Kai: I spend a lot of time on the Internet recently. I check my e-mail, our website of course and some other stuff. It's very cool.

Kai: Pretty much yes. Like everyday.

Dirk: If you miss one day and you don't read your e-mail you might lose some important information about the tour and stuff.

Kai & Dirk: Yes!

Kai: Yeah, I mean we had the German website first and the South American which was very good and the relationship was very good with Mariana and everybody else there so we said OK, let's make this official website. It's the best.

Dirk: Mp3?

Kai: Sucks!

Dirk: It sucks! The sound is not the same. The difference from CD to mini disc is OK. The difference from mp3 to CD is really big.

Kai: Of course we can't be happy when someone takes our job and sells it for free you know.

Kai: Of course. Up to a certain part it's OK. That's because there was tape trading in the past as well. People who don't have the money and want to have the albums they have no choice. The problem with the Internet is that it's a worldwide thing. I mean no matter where it comes from you can just go and download it. Sure, we live on the music and If this is not possible anymore how can we do an album then?

Kai: Yeah, that's it. You know streaming things are OK. When the song It's not downloadable. People can hear it before they go and buy an album. That's OK and fair enough but for download when it's not official authorized thing then it's really bad and therefore we can't be happy with the results.

Kai: Yeah, That would be OK. You know then it's even much more fair because If someone says OK, from the new Gamma Ray album I only like three songs. It would be great If he could download these three songs and pay for them. Then it's fine. It's fair.

Dirk: He doesn't have to buy the whole album then. That's another good thing. That will make us to work even harder ( laughs ) and to be good at everything we do.

Kai: No more shitty B-sides! ( laughs )

Dirk: We never did that anyway!

Kai: Yes, actually it was album leftovers.

Dirk: Everything is close to the final sound.

Kai: Ten. All and all we have ten and still we have to do some recordings on two tracks. Mix another seven or eight.. No.. (laughs) whatever.

Kai: No, no everything we have record will be on the album in someway but of course Japan has it's bonus track and we have a Thin Lizzy cover version already mixed.

Kai: Angel Death. This song will be out in a single. Something like a free give away single.

Kai: No, nothing official.

Dirk: Again only in Japan it will happen. They really want it.

Dirk: No, no there's nothing special about it. The company ( As you may know they have different company in Japan) just want to do it.

Kai: On the other hand people might be satisfied about it because they won't have to go and buy a single where they basically get the same tracks with the one's on the album.. They don't have to spend double money just because they want to hear a few tracks upfront.

Kai: Yes!

Kai: Because exactly that was the point. Too many bands around that play this Power Melodic Metal thing. We have done that so far and we just belt to go back to a basic real Heavy Metal album. Where things are more close to where Heavy Metal comes from and we have this aggressive basic feel to it. We just felt right.

Kai & Dirk: Sure!

Kai: Solid was the first track I've written because I was doing some writing for Iron Savior and I did some work with Piet. Then I carried this idea to Solid. It was meant to be an Iron Savior track but somehow it felt more like a Gamma Ray song.

Kai: Exactly. That's the only one that has it. The lyrics were written about the Iron Savior theme but the again the words sound so tight on this song so I didn't want to change it. I kept it the way it is. That was the plan of the first song.

Kai: Yeah, it has a feel of that absolutely.

Kai: A bit yes. I always compare this song to Save Us from Keeper two.

Kai: Yes, Heaven Or Hell. It is a very classical, traditional thing for Gamma Ray. It has a traditional sound like I want out and stuff like that. It also has a new edge too. It's hard to explain.

Kai: Which track?

Kai: Oh, I don't know because in Powerplant as far as I remember there was no song like that except Send me a sign maybe.

Kai: Yeah, somewhere between right. I would agree on that. Because of the melody and stuff. It's very much like the Land Of the free melody.

Kai: That's a track close to the 80's feeling. Very basic, very down to the roots.

Kai: Really? Oh, that's cool I didn't know that. ( Laughs ) The intro riff, I don't know where I got it but it sounds very familiar. It sounds like from the 70's.

Kai: Yeah, Sure you can't deny that.

Kai: That's a real aggressive track. I really love that one because of the screaming type of singing.

Kai: The 80's of course are in there.

Kai: Yes, that's a heavy track. Dan came up with this. Of course it's very rhythmical and very good. He did a demo very rough and he brought it in the studio. There we worked on it and we came up with a lot ideas for this song. We gave another edge on it. It's a really good mix between something heavy and basic and some real sing along melody on top. I really like this track.

Kai: Eagle was maybe the last song we finished so far.

Dirk: Yeah.

Kai: I just had the riff and the idea about the chorus and stuff and I wasn't even sure if this could be a good album track so we got to the reheash room and play it.

Dirk: Eagle has this twin harmony thing. Like Iron Maiden and stuff.

Kai: When we played this song in rehearsal everybody put his idea and it ended up a great track. We love it.

Kai: Eagle is one of my favorites

Dirk: Yeah, Eagle is one of my favorites too.

Kai: Really you think is not so aggressive?

Kai: That's funny there are a lot opinions around because people told us that this album is very aggressive. More aggressive than Land Of The Free. Land of the free was nice and you know for some people Powerplant was too heavy too aggressive.

Kai: Yeah.

Kai: Well, right I think that the new album has both of it. We are on balance again.

Kai: OK there are four more songs on the album. One is called Follow me. It's pretty much close to the direction of Send me a sign or Heaven or Hell and something like that. It's written by Henjo. Then there is a kind of ballad type of song.

Kai: The title is not fixed yet because it's one of the songs I still have to sing. We want to put the title when the vocals are done. This is really cool because it's not like a typical commercial ballad.

Kai: Yeah.

Kai: Mmmm, not really nope. When this song is finished you will see what happens them. It depends on the guitar work that still it have to be finished and stuff. Then we have a really fast track. The fastest track on the album and it's written by Dan.

Kai: Yes, fasted than Solid. Much faster. It's like in a way like Man on a mission? You can compare it to that in a way.

Kai: Emm, no.. not faster. It's the same kind of speed.

Dirk: A little bit faster.

Kai: It is? Really? ( laughs from everyone ). OK, it is faster!

Kai: The last track is called Fire Below. This is a real heavy riff groovy thing.

Dirk: There a whole thing like conceptional background. A friend of called and told us that he is having some theories about where do we come from, where do we go and secrets and all that stuff and he was talking and it was so much that we ask him to write everything down. In the end he came up with a book.

Kai: No, no you can say it has a conceptional background because the lyrics we have on the album are reflecting the book and the other way round.

Dirk: He made some theories about these secrets and especially about Illuminati. He thinks like they still control ( Stathis: You know illuminati is a theory about a secret organanization with powerful people and maybe aliens?!! This organization is behind the goverment and things ) a lot of things, the money, the wars and stuff.

Kai: Well I do believe a part of it. I do believe that there is a strong force sometimes behind things. People that they have a lot influence and power and they really dominate things. So secret society's. The Illuminati really existed it was there. It is proven. They come from the templars and free Masons. It is a society.

Kai: No, no no that's not true.

Kai: If you look it up the Internet you'll find a lot of theories about the illuminati. It is so confusing. The books has some names in it. About people who were behind this.

Kai: Yes! Of course.

( Here Orpheus, Kai and Dirk started a conversation about a politician from Germany who might have been behind Illuminati. Unfortunately Orpheus can't remember the name and Kai is trying to guess. No results )

Kai: There are some people involved behind this. It is very interesting. There are some things on the book that even takes it to a spiritual level because all the secrets societies have a connection with spirituality. Even Adolf Hitler had that. Some people where connected with the devil and stuff. I have a website on the Internet where it connects Nazis , UFO's and the Illuminati. You know there are wild things going on. If you really start digging it you can make your own truth about it. You can say I believe this is true or I believe this is bullshit. Maybe we get close to have the truth.

Kai: Yeah we did it together ( Kai and Dirk) again.

Kai: Yes, we have a lot of ideas for the cover.

Kai: Yes of course. Of course we will use elements that have been used on Gamma Ray albums before but of course it should fit to the title and to the whole theme behind it. We have Derek working and stuff and we also have a French guy who works alternative on another one.

Dirk: Yeah this is it.

Kai: It's a real good chemistry. Everybody knows what is doing and we communicate really great when we write music together.

Kai: Well, no not really unfair. Sometimes when I look back maybe I could have handle things differently. Maybe there were mistakes now that I look them from a different angle. However when when you sit alone in peace and you think how much you can give and how much you can take from the others you see that chemistry is all that matters. Sometimes is works and sometimes not. It's like a relationship. You make mistakes in the way you handle people or so but you can only learn from that.

Kai: Yes, absolutely.

Dirk: We start at the end of September. Two weeks after the release of the album.

Kai: Nope.

Kai: Whatever Piet said should be right. It was like a point when Iron Savior should have been standing on their own feet without me in the background. I couldn't always find time for Iron Savior because Gamma Ray was priority and this affect the friendship between Piet and me already because he was not really too happy when I was saying I cannot tour with you and stuff. It's better now to separate Gamma Ray and Iron Savior totally and for me it gives a lot more freedom and peace.

Kai: No, I don't think so. It didn't really affect it.

Kai: Yeah, of course always could be more but we are really satisfied. Especially from the Blast album. We didn't except it to sell so much.

Kai: I haven't heard the whole album yet. Only a few tracks.

Kai: It's good.

Kai: Well, I think there is a difference.

Dirk: There is a difference.

Kai: I think that Freedom Call is more melodic more lala singing and stuff.

Kai: Yes, right. He loves about being in Gamma Ray. Freedom Call is more melodic. Gamma Ray is more aggressive and Dan loves that.

Kai: Yeah, I heard the whole album so far.

Kai: I'm not too happy with the new one I have to say. I'm a classic Priest up. I think that If you play one of these songs in a club you wouldn't know who it was. You wouldn't notice that it's Judas Priest.

Kai: No I wouldn't say. Not really. It has a lot of industrial influences. The chorus is of course very good but..

Kai: Yeah. I would say if I didn't know that it is Priest I would Is this the new Machine Head album? ( laughs )

Kai: Oh, man you can't get a ride for anybody. They did what they want to do. It's just a matter of tastes. I would rather have an album like Stained Glass.

Kai: As for other new bands.. Oh well. We just won't any new bands they are too many bands around ( laughs) I really like Children Of Bodom. ( Editors Notice: Of course you people who wait in the corner just to accuse others.. Kai is kidding OK?)

Dirk: Yes, that's a bit strange everybody else will be out doing festivals and stuff.

Kai: It will be pretty strange not to be on the festivals but last year we do many.

Dirk: Also is better not to show up in the festivals because we start our own tour in September.

Kai: If people see us in the festivals they might not go to our tour concerts. We prefer to do our own thing.

Kai: DO NOT DOWNLOAD.. ( LAUGHS )

Dirk: Fuck mp3! ( laughs )

Kai: Have fun on the Internet and DO NOT visit dirty pages! ( laughs ). Personally I never do..

Dirk: Don't spend so much time on the Internet.

Kai: Yeah, rather go out and enjoy the sunshine.

Dirk: There's A REAL WORLD OUT THERE.. ( Laughs )

Kai: Yes! There's a real world. It exists! It's there! ( laughs )

Dirk: There are trees out theeeeeere!

Kai: AND STAY HEAVY of course!

Dirk: Of course.

Kai: Don't forget metal.