Somewhere Out in Space

Somewhere Out in Space is an album by German power metal band, Gamma Ray. It was released on 25 August 1997 and is the band's fifth studio album. Continuing in the tradition of the previous four albums, it contained yet another different lineup, but would also be the first album to feature the band's longest standing lineup. The album featured Dirk Schlächter on bass for the first time since his guest appearance on Heading for Tomorrow, Henjo Richter on guitar and Dan Zimmermann on drums.

Somewhere Out in Space
Studio album by
Gamma Ray
Released25 August 1997
RecordedMarch - June 1997
StudioHansen Studio, Hamburg, Germany
Genre
Length57:16
LabelNoise
ProducerKai Hansen & Dirk Schlächter
Gamma Ray chronology
Land of the Free
(1995)		 Somewhere Out in Space
(1997)		 Power Plant
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[2]
Sputnikmusic5.0/5[3]

The track "Watcher in the Sky" was recorded by Iron Savior and appears on their self-titled 1997 album. It features Piet Sielck on guitar and additional vocals, and Thomen Stauch on drums.

The track "No Stranger (Another Day in Life)" was originally written as a contribution to Michael Kiske's solo album, but since Kiske rejected it as "too heavy" Hansen instead decided to record it with Gamma Ray.

"Miracle" is effectively a stylized version of "Man on a Mission" from Land of the Free, Gamma Ray's previous album. It has very similar lyrics, an identical chorus, and similar chord progressions, but at a slower tempo.

The song "Men, Martians and Machines" begins with the "five tones" from the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind played on strings.

Lyrical concepts
  • "Beyond the Black Hole" is about travelling the unknown space to discover black holes.
  • "Somewhere Out in Space" is about the science fiction franchise Star Trek.
  • "The Landing" and "Valley of the Kings" is about the arrival of aliens on Earth millions of years ago.
  • "Pray" is about the end of hope for the human race to be saved from extinction.
  • "Shine On" is about the theory that extraterrestrial life visited Earth long before and planted the seeds of mankind.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Kai Hansen, except where noted

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Beyond the Black Hole"Hansen, Dirk Schlächter, Dan Zimmermann6:00
2."Men, Martians and Machines"Hansen3:52
3."No Stranger (Another Day in Life)"Hansen3:35
4."Somewhere Out in Space"Hansen5:27
5."The Guardians of Mankind" (Henjo Richter)Richter5:01
6."The Landing"Schlächter1:16
7."Valley of the Kings"Hansen3:51
8."Pray"Schlächter4:45
9."The Winged Horse" (Richter)Richter7:02
10."Cosmic Chaos" (instrumental)Zimmermann0:48
11."Lost in the Future"Schlächter3:40
12."Watcher in the Sky" (Hansen, Piet Sielck)Hansen, Sielck5:19
13."Rising Star" (instrumental)Schlächter0:51
14."Shine On"Schlächter6:52
Japanese Edition bonus track
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
15."Return to Fantasy" (Uriah Heep cover)David Byron, Ken HensleyByron, Hensley5:16
2003 release bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
15."Return to Fantasy" (Uriah Heep cover)Byron, HensleyByron, Hensley5:16
16."Miracle"HansenHansen7:17
17."Victim of Changes" (Judas Priest cover)Al Atkins, K.K. Downing, Rob Halford, Glenn TiptonAtkins, Downing, Halford, Tipton7:23
  • "Miracle" also appears on the Silent Miracles EP.
  • "Victim of Changes" also appears on the Valley of the Kings EP.

Credits
Gamma Ray
Guest musicians
Production

Charts
Chart (1997) Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[4] 17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5] 39
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[6] 22
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 59

References
  1. Huey, Steve. "Gamma Ray - Somewhere Out in Space review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  2. Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  3. Stagno, Mike. "Gamma Ray - Somewhere Out in Space". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  4. "Gamma Ray: Somewhere Out in Space" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  5. "Offiziellecharts.de – Gamma Ray – Somewhere Out in Space" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  6. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  7. "Swedishcharts.com – Gamma Ray – Somewhere Out in Space". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
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