Search - Gamma Ray :: Blast From Past

About what you'd expect from this kind of talent

snakeayes | 10/28/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I first listened to this alubm about six months ago and thought it was decent. It was the first time I'd ever listened to Gamma Ray and only really checked it out because I had just begun listning to Iron Savior and I knew this was Kai's other band. On a whim the other day I went back and listened to it again and something strange happened. I actually remembered most of the songs. Considering that I had only heard this record once before half a year previously, only half paying attention while I was playing Diablo II no less, I was quite impressed. I'm not talking about just singing along by the end of the song, I knew what was coming next and I was singing from the very beginning. I can only chalk this up to Kai's ability to write extremely catchy and memorable songs, this guy really is a genius like everyone says. My personal experience aside, this is some of the best powermetal you can possibly find with great guitar and memorable melodic song structures. I've heard some people complain about Kai's singing ability but I've got no problems with it, he may not be one of the best around but he's certainly more than competent. My only gripe with the compilation is that the first disk is rather heavily laden with more melodic tracks and ballads. If you're a fan of the "happier" side of powermetal then this won't be a problem but I prefer the heavier driving style which is much more prevalent on disk 2. Great stuff."