Cosmic Rayz: An Underground Tribute to Gamma Ray (2019)

One of my earliest metal albums was the first Nativity in Black tribute album to Black Sabbath (in fact it was my sixth or seventh as I bought Megadeth's Youthanasia at the same time and it came after I picked up the first five Metallica albums).  That album helped broaden my horizons and introduced me to a number of bands.  Ever since then, tribute albums have held a soft spot in my black heart.  I don't pick them up frequently, but I do get them once in awhile.  I recently picked up this one, which features a number of lesser-known power and speed metal bands performing covers of songs by Gamma Ray, the band formed by Kai Hansen after leaving Helloween.  I was only familiar with one band here and I am not real familiar with most of Gamma Ray's music (just Somewhere Out in Space), but I figured I would take a chance on it.  In order to do this post, I listened to each of the new songs back to back with the original Gamma Ray version.  Here we go:

"Tribute to the Past" by Steelballs

It is hard to take a band seriously that calls themselves Steelballs, but power metal is inherently cheesy.  The singer does his best interpretation of Ralf Scheepers, but comes out with a little higher register voice and the cover's riffs do not quite have the same heavy crunch and aggressive drumming.  The middle section of the cover also does not quite have the same dynamics as the original.  This is pretty decent though.  I probably prefer the Gamma Ray version, but this is not bad.

"Gardens of the Sinner" by Airborn

Airborn is a band I have heard of, but not heard.  I feel like this is a song I have heard before, but not sure where that would have been.  I do not really care for the vocals on the cover.  Unfortunately I was not able to find an original version of this song, so I had to listen to a live version.  So my comparison may not be really great.  The vocals are at least close to the live version I heard.  Tough to really tell which version is better since I did not hear the true original.  Airborn's version is decent though.

"Land of the Free" by Tritton

We have our first major change.  The vocalist of Tritton is a woman and sounds nothing like the Gamma Ray singer, but she's quite good nonetheless.  The Gamma Ray version sounds heavier, though the vocalist of Tritton sounds more aggressive.  I like the softer beginning of the Gamma Ray version a little better and the riffs are quite a bit heavier.  I prefer Gamma Ray, but Tritton is good.

"Heaven Can Wait" by Ice War

Ice War is the only band on this release for whom I previously owned any recordings.  This one is quite a bit different.  Ice War takes more of a punk approach to the song, making it sound almost as if it's covered by The Misfits or something.  His vocal approach also does not really fit the original.  I am not a big fan of the original either, but it is better than the Ice War version.  

"Send Me a Sign" by Allagash

Allagash is more of a thrash metal band, and they brought that much more aggressive style to this song.  The vocalist definitely does not have the ability to hit the higher notes that Hansen can hit and so the vocals are about an octave lower.  I can relate.  The music also does not have quite the same melody, being more of a crunchy thrash/heavy metal song.  Finally, there is no back-up vocals in the chorus.  This is the first song on the album that I might prefer the cover though, so there's that.  I'm not 100% on that, but first impressions I kind of prefer the cover.

"Fairytale" by Black Phantom

I do not see the point of this one's inclusion.  The song is less than a minute long.  There is just nothing to this one.  The vocals on the cover sound kind of out of tune.  I don't know, the Gamma Ray version is probably better, but this is just a superfluous song to appear on this release.

"Somewhere Out in Space" by Energema

Hey, I actually really know this song.  I love it too.  Energema's vocalist definitely does not have the intricate vocal style of Hansen, but he does well with what he has.  Once again, the vocals just are not there with the original.  I also think the original is faster and more dynamic.  It is one of Gamma Ray's faster songs.  Energema does their best to keep up, but Gamma Ray can really burn when they want to.  I definitely prefer Gamma Ray's version, but Energema is decent enough.

"Dethrone Tyranny" by Silent Knight

This one is pretty close.  Silent Knight sounds a lot like Gamma Ray on this song.  The only real difference is the use of blasting drums.  If you can get past the trigger sound of the drums, this is a pretty close cover.  I can get past the sound of the drums, but still prefer the Gamma Ray version.

"Space Eater" by SpiritBell

This is an unusual choice for a band to appear on this album.  SpiritBell is more of a doom metal band, a polar opposite of power metal.  So they bring some extra crunch and aggressiveness to their track.  Granted, with the name of the song, one would probably expect a stoner/doom metal band.  It is one of the slower, heavier songs by Gamma Ray and SpiritBell does a great job with it.  I might check this band out.

"Rebellion in Dreamland" by Masquerage

This is probably my favorite song on the album, and I had to track down the album afterwards.  First of all, the original song is one of the best Gamma Ray songs I have ever heard.  It is incredibly dynamic, featuring some terrific riffs and solos and is one of Kai Hansen's finest vocal performances.  And if anything, Masquerage manages to do the song justice.  It is easily the best cover on the album, even if it is not quite as good as the Gamma Ray version.  

The major thing I have learned from this tribute album is that it is damn hard to replicate Kai Hansen's unique voice.  But there are some damn good covers on this thing.  It makes me want to explore both: Gamma Ray's material and many of these bands.  That's what cover albums are for.