Their third studio album “Insanity And Genius”, which arrived at the stores in late summer 1993, presented Gamma Ray from an even tougher and more experimental side than their 1991 predecessor release “Sigh No More” had done. On top of that, an incisive line-up change had taken place in the Gamma Ray camp during the run-up to the production: drummer Uli Kusch and bassist Uwe Wessel had left due to personal differences and were replaced by Jan Rubach (bass) and Thomas Nack (drums), formerly of Lübeck band Anesthesia.

Hansen: “Those two were used to much harder stuff from Anesthesia, but they fit in perfectly because we'd already seen a change of direction on 'Sigh No More' and were open to new ideas. And of course Jan and Thomas worked together excellently.”

Bassist Jan Rubach immediately contributed compositional inspiration and his remarkable songwriting skills, penning the title track and sections of the opener ´Tribute To The Past`, among others. Thomas Nack's powerful drum style brought a fresh feel to Gamma Ray's material, taking the band to occasionally almost brutal levels of hardness on “Insanity And Genius”.

Kai Hansen himself calls the recording “unusually colourful and experimental”. With that, the Gamma Ray founder is referring to the title track, the occasionally spacey, rocking sound on ´The Cave Principle`, and ´Heal Me` with its cabaret-like arrangement. By contrast, there are also typical Gamma Ray numbers such as ´Tribute To The Past` and ´Last Before The Storm`, which Hansen speaks of as “revisiting my Helloween past”. Another highlight on the album is the single release ´Future Madhouse` about the aftermath of the Gulf War, described by Hansen as “Queen on speed”: “´Future Madhouse` has that kamikaze mentality which was typical of us at the time.”