Bands revisiting and reprising old album titles always concern me. HELLOWEEN's third revisiting of the "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" theme lead me to wonder if the ideas had dried up, a worry that was only truly expunged with the recent "Gambling With The Devil" album. QUEENSRYCHE have gone down that route too resurrecting the "Mindcrime" theme, although a subsequent covers album may in their case be a further hint that the creative juices are evaporating somewhat.

KAI HANSEN's own reasons for employing this tactic with his GAMMA RAY band aren't terribly clear although there is some spiel about "Land Of The Free" possessing the "positive power" that he feels is the bands greatest strengths. It may also possibly have something to do with the original usually scoring higher on review sites that most of the other albums, especially the most recent pair of "Majestic" and "No World Order".

To my mind though, GAMMA RAY have always had pretty consistent output. Although they may have delivered the odd turkey here and there (post the first "Free" album) the albums are decent overall, and this one is no exception. Plenty of the expected MAIDEN derived riffs are evident throughout, right from opener "Into The Storm" in fact, as is the trademark power metal trimmings and the big, anthemic choruses that have been prevalent throughout HANSEN's career. Whilst I've always been undecided on whether HANSEN handling the vocals is the best option for the band, with a particular personal preference for the earlier Ralf Scheepers fronted albums, I must admit that he's handled the dual role for so long now that his singing has improved markedly since the early HELLOWEEN days and again on this album it certainly does lend to the raw, more traditional metal oriented sound the disc strives for. Of course additionally helping with the favorable summary, any HANSEN directed project wouldn't be complete without the epic, and the sprawling conclusion of "Insurrection" doesn't disappoint at all. On the downside, "Rain" gets a bit stuck in places with just too many ideas trying to battle for the spotlight and will I be the only person to find himself singing the lyrics to BRUCE DICKINSON's "Accident Of Birth" during the chorus of "Leaving Hell"?

The HELLOWEEN similarities are unlikely to ever go away and are liable to become more frequent as the two bands undertake a joint tour soon, share a common record label and release albums so close to each other. I can't help but to make a comparison between this and the recently released album from HANSEN's old band and unfortunately reckon that this isn't quite as impressive or immediate as HELLOWEEN's latest offering but it is another welcome addition to German dynasty's catalogue and is certainly good enough to ensure the GAMMA RAY name fresh attention.

- Leslie

OFFICIAL SITE: www.gamma-ray.com

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