Technically, it would be inaccurate to call Gamma Ray a power metal revival band. Gamma Ray started in 1989, which was before alternative metal became metal's primary direction and before anyone started describing power metal as "dated" or "old-school." And unlike all the young headbangers who formed power metal revival bands in the 2000s, Gamma Ray co-founder Kai Hansen was part of power metal during its commercial heyday (Helloween, after all, was formed in 1984). So Gamma Ray was not th   [ read more ]

CD $18.98

Given the way Gamma Ray have remained stubbornly committed to '70s/'80s-style power metal, one would think that all of the people attending their concerts in the 21st century would be people over 40. But in fact, Gamma Ray acquired a lot of new fans in the '90s and 2000s -- people in the Gen-X and Gen-Y/Echo Boomer demographics -- and those post-'80s converts have really connected with their old-school approach regardless of how dated it sounds. Actually, the fact that this 2007 release sounds like it   [ read more ]

CD $43.68

Given the way Gamma Ray have remained stubbornly committed to '70s/'80s-style power metal, one would think that all of the people attending their concerts in the 21st century would be people over 40. But in fact, Gamma Ray acquired a lot of new fans in the '90s and 2000s -- people in the Gen-X and Gen-Y/Echo Boomer demographics -- and those post-'80s converts have really connected with their old-school approach regardless of how dated it sounds. Actually, the fact that this 2007 release sounds like it   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

If Gamma Ray's rousing power metal sounds a little dated in 2005, well, it is. But with metal's ever-increasing hybridization, it's almost comforting to hear a band standing so proudly outside that fusionist circle. Majestic changes little from 2001's No World Order, or the albums before that. This is power metal through and through, with Kai Hansen's high-pitched wail leading his band at a double bass gallop through songs about Hell, spiritual dictators, and dark destinies. Opener {&"M   [ read more ]

CD $11.38

The stigma of Helloween is a hard one to get rid off, as illustrated on Gamma Ray's first three LPs. Kai Hansen succeeded in creating a band of his own, but he couldn't come up with an idiosyncratic style or even implement it well. Land of the Free is, however, a complete success considering Hansen's progression, and intriguingly breaks the basic concept that Gamma Ray's contemporaries have used so much. The opener, "Rebellion in Dreamland," for example, doesn't have a decent structure.   [ read more ]

CD $43.68

CD $27.53

CD $58.88

CD $9.48

CD $43.68

Kai Hansen left Helloween in 1989 because, as he saw it, the band was straying too far from its roots in high-speed yet melodic, British-derived metal. His refusal to bow to trends and stick to the style he clearly loves is admirable, but on the other hand, it doesn't allow for much growth or evolution. Power Plant is more of the same from Gamma Ray, inarguably well done, but hard to differentiate from their many other albums in this particular metal style. [This version of the album inclu   [ read more ]

CD $43.68

The first three records from Kai Hansen's band tried to follow a certain innovation/evolution within German power metal's restricted scene. Sigh No More, the second of these, does not escape this noble intention of the former Helloween guitarist. The record shows a band finding its identity through 11 cuts where various influences mark the route all along its path. It takes a series of bumps, where the peaks mark the creative apex of the group and the valleys border the dullest mediocrity. Proba   [ read more ]

CD $13.28

Recorded in 1997 and released in the U.S. a year later, Gamma Ray's fifth studio recording, Somewhere out in Space, is a concept album paying tribute to the film {#2001: A Space Odyssey}. The music largely follows the gothic Euro-metal style Kai Hansen employed with Helloween. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

CD $43.68