum Logos
9 - Hiroshima, Japan - Club Quattro
11 - Osaka, Japan - Namba Hatch
12 - Nagoya, Japan - Diamond Hall
14 - Tokyo, Japan - Kosei Nenkin Hall
15 - Tokyo, Japan - Kosei Nenkin Hall