Customer Reviews

Powerplant

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I?m not sure if Hansen took the inspiration for the album?s name because it spreads power metal ( same as melodic)....
I can hardly understand these negative reviews. Here I am again to correct these evil comments:
There's one that said an absurd, that the double bass drums prevails in this 1999 release. Daniel Zimmermman is no Stratovarius's Jorg Michael before 2005.Actually, where it appears, it's not in 100% of the track:

Anywhere in galaxy -> This song is high-flown, where melodic consorts with weight. The intro riff ( with Henjo's keyboards help) is very cool. The bridge , especially the 2nd ( " anywhere in the galaxy, we will will fight for our destiny... Anywhere in the galaxy, anywhere in the galaxy... )is one of the best and catchy ever composed for a Gamma Ray song. Its vocal harmony is magnificent. The guitar solos are feature too. The lyrics are residues of the previous album Somewhere out in space talking about science fiction, outer space.

Wings of destiny -> One of my favourites. Good melody.

Strangers in the night -> The title refers to the aliens like Kai Hansen stated in an interview I read in internet. The only thing I don't like here is the squeak like voice before the bridge. After 3:47 in clock, " we lay our souls...", the vocal harmonies and guitar solo are indiscribably beautiful. Impressive.

Armageddon -> It was included in greatest hits compilation.

In the following, no double bass:

Razorblade Sigh -> The most original to me. I like riff speed up when the drum starts. It gave a great effect. There is a tempo change in 2:26 with very well peformed guitar harmonies. Razorblade!

Send me a sign - > It has videoclip and it's a fan favourite. Outstanding.Don't be deceived with the distorted solo in 2:22 it's Henjo Hichter not Kai.

Short as hell -> The heaviest and darkest. As a reviewer said,in the beggining, Hansen sounds like Metallica's Hetfield. Another good and beautiful vocal harmony in 2:35 after a speedy guitar.

It's a sin -> I'm no cover lover, but I assure you that in particular,that it was well constructed. Gamma managed to turn a Pet shop boys pop hit into metal. That keyboard and orchestra were transfered to guitar.

Heavy metal universe -> It has a video too. Actually , the song I like less, but not bad. Hansen praises his life passion again.
It cheered the spectators in the concert that resulted in the live album Skeletons in the Closet.

Hands of fate -> The melody here is terrific and it deserves the repeat button. Spetacular.

Gardens of the sinner -> great twin guitars work! (4:25)

Needn?t to say that it's a masterpiece. This cd and Land of the free are the best Gamma efforts with Kai Hansen's lead vocals. Forget these people who are complaining with full stomach...

Gamma Ray's 1999 album Powerplant picks up where classic speed-power metal albums like Helloween's Keeper Of The Seven Keys 1&2 and Gamma Ray's own Somewhere Out In Space left off. No surprise, since GR vocalist/guitarist/mastermind Kai Hansen was instrumental in the Keeper classics with his songwriting and guitar genius when he was with Helloween in the 80's. This time around, and since the landmark Land Of The Free album, he has also returned to lead vocals for the first time since the Helloween EP and Walls Of Jericho days, and with outstanding results, as he makes a full on return to his trademark bombastic, passionate, power metal roots with Powerplant. From the scorching opener 'Anywhere In The Galaxy' to the last epic track 'Armageddon', complete with strong spiritual theme, Powerplant is a prime example of everything German power/speed metal is and is about, displaying ultra catchy choruses, heavy riffs, lightning fast neoclassical solos, thunderous drumming, and virtuosoic song structures with the kind of magic quality we haven't seen since the Keeper days, or, well, the last Gamma Ray album. Gamma Ray blazes on this one, the new lineup is superbly tight, there are classic moments abound (solo in Strangers In The Night, vocals in Armageddon, second bridge of Anywhere In The Galaxy, et al) One note of caution, however; this is a METAL album through and through, and for sure Gamma Ray's heaviest album..unlike their previous releases, there's not a real ballad to be seen here, and depending on your taste that can be a good or bad thing. Personally I feel Gamma Ray makes EXCEPTIONALLY strong ballads (Pray, The Silence, One With The World, etc) and the addition of one would have balanced this album out a bit more and make it more accessible, but even as it's lacking one, the point of the matter is this is a scorching, colorful, passionate metal release, one of the best overall of 1999, and will satisfy anyone who even remotely likes Gamma Ray or their basic style shown throughout this album. There are also some weak spots in a few tracks (Short As Hell, Heavy Metal Universe, Wings Of Destiny) that holds them back from reaching the overall high quality of the rest of the songs, but all are listenable, and definitely enjoyable, as the songwriting, vocals, guitars, drums, bass, and production are top-notch overall. If you're a Gamma Ray fan, Helloween fan, or just a fan of passionate and/or heavy music in general, you simply can't go wrong picking this one up. Standout tracks include Armageddon, Strangers In The Night, the Pet Shop Boys cover It's A Sin, and Anywhere In The Galaxy.

I was more than a bit reluctant to give POWERPLANT a listen to. SOIS was such a great cd I didn't think they could do it again. Boy was I wrong! I can't say one is better than the other because they are both amazing. Songs like ANYWHERE IN THE GALAXY and ARMAGEDDON are brillant! Pure GR! But I enjoyed every song on POWERPLANT. If you are a fan of Gamma Ray's more recent work like LAND OF THE FREE & SOIS then there's no reason why you shouldn't love POWERPLANT.

I have to admit I was never a huge fan of power metal before this album. I'd heard Dream Evil and some Hammerfall and that was it. But this album is AMAZING, and can easily pull anyone into the world of power metal. The album blasts out strong and loud with the opener Anywhere in the Galaxy, which is among the best selections from this album. Razorblade Sigh is a great followup to the opener but not nearly as good. The album then picks right back up with Send Me a Sign, and flows into Strangers of the Night and then captivates you with Gardens of the Sinner, and it doesn't let up after that. The rest of the album is awesome, although it's safe to say that the band is at it's best with the first 6 songs, but there's never a dull moment to be found on the album. The bonus tracks for the remaster are great, from a quiet ballad in A While in Dreamland to Rich & Famous which originally appeared on Sigh No More. The album closes with a great cover of Rainbow's Long Live Rock 'n' Roll.

This is easy to recommend to fans of the band, of course, but anyone who likes power metal in general will find something to love, or if you're just looking to get into the genre, this is a great place to start.

My dear friend Juha bought me this CD as a birthday present over a year ago. It was a good shopping...this album is quite good and it made me buy Gamma Ray's other album "Somewhere Out in Space" which is much better than this...this is also good. "Anywhere in the Galaxy", "Send Me a Sign", "Strangers in the Night", "Armageddon" are fast and good tracks. Former Helloween vocalist Kai Hansen shows that his singing skills are better than ever. "Short As Hell" is a scary and weird track...they have really tried something new. "It's a Sin" is a Pet Shop Boys cover. I have to say I like PSB's song but this version is a little bit better. It has that energy that PSB didn't have. "Wings of Destiny" makes me think Rhapsody's album "Symphony of Enchanced Lands". The solo in the beginning is just like most solos in Rhapsody's album.
Stars: Strangers in the Night, Anywhere in the Galaxy, Send Me a Sign

I bought this cd because a lot of people said to me it is amazing. Everything is great on this album. Not one bad song. Kai Hansen has a great voice, the guitars sound great and drums... This is actually my first Gamma Ray cd. If you like band such as Helloween, Stratovarius, Angra, this is the perfect choice for you. You wont regret it, I'm sure.

This is a great album. Kai Hansen's ingenius vocals are upstaged by only his guitar work. The songs are invigorating and melodic, the choruses catchy and powerful. There are only so many times i can repeat myself on how great this album is. It is truly up with Nightfall In Middle Earth (Blind Guardian) and the K7Ks (Helloween), and all the other great metal albums that i have niether time nor space to mention ;) Buy it now!

There is no doubt, this new CD from one of the masters of Power Metal, Gamma Ray, is absolutely awesome. The best Gamma Ray album in years, in fact, much better than Somewhere Out In Space (I enjoyed that one too, of course, but this one is way way better). The cover of Pet Shop Boys "It's A Sin" is a blast.

This CD is a must buy, and a sure sign that Metal is on the rise again. Just check out the latest releases from Helloween, Iron Savior, Blind Guardian, Stratovarius and others!

Gamma Ray is one of the few bands in Metal that stay true to themselves. I mention the band as a whole rather than just Kai Hansen because the Line up of Kai, Dirk, William and Henjo (the Awesome Foursome) appear together on Somewhere Out in Space, Power Plant, Blast from the Past, No World Order, Skeletons in the Closet, The Majestic, and Land of the Free II. And lets face it, 99% of you got into Gamma Ray because you loved Helloween's Keeper of the Seven Keys I & II albums.

I can remember in high school, someone told me that Kai was "kicked out" of Helloween. When I found out the Kai formed a new band, the same guy told me that they don't release albums in the U.S. and the new Helloween album was better than Gamma Ray. Later that day I heard Pink Bubbles go Ape and thought to myself, "I don't even want to hear Kai's new band if it sounds worse than this!" The same guy raved about Chameleon a couple of years later. I moved to rural Delaware and never heard another word about Helloween or Kai Hansen.

Then the internet happened. I started reading about Helloween's return to form with Master of the Rings and Time of the Oath and saw and entire catalog of music from Kai's Gamma Ray. Fans all seemed to be on one side or the other, and it all came back to me so I decided to give Kai Hansen (and Gamma Ray) a chance. Needless to say, within a month I owned every Gamma Ray album and felt like an idiot for not taking the time to listen to them sooner. The downside is that I purchased all of their albums in a short period of time, so I didn't give each album the same amount of love.

Today I had an epiphany - Power Plant might be my favorite Gamma Ray album. Kai Hansen is what I loved most about early Helloween. You can't help but think that many of the songs on Helloween's post Kai Hansen albums attempt to replicate the style that Kai developed. Too bad for them, nobody is better at playing like Kai Hansen than Kai Hansen.

From start to finish, this album is incredible. I tend to hear Anywhere in the Galaxy, Send Me a Sign and Armageddon a bunch because I put Blast from the Past on my iPod. Most of the other songs on this album (not to mention the 3 bonus tracks) are all top notch. The three I mentioned from Blast from the Past are all great, but Gardens of the Sinner, Short as Hell, Razorblade Sigh, ts a Sin, Wings of Destiny, and Hands of Fate could just as easily have been selected to be part of Blast from the Past. When the weakest part of an album lies in the two very good songs - Strangers in the Night and Heavy Metal Universe - you know you have a winner.

This was the second album featuring this line up. They seemed to come together with Kai from the start and have continued to pump out great album after great album. William Zimmerman is an amazing drummer and while Dirk Schlachter's guitar playing on older Gamma Ray was great, You can't help but agree with his decision to move to bass, allowing Henjo Richter to come in and rip it up. Besides, you can now actually hear well thought out bass lines that compliment Kai's writing. The combination of line-up consistency and production value on this album and the one before it (Somerwhere Out in Space) definitely cemented Gamma Ray's reputation as the biggest force to be reckoned with in Power Metal genre. At this point in their career, Gamma Ray could no longer be doubted. It is no coincidence that people generally say that the Kai era Helloween albums are thier best.

I think back to the guy in high-school that so grossly mis-informed me and laugh. How anyone could think that Pink Bubbles Go Ape and later Chameleon are better albums than any single Gamma Ray album is a fool. Even the better Deris era Helloween albums don't really compare to Gamma Ray. Although Better than Raw and Dark Ride are arguable.

Bottom line - Kai Hansen & co. rarely if ever disappoint and you should have this (and Somewhere Out in Space) in your collection if you are looking for the best in power-metal.

German power metal gods Gamma Ray closed out the century in style with their 1999 album Power Plant.

Power Plant doesn't quite reach the same level of perfection that was found on Land of the Free, but it is an extremely solid power metal album that is on par with Insanity & Genius or Heading for Tomorrow. This is epic progressive power metal like only Kai Hansen can deliver, full of fist-pumping metal anthems (Heavy Metal Universe being the obvious example). I suppose there are an abundance of metal clichés on this album, but since when is that a bad thing? This is a power metal album after all! There are plenty of great songs on Power Plant, but my absolute favorite is the band's cover of the Pet Shop Boys (of all people) tune It's a Sin. If ever a pop single was crying out to be covered by a metal band, it is that song. Gamma Ray speeds it up and makes it metal as hell. Brilliant! Now if I could just convince Dark Tranquillity to record an album of Cars covers...

I suppose it goes without saying that Gamma Ray would appeal to Helloween fans. Fans of the more recent power metal bands like Sonata Arctica, Freedom Call, Edguy and Hammerfall also owe it to themselves to check out Gamma Ray, and Power Plant is a good album to start with.

Edition Notes: The 2003 reissue of Power Plant features digitally remastered sound (though I thought the original version had pretty good sound to begin with) and three bonus tracks ("A While In Dreamland," a new version of "Rich and Famous" and a killer cover of Rainbow's classic "Long Live Rock `n Roll"). The reissue comes in a pretty cheap-looking digipack, but aside from that it's a nice upgrade of an already excellent album.

PS - If you can find one, there is a very cool (but very limited) box set that collects all six of the remastered Gamma Ray albums.