Gamma Ray
Powerplant

April 1999
Released: 1999, Noise Records
Rating: 5.0/5
Reviewer: EvilG

Voted Best CD of 1999 By Metal-Rules.com



Guitar god / power metal lord Kai Hansen returns in his second amazing CD that I've heard in 1999 (see Iron Savior review from last month). This time it's with his main band Gamma Ray who surprisingly have now completed 6 full-length CD's! Has it been so long that Kai was once the driving force behind Helloween? Time marches on...that was 11 years ago! One thing is very apparent with Kai's vocals on "Powerplant" - Rob Halford must be his main vocal inspiration! Kai has excellent range and it's still great to hear him back on vocals! Guitar-wise most of you already know what to expect here...perfection! This is melodic speed/power metal guitar playing at its finest with ripping solos and plenty of pure metal riffing. "Powerplant" has even surpassed the brilliance found on the last Gamma Ray CD, 1997's "Somewhere in Space." To top this all off, the CD cover art is a new masterpiece created by Derek Riggs of Iron Maiden fame. What more could a fan of true metal ask for?!?!



There are no throw away tracks on "Powerplant" at all. Some songs are better then others of course, those being "Anywhere in the Galaxy", "Razorblade Sigh" and "Gardens of the Sinner." The surprise song on the CD is a cover song from a non-metal band - Pet Shop Boys. I wouldn't of known it was a cover song if I didn't read the credits because it fits in nicely with the rest of the CD. Gamma Ray totally re-worked that song to make it sound like a Gamma Ray original! This is unquestionably one CD that is up there on the top of my list as being one of the best new CD's I've heard so far in 1999.