Heaven Can Wait

Ok, so it's no secret that there are two different Gamma Rays and I'm not going to pretend which one I like. My preference is firmly in the favour of the band's heavier, later sound, after Ralf Scheepers left and Kai Hansen started to do the vocals. There's nothing particularly wrong with the early Gamma Ray material, except for the wetness of some of it: the debut album had some super-lame songs about 'Free Time' and 'Money' and the second album had some boring instrumental ideas to go with a lack of direction. This EP falls in the middle of those two albums, though the material is culled from the 'Heading from Tomorrow' sessions if I'm not mistaken.

The material has that kind of Sunday afternoon Iron Maiden feeling to it, like a lazier version of 80s Maiden with a few other influences thrown in. The feeling of the songs is not very intense and quite melodic, with solos more or less the best part. Apparently the title song is different from the one that featured on the album, though it's more to showcase the changed lineup than to reorder the music itself, meaning that it doesn't end up better than the original, just a similar power/heavy metal number with a lot of lyrics and dated-sounding gang vocal chorus.

The extra material is not worse than the album tracks from 'Heading for Tomorrow': in fact, 'Sail On' might well be better than about half of that record. It's my personal favourite here, packing a great chorus that has a great surge of energy compared to the softer and slower verses. 'Mr Outlaw' is a faster heavy metal song with some good traditional riffs and speed, as well as a super melody/solo section (bass included!), but the chorus is fairly pants and generic, which spoils it for me. The other two tracks I could take or leave depending on my mood, since 'Who Do You Think You Are?' is fairly average and 'Lonesome Stranger' is a decidedly non-metal instrumental, which is Gamma Ray having a decent crack at country rock, though there's no reason why it should appeal to their core fans.

This is a moderately straightforward EP, which should be an EP because of the mixture of songs on offer, and satisfies only if one bears this in mind. Gamma Ray opened up a bit for the following 'Sigh No More', which itself could - and perhaps should - have been relegated to EP status, though this release points to the broader direction the band's sound would take next. It's worth a listen, but it's far from essential.