Helloween & Gamma Ray
- Thread starter Forostar
- Start date
Helloween to release new album "My God-Given Right" in May
Expecting nothing, last album had shit production and shit songs, and they kept the same producer
Hope they surprise me though.
Expecting nothing, last album had shit production and shit songs, and they kept the same producer
Hope they surprise me though.
Asshole has an unofficial sequel!
featuring Blaze!
Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
Ripper is pretty much just there for his ridiculously high screams and to advertise Monster.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
More than a decade ago, my wife started a website called "Cursed with Oblivion", which contained interviews and concert and album reviews from various metal artists. The site went offline years ago, but thankfully we still have the content. In the upcoming days I'd like to posting some of it.
Here an interview with Roland Grapow, done in August 2002, by yours truly. This was just one year after he was fired from Helloween. Check his opinion on the Helloween release Treasure Chest. Putting it mildly, he clearly was not happy with some aspects of it. *cough, cough* Also he mentions Roy Z, who produced the Helloween album The Dark Ride.
Masterplan
Interview with Roland Grapow
After the departure of guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch from Helloween, they decided to surrect a new band, called Masterplan. Roland Grapow, one of Germany's most respected guitar players in metal, answered the following questions to give an update on his new band.
- Hello Roland, how are you?
ROLAND: I'm really fine, everything looks good for our new band.
- All going well with Masterplan?
ROLAND: Yeah, the album is mixed and really good. We are really proud of it, I think it'll be a strong release.
- Any news about a record deal?
ROLAND: Yes, worldwide we got a deal with AFM Records. In Japan and Southeast Asia we have Marquee Avalon. The single release is in November (not Asia) and the album is coming worldwide in January 2003
- The music of Masterplan is described as heavy, epic, bombastic and progressive metal. That's quite a lot! How would you compare the music with the work you have done e.g. on the last Helloween record "The Dark Ride"?
ROLAND: I wouldn't compare it too much with "The Dark Ride," we have many Helloween elements in Masterplan, and it's very melodic too. Not too progressive, just a little on some songs. We have a more positive feeling compared to "The Dark Ride" album. And an incredible singer!!!!!!! AND BETTER SONGS..
- Would you introduce the band's line-up to us? How did you get in touch with these musicians?
ROLAND: I just tried to get the best musicians to win (for our taste) for Masterplan. I know we did the right choice. To create a new powerful band. I knew Jan the bassplayer for 10 years already. Janne and Jorn, I just called. Easy.
Jorn Lande - vocals. Janne Wirman - keyboards. Jan S. Eckert - bass. Roland Grapow - guitars. Uli Kusch - drums.
- You have been working quite long with Uli now. When you two were out of Helloween, how logical was it for you guys that you would stay together and form a new band?
ROLAND: It was totally natural for us, he is the best drummer and songwriter I know. Why should I even try, not to work with him, haha. Would be stupid. We are a dream-team at the moment. We never had that situation before in Helloween. You will hear the result.
- Would you tell a bit about the songwriting process for the new album?
ROLAND: Oh, we started last year spring to create some great stuff already, but after the Helloween split. We changed our songwriting focus a little bit to get also a lot of Helloween elements in our music. In October we finished writing and arranged our songs for another 6 weeks. We did a nice job I guess, we caught some great moments, I believe. When Jorn joined the band in January, he arranged also a big part of the vocal melodies. He is incredible, the best guy we could choose. After his vocals, everything sounded even better.
- I am also curious how Uli writes his songs. Does he start with a drum-rhythm or a guitar-riff? How does he work?
ROLAND: The same like me, I guess always with guitars and keys. Maybe some drum patterns are inspiring him as well.
- Roy Z had a positive influence on you on "The Dark Ride". Did he help with the arrangements? Or more likely with the guitar sound and the recording process?
ROLAND: He did everything, arranging the songs and lyrics and creating the guitar sound as well. He had tons of ideas.
- Did he also help a bit with the new Masterplan material?
ROLAND: He just helped me with some arrangements last year in August. I went for a week to L.A. to visit him, directly after the split with Hell.... He wasn't at the recording process involved. Our Masterplan producer was Andy Sneap, he is great as well. But not so involved in the arrangements of the songs. We are great friends, and I learned so much from both of them.
- Lately you have been doing quite some guest appearances on other artists' albums and you also did some live performances, e.g. the Helloween tribute concert in São Paulo. How was this?
ROLAND: Really nice, I love to work with younger musicians and to do special events. Also to play solos on different artists' albums (most of them are friends of mine). I stayed a whole week in Brasil to meet also my friends and to do some interviews and promotion there.
- Do you know around what time the first performance of Masterplan will take place?
ROLAND: I guess January or February 2003, doing a support tour and a little headlining later and all the festivals next year!! I hope so!
- Is there a chance that you will play some Helloween songs with Masterplan?
ROLAND: Of course only Uli and my written songs, but we will play some!
- What are your feelings about the "Treasure Chest" compilation?
ROLAND: Money making shit of the Sanctuary label, some songs shoudn't be on that album anyway, they are not good enough for a "Best of..". WHY IS "THE T.O.T.O." NOT REMIXED AND SO FORTH. DO IT RIGHT OR LEAVE IT.
- I thought it lacked many good Grapow songs. Only "Mr. Ego", "The Chance" and "The Time Of The Oath" are there (apart from the 3rd bonus disc). For the last song you even didn't get the credits for the music. It says: "Time Of The Oath", music & lyrics M. Weikath &. A. Deris.
ROLAND: That is the management Sanctuary, they did the same mistake before with that song. They don't really care. They don't know anything about the band. Treating you like business partners and making mistakes like that. What is the problem to have checked the booklet layout by a bandmember? OR MAYBE BY A FAN, THEY KNOW MORE ABOUT THE BAND THAN SANCTUARY. It takes just an e-mail or a fax.
- You would like to work as a producer for younger bands. Where did this passion come from?
ROLAND: From the last 2 productions I liked, (Masterplan Andy Sneap) and ("The Dark Ride" with Roy Z). I learned so much from them, I'm producing my first band already in my CRAZY CAT STUDIO. They're called,"Arctic Fields" and we are really happy so far with the result. I mean, everything I learn, I could use also for Masterplan. It helps us as well. It's fun to work for other people and get the best out of them.
- On your website we can read that Kai Hansen might work with you in the future. Sounds very interesting! Is there any more news about it?
ROLAND: Not really, I just read it somewhere, and we talked about it some years ago, but no plans so far. But at the moment we are just busy with Masterplan. In the future I'm still interested to work with Uli, Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske. Would be interesting. But right now it's not even good to think about it: first is Masterplan!!!!!!!
- Thanks a lot for this interview! Good luck with the band!
ROLAND: Thanx also, we hope to see you next year on tour!!
Here an interview with Roland Grapow, done in August 2002, by yours truly. This was just one year after he was fired from Helloween. Check his opinion on the Helloween release Treasure Chest. Putting it mildly, he clearly was not happy with some aspects of it. *cough, cough* Also he mentions Roy Z, who produced the Helloween album The Dark Ride.
Masterplan
Interview with Roland Grapow
After the departure of guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch from Helloween, they decided to surrect a new band, called Masterplan. Roland Grapow, one of Germany's most respected guitar players in metal, answered the following questions to give an update on his new band.
- Hello Roland, how are you?
ROLAND: I'm really fine, everything looks good for our new band.
- All going well with Masterplan?
ROLAND: Yeah, the album is mixed and really good. We are really proud of it, I think it'll be a strong release.
- Any news about a record deal?
ROLAND: Yes, worldwide we got a deal with AFM Records. In Japan and Southeast Asia we have Marquee Avalon. The single release is in November (not Asia) and the album is coming worldwide in January 2003
- The music of Masterplan is described as heavy, epic, bombastic and progressive metal. That's quite a lot! How would you compare the music with the work you have done e.g. on the last Helloween record "The Dark Ride"?
ROLAND: I wouldn't compare it too much with "The Dark Ride," we have many Helloween elements in Masterplan, and it's very melodic too. Not too progressive, just a little on some songs. We have a more positive feeling compared to "The Dark Ride" album. And an incredible singer!!!!!!! AND BETTER SONGS..
- Would you introduce the band's line-up to us? How did you get in touch with these musicians?
ROLAND: I just tried to get the best musicians to win (for our taste) for Masterplan. I know we did the right choice. To create a new powerful band. I knew Jan the bassplayer for 10 years already. Janne and Jorn, I just called. Easy.
Jorn Lande - vocals. Janne Wirman - keyboards. Jan S. Eckert - bass. Roland Grapow - guitars. Uli Kusch - drums.
- You have been working quite long with Uli now. When you two were out of Helloween, how logical was it for you guys that you would stay together and form a new band?
ROLAND: It was totally natural for us, he is the best drummer and songwriter I know. Why should I even try, not to work with him, haha. Would be stupid. We are a dream-team at the moment. We never had that situation before in Helloween. You will hear the result.
- Would you tell a bit about the songwriting process for the new album?
ROLAND: Oh, we started last year spring to create some great stuff already, but after the Helloween split. We changed our songwriting focus a little bit to get also a lot of Helloween elements in our music. In October we finished writing and arranged our songs for another 6 weeks. We did a nice job I guess, we caught some great moments, I believe. When Jorn joined the band in January, he arranged also a big part of the vocal melodies. He is incredible, the best guy we could choose. After his vocals, everything sounded even better.
- I am also curious how Uli writes his songs. Does he start with a drum-rhythm or a guitar-riff? How does he work?
ROLAND: The same like me, I guess always with guitars and keys. Maybe some drum patterns are inspiring him as well.
- Roy Z had a positive influence on you on "The Dark Ride". Did he help with the arrangements? Or more likely with the guitar sound and the recording process?
ROLAND: He did everything, arranging the songs and lyrics and creating the guitar sound as well. He had tons of ideas.
- Did he also help a bit with the new Masterplan material?
ROLAND: He just helped me with some arrangements last year in August. I went for a week to L.A. to visit him, directly after the split with Hell.... He wasn't at the recording process involved. Our Masterplan producer was Andy Sneap, he is great as well. But not so involved in the arrangements of the songs. We are great friends, and I learned so much from both of them.
- Lately you have been doing quite some guest appearances on other artists' albums and you also did some live performances, e.g. the Helloween tribute concert in São Paulo. How was this?
ROLAND: Really nice, I love to work with younger musicians and to do special events. Also to play solos on different artists' albums (most of them are friends of mine). I stayed a whole week in Brasil to meet also my friends and to do some interviews and promotion there.
- Do you know around what time the first performance of Masterplan will take place?
ROLAND: I guess January or February 2003, doing a support tour and a little headlining later and all the festivals next year!! I hope so!
- Is there a chance that you will play some Helloween songs with Masterplan?
ROLAND: Of course only Uli and my written songs, but we will play some!
- What are your feelings about the "Treasure Chest" compilation?
ROLAND: Money making shit of the Sanctuary label, some songs shoudn't be on that album anyway, they are not good enough for a "Best of..". WHY IS "THE T.O.T.O." NOT REMIXED AND SO FORTH. DO IT RIGHT OR LEAVE IT.
- I thought it lacked many good Grapow songs. Only "Mr. Ego", "The Chance" and "The Time Of The Oath" are there (apart from the 3rd bonus disc). For the last song you even didn't get the credits for the music. It says: "Time Of The Oath", music & lyrics M. Weikath &. A. Deris.
ROLAND: That is the management Sanctuary, they did the same mistake before with that song. They don't really care. They don't know anything about the band. Treating you like business partners and making mistakes like that. What is the problem to have checked the booklet layout by a bandmember? OR MAYBE BY A FAN, THEY KNOW MORE ABOUT THE BAND THAN SANCTUARY. It takes just an e-mail or a fax.
- You would like to work as a producer for younger bands. Where did this passion come from?
ROLAND: From the last 2 productions I liked, (Masterplan Andy Sneap) and ("The Dark Ride" with Roy Z). I learned so much from them, I'm producing my first band already in my CRAZY CAT STUDIO. They're called,"Arctic Fields" and we are really happy so far with the result. I mean, everything I learn, I could use also for Masterplan. It helps us as well. It's fun to work for other people and get the best out of them.
- On your website we can read that Kai Hansen might work with you in the future. Sounds very interesting! Is there any more news about it?
ROLAND: Not really, I just read it somewhere, and we talked about it some years ago, but no plans so far. But at the moment we are just busy with Masterplan. In the future I'm still interested to work with Uli, Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske. Would be interesting. But right now it's not even good to think about it: first is Masterplan!!!!!!!
- Thanks a lot for this interview! Good luck with the band!
ROLAND: Thanx also, we hope to see you next year on tour!!
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Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
The chorus is ok but sounds like the last 2 albums.
Another one, called Battle's Won:
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Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
NotePad
Nomad
Its funny how Battles Won is so obviously a Weiki song. Not a bad thing. I've always said that if Helloween wants to make an album that is like the original Keepers then they need to let Weiki and Marcus write all the music. And maybe Sascha, because songs like Paint A New World and Dreambound have a very classic Helloween sound to them, Dreambound especially taking it a little further.
The one problem I have with their last two albums is that it kinda sounds overproduced, too "shiny", you know? The producer needs to take that down a few notches and get back to a more natural and raw sound.
On another not, has anyone else noticed that Gamma Ray rips off a lot of bands? Seriously.
The one problem I have with their last two albums is that it kinda sounds overproduced, too "shiny", you know? The producer needs to take that down a few notches and get back to a more natural and raw sound.
On another not, has anyone else noticed that Gamma Ray rips off a lot of bands? Seriously.
New album is super boring and generic and rips off a lot of their older songs.
After another listen, it makes Can Do It sound like Halloween in comparison. I know most of you dislike Chameleon, but I genuinely rate that album higher than the last two.
It's quite sad that I enjoyed last two DragonForce albums more than last two Helloween albums
It's quite sad that I enjoyed last two DragonForce albums more than last two Helloween albums
GAMMA RAY ANNOUNCE 25th ANNIVERSARY 2CD REISSUE OF
THE DEBUT ALBUM “HEADING FOR TOMORROW”,
A WORLD TOUR
AND THE REISSUE OF THE WHOLE GAMMA RAY PRODUCTION
TO FOLLOW DURING 2015 AND 2016.
It was with great surprise that in 1988 Kai Hansen decided to leave Helloween: the band he co-founded and that in a very few years reached a very high level of success, ending up influencing and challenging the bands that were once their original inspiration.
Hansen left Helloween just when the band had finally reached international stardom and after having won the appreciation of metal giants such as Iron Maiden who often publicly championed the German band. Hansen, Gamma Ray and Helloween are now very good friends, often sharing the stage, but in 1987 the divorce was a proper rock and roll acrimonious one: a true shock for the metal scene. The reasons that brought Kai Hansen to leave the band are still the subject of interviews and fan debates, despite listening to the forthcoming reissue of “Heading For Tomorrow”, 25 years after its original release, it looks very obvious that Kai Hansen destiny was to lead his own band.
“Heading For Tomorrow (Anniversary Edition)” will be released on July 24th, 2015 on earMUSIC.
25 years after the official debut, Gamma Ray and earMUSIC have started a monumental work to re-release the entire production by Gamma Ray in deluxe double CDs.
The original albums will be re-presented in new shining, remastered version on the first disc (with the inclusions of all B-sides) while the second CD will be dedicated to old live recordings, demos digitalised for the first time from the original tapes saved by all members of the band, alternative versions and recent studio and live recordings.
“Heading For Tomorrow” was initially released as a Kai Hansen solo album. By extracting the LP out of its sleeve, “Heading For Tomorrow” revealed its “secret intention” (it was still the days of LP, or is it again?) revealing a second cover, introducing Kai’s new baby: GAMMA RAY.
After the global critical success of “Empire Of The Undead”, Kai Hansen has decided to continue the collaboration with Eike Freese and Alex Dietz (Heaven Shall Burn), the production team. Kai Hansen has spent hundred hours, digitalising and remastering hundreds of tapes, alternative versions and ideas that were so far jealously hidden in Gamma Ray’s private archive.
Adds Hansen: “I am incredibly thankful that after 25 fantastic years of Gamma Ray, I am still standing here, making music and performing on stage. It's awesome to see that fans from the first days keep on supporting us and that we still make new friends. It’s something you can't take for granted. After my departure from Helloween, it all could have gone the other way as well. Instead, we continue to make albums and tour the world. That's close to unbelievable!
Working on the first reissue for ‘Heading For Tomorrow’ brought back so many great memories and Ralf and I dug out some funny stories.
Two years ago, our studio, our harbour in Hamburg, burnt down and a lot of memorabilia and original tapes were lost, but we all searched our private archives and managed to find some great rarities and hopefully some highlights for the fans. We are proud to release our little babies in a new style with a brand new cover artwork done by Hervé Monjeaud and a new sound, a fantastic remastering done by Eike Freese and Alex Dietz.”
Kai Hansen is today the voice of Gamma Ray but it is important to remember that in the beginning of Gamma Ray’s history Kai had planned to focus on his role of songwriter and guitar player. If the original album still shines also thanks to the vocals of Ralf Scheepers, the second CD offers real treasures for all Gamma Ray fans, like the original demos of songs like “Money”, “Sail on”, “Heaven Can Wait” or “The Silence” featuring Hansen on vocals.
To celebrate their 25th anniversary in style, Gamma Ray is touring in Europe this autumn.
CD1
1. Welcome
2. Lust For Life
3. Heaven Can Wait
4. Space Eater
5. Money
6. The Silence
7. Hold Your Ground
8. Free Time
9. Heading For Tomorrow
10. Look At Yourself
11. Mr. Outlaw (Japanese Bonus Track)
12. Sail On (B-Side from “Heaven Can Wait” EP)
13. Lonesome Stranger (B-Side from “Heaven Can Wait” EP)
CD2
1. Who Do You Think You Are
2. Heaven Can Wait (Demo)
3. Money (Demo - Kai on vocals)
4. Sail on (Demo - Kai on vocals) @Mosh
5. Heading For Tomorrow (Live)
6. Space Eater (Live)
7. The Silence (Demo - Kai on vocals)
8. Mr. Outlaw (Instrumental Version)
9. Heaven Can Wait (Demo - Kai on vocals)
10. Heading For Tomorrow (Karaoke Version)
11. Space Eater (Karaoke Version)
12. Lonesome Stranger (Demo)
