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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Full Frame
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Commentary - English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  Subtitles
  • None
  Extras
  • Audio commentary
  • Featurette - Review
  • Animated menus
Gamma Ray - Heading for the East
Warner Vision/Warner Vision . R4 . COLOR . 90 mins . E . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Guitarist Kal Hansen left German metal outfit Helloween at the height of their fame in 1989 and, after a brief spell with a band called Blind Guardian, formed Gamma Ray. The name of his new band was taken from the title of a song by fellow Germans Birth Control. Gamma Ray recorded their first album Heading For Tomorrow in 1989 and toured Japan to promote it, which is where this feature was recorded. They chose a Japanese crowd due to its enthusiasm, along with the fact that they already had an established fan base there, primarily from Hansen’s involvement with Helloween. The line-up for this tour was Hansen on guitar, Ralph Scheepers (who later formed Primal Fear) on vocals, Uli Kusch on drums, Dirk Schlachter on guitars and bass, Uwe Wenzel on bass and guitars and, finally, Jern Ellerbrock on keyboards.

The tour was to promote their first album, so is made up primarily of songs from Heading For Tomorrow. There are, however, three Helloween songs included which should excite Helloween fans as much as it seems to this audience.

Track listing...

Lust For Life
Heaven Can Wait
Space Eater
Freetime
Who Do You Think You Are?
The Silence
Save Us
I Want Out
Ride the Sky/Hold Your Ground
Money
Heading For Tomorrow

After this tour they went on to release Sigh No More in 1991, Insanity and Genius in 1993, Land of fhe Free in 1995, Alive ’95, Somewhere Out in Space, The Kareoke Album (both in 1997), Power Plant in 1999 and Blast From the Past in 2000.

It is hard not to compare Gamma Ray with Iron Maiden, the vocals of Scheepers are very high pitched and the overall sound is obviously influenced by the English outfit. The concert itself is an entertaining one, for fans anyway. The audience seem to be enjoying themselves and the show is well put together. It is interrupted to some degree by video footage in between songs of the band enjoying their visit to Japan as well as interviews, however fans should also enjoy this behind the scenes addition. Overall it is a little dated, but stands up fairly well regardless.

  Video
  Audio
  Extras
Contract

Having been recorded on video in 1990, the transfer is dated as expected but is reasonable overall. It is presented in full frame and sharpness is generally strong. There are the usual nasties associated with live concerts such as grain, colour bleeding and poor shadow detail and compared to more recent concert releases this is only of average quality, but considering its age, it is acceptable and fans will be pleased. This is a single layer disc so there is no layer change to worry about.

Audio is supplied in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and this is only of mediocre quality. Surround use is extremely minimal with very little directional effect and only the occasional inclusion of the rear speakers for crowd noise and general music ambience. The subwoofer kicks in well when needed, however overall the sound is only adequate rather than delivering what most fans would expect. Audio synch is never a problem though and there are no problems with hiss or dropouts.

There are two extras included with this release, neither of great interest really. Firstly is a review from journalist Malcolm Dome. He briefly talks about the band and how the tour came to be. Secondly is an audio commentary, again from Malcolm Dome, which is basically a brief introduction to each track giving some history about that particular song.

If you are a fan of Gamma Ray, or even Helloween, then you should enjoy this release. There is also a lot here to attract newcomers to the band or genre. The video and audio are only adequate, but this can be excused due to age. The extras are really pointless but at least some effort has been made to add something so, overall, not a bad release but more for the diehard fans rather than Joe Public.


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  •   And I quote...
    "Isn’t a Gamma Ray something from Doctor Who?"
    - Adrian Turvey
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-NS305
    • TV:
          AKAI CT-29S55AT 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DE685
    • Speakers:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Centre Speaker:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Surrounds:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Subwoofer:
          Sony SAVE815ED
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