Insanity & Genius

I had quite an enjoyable experience with this album. I was blasting out Gamma Ray Extended Edition while I was flying through the interstate. This is one of Gamma Ray's older albums so I'd recommend it to any new listener for the bonus songs and so the disc you get isn't scratched. It's also got a booklet with some pictures of the band, a picture of the old album art, and the lyrics to the songs.

Excellent!

Gamma Ray is a great talent, but I wasn't really impressed with this album. It is alright but with all that talent I expected more. Maybe I need another listen, perhaps I missed something...

great undiscovered rock band

Insanity And Genius is the third full-length studio album by the legendary German Power Metal band Gamma Ray. It was released in 1993, two years after the band's controversial Sign No More record and only three years since the band's debut.Whereas Sign No More had felt like the band trying to escape the Keeper Of The Seven Keys formula, Insanity And Genius feels like the exact opposite; as if the band are reacting against Sign No More's sound and deliberately making the new album bigger, faster, more bombastic and over the top. Pretty much, if you like the main spirit of Power Metal, then this is an album worth checking out. If you like the NOWBHM and Speed Metal sounds that the band are influenced by this is worth checking out, and if you like Gamma Ray in general this is an album that's worth checking out.This would be the final Gamma Ray album with Ralf Scheepers who would leave the band to try and join Judas Priest, and later form Primal Fear. It was one album before lead vocal duties were taken over by band founder Kai Hansen, although Kai does contribute lead vocals to one song here, foreshadowing that transition somewhat. As with all the early Gamma Ray records, there was a line-up change. This time the rhythm section changed, with bassist Jan Rubach and drummer Thomas Nack replacing Uwe Wessel and Uli Kusch respectively.Musically, this album is excellent, in terms of production, this album is excellent and in terms of performances, this album is excellent. Kai is one of the best lead guitarists out there, and if you like guitar solos, Gamma Ray are probably a band that you should be listening to. This album isn't specifically his flashiest or fastest work, but it does display some of his most creative work and the leads and solos are a joy to listen to. Add that to Priest and Maiden influenced riffs and a primarily thrashy pounding rhythm section (that occasionally breaks into hard rock grooves for variety) and a mix of shrieking and melodic high pitched vocals and you have a winning Heavy Metal formula.If you want really powerful and driving Power Metal with a lot of bombast and energy, you could do a lot worse.Standout moments include the groovy and slightly out-of-place `The Cave Principal' which has something of a Victim Of Changes feel to it, as well as the speedy and melodic `The Last Before The Storm' and `Future Madhouse.' My favourite song on the album however, is actually a cover, called `Gamma Ray' which was originally by a German band called Birth Control. The track is one of the catchiest, most fun and most memorable moments in Gamma Ray's history.Then again, the whole album is good. There isn't much in the way of filler, and it flows well from beginning to end. The only thing that I would say is that it's a grower, that reveals more of its character on repeat listens, as opposed to the two albums that would follow it, where all the character is very up-front and obvious. This makes it worth persisting with if you do find it a little dull on first listen, especially after having heard the band's later work before hand.Overall; Insanity And Genius is a very good album that no Gamma Ray fan should be without for long. If you like anything the band have ever did, you'll probably like this album a lot.

After the letdown of "Sigh No More" and the departure of Uwe Wessel and Uli Kusch, newcomers Thomas Nack and Jan Rubach join Ralf Scheepers, Dirk Schlächter and Kai Hansen to craft one of Gamma Ray's most underrated albums, "Insanity & Genius". The album starts out with "Tribute to the Past", a raucous tune that proves Nack and Rubach have the skills to hang with Kai & Co. From there it moves onto "No Return" and "Last Before the Storm", decent enough songs that seem to lack that little extra something to move them beyond your typical power metal songs."The Cave Principle" is Gamma Ray's first foray into a semi-alternative sound, and tends to plod along in an unimaginative way. "Future Madhouse", the first single off the album, is a catchy power metal frenzy that returns the band to its "Heading for Tomorrow" roots. The cover version of Birth Control's "Gamma Ray" is well done and translates well to the band's genre.Next come two of the best Scheepers-era songs, "Insanity and Genius" and "18 Years". "18 Years" especially, has Scheepers singing his heart out and hitting notes that defy human physics. The man is THAT damn good.The album goes downhill in my opinion with "Your Turn is Over", but is picked up by one of the best songs on the album, the quirky yet powerful "Heal Me". Schlächter sings lead on "Turn", quite badly at that, while Hansen handles the vox on "Heal Me". "Turn" breaks up the continuity of the album and makes you wonder just how much better it might have sounded with Ralf singing it, but Kai saves the day with his singing and playing on "Heal Me". "Brothers" rounds out the album, an anthemic finale that signals Scheepers' departure from the band.Overall the album is infinitely better than "Sigh No More", and returns the band to its power metal roots that it departed from on "Sigh". It's unfortunate that Scheepers (who was looking to become Judas Priest's new vocalist at the time the album and tour got underway) departed after the album, as Nack and Rubach infused the band with a much needed spark. If you can get the re-release so much the better; it contains three bonus tracks: A longer version of "Gamma Ray", as well as an awesome cover of Judas Priest's "Exciter" and an even more awesome cover of the Helloween classic "Save Us", which Ralf handles as well as, if not better than, Michael Kiske. Highly recommended.

When I heard "Tribute to the Past" for the first time a couple of years ago, I knew I had to buy this album. It has to be one of the greatest heavy metal songs ever recorded....every second is pure heavy metal bliss. But it's by no means the only classic on this masterpiece of a record....."No return", "Gamma Ray" and the title track are all melodic heavy metal at its best. This is also the most progressive of all GR albums, just listen to songs such as "Heal me" and "the Cave Principle". Songs like these have been missing from their more recent works. The only letdown of the CD is the 3r track, 'Last before the storm', which is a your standard, predictable metal song. But all the other 10 tracks are GREAT. This is definitely one of the most underrated heavy metal albums of all time, easily the best Gamma Ray record out there. Though Kai's not a bad singer, his vocals are no match to Ralf's and in my books Gamma Ray has never been the same since Ralf left. But this album is a classic, I recommend it to anyone who has a thing for great melodies, skillful musicianship, powerful vocals and all those things that make Gamma Ray a metallic powerhouse.