746. Gamma Ray / Master of Confusion [EP]. 2013. 4.5/5

What do you do when you have promised your record company a new album, all to be completed by a specified time, and you aren't within cooee of having it completed? Well, you take two tracks you have completed, add a couple of cover songs that you have also done in the studio, tack on six live songs from the last tour as some fun filled, and you have a lengthy EP titled Master of Confusion to put out to keep both record company and fans at bay! See? Easy!

The two new songs, which eventually found themselves onto the next studio album Empire of the Undead, are both terrific. In fact, they are arguably the two best songs on the new album, but that is for another day. "Empire of the Undead" and "Master of Confusion" canter along at a cracking pace, showcasing the best of what makes Gamma Ray so great. "Master of Confusion" tends to tell the story of how this EP came into being, regarding the label waiting for the new album to be delivered, but it doesn't come. Great stuff, fun songs, and brilliantly performed.
The two cover songs are also done at the highest quality. The Holocaust cover "Death or Glory" is done to perfection. Though I know the original version only slightly from the dozen times I have heard it, the Rays have done an awesome job on their homage. This is followed by the cover of the Sweet song "Lost Angels", with added grunt and speed from the original version, it fits in superbly here.
The final six songs were all recorded live on the Skeletons & Majesties Tour, and all of these songs featured on the live album released the previous year, Skeletons & Majesties Live. They are a mixture, with "The Spirit", "Wings of Destiny", "Gamma Ray" and "Insurrection" being terrific. "Farewell", the ballad-like number from Land of the Free comes across well here in a live environment, but my lack of love for these kind of songs should tell you how I feel about it. Also, "Time to Break Free" from the same album includes vocalist Michael Kiske who sang lead vocals on the original song, but the fact that the song is slowed down, and he doesn't really extend himself on it, makes it a tad disappointing.
As a filler EP between releases, this is still a good album to have and listen to, even if some of it had been herd before, and some of it was to be heard again down the track.

Rating:  We're like an open fire, a raging thunderstorm, we are the masters of confusion  4.5/5