Power Plant [IMPORT]

Gamma Ray

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 4, 2002)
• Original Release Date: March 18, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Dreambeat
• ASIN: B00007EHW7
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #474,545 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Asian version featuring 3 bonus tracks: "While In Dreamland", "Rich & Famous (2000 Version)", & "Long Live Rock N Roll".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars If we could only harness Gamma Ray's Metal Power we could stop relying on Middle Eastern Oil!, December 17, 2008

By	S. Ruppert "Ax-Man Steve" (Hurlock, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.