First off, I'm a huge fan of Gamma Ray. I discovered the band for the first time because of their fine 1991 album 'Sigh no More', but the next one, 1993's pretty awful 'Insanity and Genius' caused me to forget them for over a half a decade. My second awakening happened in 21st century, thanks to fantastic 'Powerplant' (1999). From then on, it's been a real joyride, and also an awakening to the world of power metal for me, pretty much. So, my review can be a bit biased, but still I try to shove shit if it needs to be shoved.
'Land of the Free II' is, of course, continuation to 'Land of the Free', which was released in 1995. Both 'Land of the Free's are more like states of mind, not that much of concept albums with one single story. The frame of mind of the band is on the positive side again, after darker 'Majestic' (2005). This does not include any "funny in a negative way" stuff, thankfully, like aforementioned 'Insanity and Genius' does. And to tell the truth, here isn't any over sugared candy either, which the positive energy might cause in the worst case scenario. During the first few spins I found the album lacking. Everything sounded too familiar, and there's also borrowings from other bands' repertoire... 'Opportunity's 'The Clairvoyant' (the song from Iron Maiden) part must be a tribute, right?! 'From the Ashes' is another partly Iron Maiden-esque piece, but this time without likeness with any certain song. 'Empress' contains a piece from a traditional Russian song, getting both thumbs up from me. It's just so fucking awesome and totally funny in a good way! Then, the band borrow their own past material. Apparent tributes aside, this band can still be unique, as the repeated listenings manifested.
After some dozens of spins, the album finally started to show its mightiness, and fucking how! 'Into the Storm' really nails listener with its incredible amount of metallic energy. The old riff-machine is still working. And wait when you hear those solo parts... Good ol' alternating again, plus of course those duet solos. The rhythm section shows no traces of slowdown, more like the other way around. 'From the Ashes' is a slower, more melodic heavy metal piece, yet another one with moderate Maiden-feel. If you thought the band fired all its shots on the opener, you're wrong, because 'To Mother Earth' is really fast stuff! Speed metal lives on and on. next different song is 'Empress', which is straighter and even a bit "poppy". Still, it's got to be 'Real World' that is the most melodic song on offer, it's an absolute corker and if it doesn't make you hum, sing, whatever, you must be deaf!!! The rock riffage on 'Hear Me Calling' is the lamest thing, music-wise, but thankfully the song is otherwise simply fantastic. So, the song material is pretty varying, probably because it's not Kai Hansen alone who wrote songs for the album. Drummer Dan Zimmermann brought in 'Empress', bassist Dirk Schlächter wrote heavy 'Opportunity' and guitarist Henjo Richter came up with 'Rain' and 'Hear Me Calling'. The album closes mightily, as +11-minute epic 'Insurrection' resounds in the air. A fine conclusion, the best Gamma Ray epic in my opinion.
Gamma Ray are a heavy metal band, but there's also power metal and rock bits in, but still, total metal! I don't have to tell how good musicians these guys are, do I? It all sounds so energetic and like coming from the hearts of all the guys. It's just so bloody enjoyable listening these guys play. Mr. Hansen rips his vocal cords more than for a long while, but there's of course his high-pitched singing heard a lot, too. I'm used to them by now, I had to when I got 'Powerplant', but it took a long time, let me tell you. Lyrics-wise, this is about being free, in various ways, but also some other topics, e.g. human raping nature.
The production was done by the band themselves. However, the drums were recorded by Tommy Newton, who also handled the mixing and mastering sessions. The sound fluctuates between the songs. The likes of 'From the Ashes' and 'Empress' sound crystal clear yet powerful. 'Leaving Hell' and 'Opportunity' sound heavy, but somewhat muffled and have annoying kick drums sound, which is flapping as hell! Anyways, the so-so done production job can't kill this album, but is a quite an annoying feature at times. The Hervé Monjeaud cover artwork is another nice piece and I like to look of the booklet.
In my opinion 'Land of the Free II' is a good sequel, so to speak. As mentioned earlier, "land of the free" is more like a frame of mind, and musically, this differs from 1995 'Land of the Free'. On this album, Gamma Ray retrace through their long career and different musical aspects they've gone through. Another awesome album from them.
Rating: 9- (out of 10) ratings explained
Reviewed by Lane
12/23/2007 23:40
