Gamma Ray
Power Plant

THE REVIEW

A winning team doesn't change: this seems to be the new rule at the Hansen household; Gamma Ray returns in 1999 with this Power Plant, maintaining the same lineup as the previous Somewhere Out In Space.

This time the sound becomes heavier and less melodic compared to its predecessor, yet it doesn't forget the typical choruses that so characterize Hansen's power, who increasingly proves himself to be a good singer, having matured greatly since his Helloween days, where his vocal performance wasn't quite stellar (listen to Walls Of Jericho to believe it).
The album has its high points but also several forgettable tracks that, alas, feel like fillers: Short As Hell explores territory quite foreign to the band, and leans towards pre-Black Album Metallica; the result is not the best. The cover of It's A Sin is well executed but perhaps a bit out of context, Heavy Metal Universe, a tribute (or mocking) of the typical metal anthems of more recent Manowar, was surely avoidable in its useless gaudiness.
As mentioned earlier, there are well higher or at least good points: Anywhere In The Galaxy reprises the concept of Somewhere Out In Space and is an excellent opener. Razorblade Sigh is characterized by very aggressive riffs, like Garden Of The Sinners, with strumming on the verge of thrash. Between the two relatively heavier and more abrasive tracks I just mentioned, lie the cheerful and melodic Send Me A Sign, which seems straight out of one of Helloween's early albums, and Strangers In The Night, which with an excellent chorus ranks among the highest peaks of the lot. Wings Of Destiny is an excellent gallop that lifts the listener after a possible bewilderment from the tacky Heavy Metal Universe, while Hand Of Fate, introduced by some piano notes, is a highly successful epic march.
After ten tracks fluctuating between highs and lows, the true masterpiece arrives: Armageddon. For about 8 minutes Hansen and co. delight us with continuous rhythm shifts, from very fast metal in typical power style to slower and majestic parts while Hansen and Richter's guitars pay homage to Queen... the ever-evolving track comes to a definite halt around seven minutes and 15... silence, except for a guitar retracing for a few seconds the melody of the chorus, which immediately explodes and repeats with growing intensity that culminates in a final choral scream (similar to that of Man On A Mission) where the intensity reaches its peak... after Armageddon, Hansen quietly repeats the prophecy that opened the track:
"Now all you sinners/ this is a prophecy/a revelation of your own destiny/ you had a dream once/ a dream that you have sold/and now my brothers/this world is slowly getting cold...", and after a quick touch (a couple of seconds) on Zimmermann's drums, silence, and the album, excellent but still inferior (despite Armageddon) to Somewhere Out In Space, concludes, confirming, if there was ever any doubt, Gamma Ray as one of the best power metal bands around.