I?m not sure if Hansen took the inspiration for the album?s name because it spreads power metal ( same as melodic)....

I can hardly understand these negative reviews. Here I am again to correct these evil comments:

There's one that said an absurd, that the double bass drums prevails in this 1999 release. Daniel Zimmermman is no Stratovarius's Jorg Michael before 2005.Actually, where it appears, it's not in 100% of the track:

Anywhere in galaxy -> This song is high-flown, where melodic consorts with weight. The intro riff ( with Henjo's keyboards help) is very cool. The bridge , especially the 2nd ( " anywhere in the galaxy, we will will fight for our destiny... Anywhere in the galaxy, anywhere in the galaxy... )is one of the best and catchy ever composed for a Gamma Ray song. Its vocal harmony is magnificent. The guitar solos are feature too. The lyrics are residues of the previous album Somewhere out in space talking about science fiction, outer space.

Wings of destiny -> One of my favourites. Good melody.

Strangers in the night -> The title refers to the aliens like Kai Hansen stated in an interview I read in internet. The only thing I don't like here is the squeak like voice before the bridge. After 3:47 in clock, " we lay our souls...", the vocal harmonies and guitar solo are indiscribably beautiful. Impressive.

Armageddon -> It was included in greatest hits compilation.

In the following, no double bass:

Razorblade Sigh -> The most original to me. I like riff speed up when the drum starts. It gave a great effect. There is a tempo change in 2:26 with very well peformed guitar harmonies. Razorblade!

Send me a sign - > It has videoclip and it's a fan favourite. Outstanding.Don't be deceived with the distorted solo in 2:22 it's Henjo Hichter not Kai.

Short as hell -> The heaviest and darkest. As a reviewer said,in the beggining, Hansen sounds like Metallica's Hetfield. Another good and beautiful vocal harmony in 2:35 after a speedy guitar.

It's a sin -> I'm no cover lover, but I assure you that in particular,that it was well constructed. Gamma managed to turn a Pet shop boys pop hit into metal. That keyboard and orchestra were transfered to guitar.

Heavy metal universe -> It has a video too. Actually , the song I like less, but not bad. Hansen praises his life passion again.

It cheered the spectators in the concert that resulted in the live album Skeletons in the Closet.

Hands of fate -> The melody here is terrific and it deserves the repeat button. Spetacular.

Gardens of the sinner -> great twin guitars work! (4:25)

Needn?t to say that it's a masterpiece. This cd and Land of the free are the best Gamma efforts with Kai Hansen's lead vocals. Forget these people who are complaining with full stomach...

I have to admit I was never a huge fan of power metal before this album. I'd heard Dream Evil and some Hammerfall and that was it. But this album is AMAZING, and can easily pull anyone into the world of power metal. The album blasts out strong and loud with the opener Anywhere in the Galaxy, which is among the best selections from this album. Razorblade Sigh is a great followup to the opener but not nearly as good. The album then picks right back up with Send Me a Sign, and flows into Strangers of the Night and then captivates you with Gardens of the Sinner, and it doesn't let up after that. The rest of the album is awesome, although it's safe to say that the band is at it's best with the first 6 songs, but there's never a dull moment to be found on the album. The bonus tracks for the remaster are great, from a quiet ballad in A While in Dreamland to Rich & Famous which originally appeared on Sigh No More. The album closes with a great cover of Rainbow's Long Live Rock 'n' Roll.

This is easy to recommend to fans of the band, of course, but anyone who likes power metal in general will find something to love, or if you're just looking to get into the genre, this is a great place to start.

This is a great album. Kai Hansen's ingenius vocals are upstaged by only his guitar work. The songs are invigorating and melodic, the choruses catchy and powerful. There are only so many times i can repeat myself on how great this album is. It is truly up with Nightfall In Middle Earth (Blind Guardian) and the K7Ks (Helloween), and all the other great metal albums that i have niether time nor space to mention ;) Buy it now!

Gamma Ray is one of the few bands in Metal that stay true to themselves. I mention the band as a whole rather than just Kai Hansen because the Line up of Kai, Dirk, William and Henjo (the Awesome Foursome) appear together on Somewhere Out in Space, Power Plant, Blast from the Past, No World Order, Skeletons in the Closet, The Majestic, and Land of the Free II. And lets face it, 99% of you got into Gamma Ray because you loved Helloween's Keeper of the Seven Keys I & II albums.

I can remember in high school, someone told me that Kai was "kicked out" of Helloween. When I found out the Kai formed a new band, the same guy told me that they don't release albums in the U.S. and the new Helloween album was better than Gamma Ray. Later that day I heard Pink Bubbles go Ape and thought to myself, "I don't even want to hear Kai's new band if it sounds worse than this!" The same guy raved about Chameleon a couple of years later. I moved to rural Delaware and never heard another word about Helloween or Kai Hansen.

Then the internet happened. I started reading about Helloween's return to form with Master of the Rings and Time of the Oath and saw and entire catalog of music from Kai's Gamma Ray. Fans all seemed to be on one side or the other, and it all came back to me so I decided to give Kai Hansen (and Gamma Ray) a chance. Needless to say, within a month I owned every Gamma Ray album and felt like an idiot for not taking the time to listen to them sooner. The downside is that I purchased all of their albums in a short period of time, so I didn't give each album the same amount of love.

Today I had an epiphany - Power Plant might be my favorite Gamma Ray album. Kai Hansen is what I loved most about early Helloween. You can't help but think that many of the songs on Helloween's post Kai Hansen albums attempt to replicate the style that Kai developed. Too bad for them, nobody is better at playing like Kai Hansen than Kai Hansen.

From start to finish, this album is incredible. I tend to hear Anywhere in the Galaxy, Send Me a Sign and Armageddon a bunch because I put Blast from the Past on my iPod. Most of the other songs on this album (not to mention the 3 bonus tracks) are all top notch. The three I mentioned from Blast from the Past are all great, but Gardens of the Sinner, Short as Hell, Razorblade Sigh, ts a Sin, Wings of Destiny, and Hands of Fate could just as easily have been selected to be part of Blast from the Past. When the weakest part of an album lies in the two very good songs - Strangers in the Night and Heavy Metal Universe - you know you have a winner.

This was the second album featuring this line up. They seemed to come together with Kai from the start and have continued to pump out great album after great album. William Zimmerman is an amazing drummer and while Dirk Schlachter's guitar playing on older Gamma Ray was great, You can't help but agree with his decision to move to bass, allowing Henjo Richter to come in and rip it up. Besides, you can now actually hear well thought out bass lines that compliment Kai's writing. The combination of line-up consistency and production value on this album and the one before it (Somerwhere Out in Space) definitely cemented Gamma Ray's reputation as the biggest force to be reckoned with in Power Metal genre. At this point in their career, Gamma Ray could no longer be doubted. It is no coincidence that people generally say that the Kai era Helloween albums are thier best.

I think back to the guy in high-school that so grossly mis-informed me and laugh. How anyone could think that Pink Bubbles Go Ape and later Chameleon are better albums than any single Gamma Ray album is a fool. Even the better Deris era Helloween albums don't really compare to Gamma Ray. Although Better than Raw and Dark Ride are arguable.

Bottom line - Kai Hansen & co. rarely if ever disappoint and you should have this (and Somewhere Out in Space) in your collection if you are looking for the best in power-metal.

Wow! I can't believe this album hasn't been reviewed yet...huh. Well, I didn't actually purchase the $30+ import version; my local record store had the regular old one. Anyway, this was my first exposure to Gamma Ray and as a longtime Helloween fan, I was dying with anticipation to hear the band Kai Hansen formed when he left the German metal masters.

Now that I have, I can say with 100% certainty that Kai left because Helloween was moving more toward a progressive melodic sound and further away from the "Walls of Jericho" melodic super-speed anthem metal that is so prevalent here. The album kicks off with "Anywhere in the Galaxy," which just rips along, not unlike "Ride the Sky" from "Jericho." Gamma Ray revisits this proven formula again with "Wings of Destiny," which ironically brings up the band's second important influence: Judas Priest.

I also heard lots of tributary musical statements on this album that clearly paid some homage to Judas Priest, especially "Strangers in the Night." Kai's vocals here are entirely reminiscent of Halford, right around the "Ram it Down" and "Painkiller" albums. Gamma does a great job though of mixing up the tempos and melodies and not just ramming pure speed down your throat. The same "Strangers..." song also uses the great anthemic big choruses and melodies that bring the best of Blind Guardian to mind. Another classic metal sound is seen with "Heavy Metal Universe," so if you don't like your metal cheesy, pass this one by. It's got all those great "metal rules forever" type of lyrics, but the song itself would fit perfectly in a 1982 NWOBHM world.

Midway through the album is really the only misfire in my mind. "Short as Hell" reminds me of uninspired Motley Crue (is that redundant?), as there must be 1,000 songs exactly like this. The band does attempt to redeem themselves by getting all Gamma Ray again in the middle of the tune, but I had already lost interest. Aside from that though, there's precious little wasted space on this 50+ minute disc. I was completely in love with "Send Me a Sign" and well on my way to giving this 5 stars at that point (a few downpoints prevented that), and "Armageddon" is a fittingly epic closer, a barrage of rapidfire double-bass drumming, ripping melodic speed metal guitars and tight, precise tempo changes.

As an introduction, I'm thrilled with Gamma Ray, and will be seeking out their other albums. If you're already a fan, I imagine this review was nothing new to you. However, if you're a self-respecting power metalhead and you don't have this happen, you need to get it. Now.