(Rated this album with 10 out of 10) Reviewed by
overture_al
from Suffern, NY United States
There are some definite similarities here to Judas Priest - specifically the Painkiller masterpiece. However, if you can accept the obvious influences, you'll find that Gamma Ray have just created their Magnum Opus. There is nothing obvious about the music here - it maintains its appeal because you hear something new each time you listen to the CD. That gives it a lasting appeal, whereas so many other metal CDs get boring quickly, specifically because they exhaust a tried and tested formula. No World Order offers a fresh approach to power metal in general - exciting melodies, several riff changes per song, and differing drum tracks (in other words, not each song is a mindless verse-chorus-verse-chorus-guitar solo-chorus-chorus layered on top of double bass drumming that may as well be automated by some MIDI download). Kai Hansen's vocals are soaring - a fine blend between Rob Halford and Dave Mustaine (from the Megadeth of old). Interestingly, some of the better tracks were not written by Kai Hansen - probably the best track on the CD is Damn the Machine. Also, fans of Avantasia will notice the obvious Henjo Richter trademarks - "Follow Me" would make a good follow up to Breaking Away. By the way, No World Order blows Land of the Free away - Gamma Ray just went from being typical and obivous to creative and thoughtful. These songs were not rushed, and the production value is probably the best I have heard in years. One downside - the album cover art gets my vote for one of the worst covers ever. Gamma Ray need to find a decent artist - all their CDs have poor cover art. Minor flaw, because the music is the most important aspect of course.
