Customer Reviews

Land of the Free

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THe music on this CD is top notch. Everysong goes well into the next and Kai Hansen sings with such emotion and in so many different styles that it is no wonder he is the inspiration for a lot of bands. The story is awesome and presented very well. I have heard a lot of concept albums in my time and this is one of the greats. No filler tracks, every single song has a purpose on the cd.

IF you do not walk away from this Cd with the words "WOW" then you are prolly not gonna like much else in this genre.

Gamma Ray is always doing epic music but they never rely on crutches of their past. They are willing to experiment and change things up a bit, sometimes it works and others it doesn't. However you will not get the impression that they are just rehashing old stuff and calling it new like some other metal bands.

Definatly one of their best if not thee best.

What I can't believe is that Kai Hansen used to shy away from singing. Talk about repressing one's talent! If he's a 'guitarist who sings' I shudder to think of how great he'd sound as a 'singer'! He easily leaps over many of today's singers, especially alternative rock singers! His voice is primal and sincere, there's nothing artificial or annoying about it, and he comes across as a majestic and passionate soul. I can't say enough good things about Gamma Ray! This album, along with Gamma Ray's other albums, are true gems in a gray, counterfeit world!

I purchased this title last year and I love it. The order of the songs are nicely placed and every song has meaning. These days, after the September 11 attack, most part of the song "Farewell" fits so perfectly to the situations of firefighters and other rescue workers. "Goodbye my friends, I am leaving you today.. My quest is hard, but I must be on my way". Eventhough it has nothing to do with it, you can easily appy the lyrics to what we have been experiencing in the last month. Rebellion in Dreamland is one of the best songs Gamma Ray ever done. Gods of Deliverence, Salvation's Calling, Time to Break Free ; they all have the power to make you move your fingers just to see if you can keep up with the Guitar. And the Big Finale of Afterlife. Noone can arrange an album that well. I expect No World Order to be much powerful than what Gamma Ray has ever done.. 5 Star goes out to you boys.

Gamma Ray's finest hour! One more milestone of Power Metal after Helloween's Keeper albums! Hansen blows all his competition and Helloween clones out of the water with this one.

Kai Hansen returns with his majestic riffing, crazy leads, insane-fast solos and he is also back on vocals! Don't think for a second that this is a drawback, he has improved a lot since the recording of Walls Of Jericho. His vocals are more worked, clearer and still possess the strength to produce high pitched screams! The rest of the band is in really great form especially the drummer, who almost never lifts his foot off the double bass and pounds his tombs like crazy.

The arrangements are of epic proportions reminding of past glories and at some parts even surpassing them. The guest appearances of Michael Kiske and Hansi Kursch on 3 tracks add extra points to the brilliance of this release and remind you of the classic 80's Helloween era!

"Rebellion In Dreamland" starts of the album in a ballad form picking up speed as it progresses. Mind blowing riffs and solos, tempo changes and a really powerful chorus make this track a masterpiece and the most epic song that Gamma Ray ever put out! "Man On A Mission" comes next, reaching insane speeds which bring to mind good old speed metal. It is comprised of fantasy lyrics, a smart chorus and fast soloing (the song reminds me of 'Save Us' from Keeper II). "Fairytale" follows, an incredible pounding track which only lasts for 50 seconds and leaves you wanting more! After a short instrumental break comes "Gods Of Deliverance" and is mainly maintained by it's catchy chorus and Kai's vocals, a nice track. The next two tracks are nothing special as one of them is a ballad; a field were Gamma Ray were never really good at and the other being a faster track but with nothing special to give.

"Land Of The Free" follows; which is definitely the second best masterpiece of the album (after Rebellion In Dreamland). Great riffs, one of the best choruses Hansen has ever written and the guest appearance of both Kiske and Kursch on the chorus will surely make you shiver. Add some solo battles and Kiske's vocals at the song's majestic ending and you have a classic tune! After another short instrumental comes "Abyss Of The Void", another strong track with nice vocals by Kai, followed by "Time To Break Free" which is sang entirely by Kiske and it is a catchy heavy metal track. "Afterlife" is the last track, a power ballad type song dedicated to Ingo Schwichtenberg (Helloween's drummer 1985-1993), a strange track with deep lyrics.

In my opinion this album together with Helloween's Keeper albums are a must have concerning European power metal and they are also linked together musically and lyric wise. These records paved the way for all the rest of the bands that followed and their glory and musical perfection has never been reached.

Will be love by Helloween, Blind Guardian, Stratovarius and power metal fans in general.

LAND OF THE FREE is the best Gamma Ray album ever. They had never recorded something so good before, nor they did something so good after. Maybe, excited by the challenge of singing lead vocals again after a long time, Kai Hansen did his best.

This concept album is top of the game in the power / melodic metal genre. All the songs flow in a natural way, with speed, wight, force, dynamism, great lyrics, great solos, great drumming by Thomas Nack. The high points are the opener "Rebellion In Dreamland", followed by "Man On A Mission" and the title track. MIchael Kiske, ex-Helloween, appears as guest vocalist for "Time To Break Free". There's also a "requiem" song called "Afterlife", dedicated to ex-Helloween drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg, who comitted suicide in Germany by jumping ahead of a train.

This is pretty obvious the work of an inspired band at the top of their form. Both the drummer and the bass player are no longer in the band. Kai Hansen pal and guitarist / producer Dirk Schlachter gave up on guitars and assumed bass guitar, giving room to the hiring of guitarist Henjo Richter, a very good player.

LAND OF THE FREE is metal at its best, no matter the genre inside metal.

Probably Gammarays best album.All their songs are great from the first till the last one.I especially enjoyed "Land of the free" and "Man on a mission".Great vocals great music fantastic lyrics.You can hear it again and again and each time enjoying it more than the last one.GREAT JOB from GAMMARAY

Although the theme is a little bit childish, the songs are mended in a glorious way. THis is the first Gammar Ray record with Kai Hansen on vocals and, even considering that he's not a singer, but a guitar player who sings, it sounds great!!!

I believe that this is a good album but not so good as many people say. With the exception of Rebellion in dreamland, which is really Amazing track, the other tracks are just ok or good but with no big suprises. I Liked much more their previous albums. This album is a classic power metal album 9Im not into classic so much with the exception Of Helloweens Keepers). On the other way if you like power metal then this is a must album.

What can I say that already hasn't been said by everyone else? This is quite possibly Gamma Ray's magnum opus, and no other GR album has really come close to matching it.

Like another reviewer, I was a bit wary when word came out that Kai would take over on vocal duties from the leather-lunged Ralf Scheepers. It wasn't so much that Kai was bad; he wasn't, but it would have been as if Helloween had started with Michael Kiske and then went to Kai. However, it's obvious than in the years between "Walls of Jericho/Judas" to "Land of the Free", Kai has learned quite a bit about the art of singing.

Which is not to say that I don't miss Ralf Scheepers, but the fact of the matter is "Land of the Free" is one of those albums where everything just comes together perfectly and as a result there is nothing that you can pick on and say "I wish this would have been different". Dirk Schlächter finally meshes perfectly with Kai as the second guitarst, Jan Rubach and Thomas Nack are in perfect harmony as the rhythm section, and Kai finally SINGS, something that he never really did as frontman for Helloween.

I also think that one of the things that helps immensely is that Kai seemingly took over the songwriting reins on this album after ceding much of it to Scheepers, Schlächter and Uwe Wessel on the previous Gamma Ray albums. In fact, if you think about it, "Heading For Tomorrow" was, prior to this, their most cohesive album, with all of its songs (save for ONE by Scheepers) written by Kai. "Sigh No More" was a weak sophomore effort, with a mix of songs from Kai, Scheepers, Schlächter, Wessel, and even Pete Sielck making the cut on the album. "Insanity and Genius" would have been quite possibly their strongest album except for the fact that now you had Ralf, Kai and Schlächter each singing songs on the album.

It's as if Kai said "enough is enough" for "Land of the Free", and singlehandedly turned out his masterpiece. Of the 13 songs, Kai penned 9 of them, and assisted on two others. As a result, every song flows into the next, with a logical progression from "Rebellion in Dreamland" to "Afterlife" with no duds and no fillers in between. Plus there are appearances from Michael Kiske and Hansi Kürsch thrown in for good measure. How can you go wrong with that?

Unlike most bands where you would recommend picking up a compilation album to get an idea of what the band sounds like, I would recommend "Land of the Free" to someone who wants to hear power metal at its finest and Gamma Ray at its peak.

I agree that Kai Hansen is a pioneer in the world of Euro Power Metal and he is an excellent song writer and guitarist. However, I still can't get into his vocals. He's adequate but lacking, I could only imagine how this album would sound with Michael Kiske (who does vocal duties on the track "Time To Break Free" BTW; what a difference it makes), Andy Deris, Tobias Sammett, Timo Kotipelto or original vocalist Ralf Sheepers?!!!!! This excellent material deserves a stronger vocalist. Walls of Jericho is my least favorite Helloween album for this very reason. Sorry guys, I would have given it my highest rating if not for the weak lead vocals.