GAMMA RAY - NO WORLD ORDER!
Noise Records - 2001
By Rodrigo
No World Order! is Gamma Rays highly anticipated seventh studio album and it finds the German trying different things from their earlier efforts that makes this latest effort sound fresh and new. For one, the speed has overall slowed down. Songs are no longer played as fast like in albums like Land of the Free and Somewhere Out in Space. At first it was hard to get used to but it ended up being a very wise decision by Kai Hansen and company because No World Order! definitely distinguishes itself from their other albums. Some of the faster songs like Dethrone Tyranny never really match the speed of classics like Beyond the Black Hole. Dethrone Tyranny is one of the best songs in the album and it really was surprising hearing the song start with an acoustic intro. This song is preceded by Induction which introduces the loose concept story behind New World Order!. The basic idea of the main theme is that there is a global conspiracy by secret societies to control the world.
The second big change is the strong Judas Priest influences in many of the songs. Never a fan of Judas Priest I was very cautious on the first listen of how strong those influences were going to be. Thankfully those influences arent all over the album but those songs that do feature a Judas Priest sound work really well. One such example is The Heart of the Unicorn which easily reminds me of some of the Painkiller material. Kai Hansen sings in a high-pitch screaming voice never heard before and it also their thrashiest song to date. New World Order has a great groovy 80s main guitar riff and Fire Below has an extremely heavy feel to it.
But these changes doesnt mean that Gamma Ray has forgotten where they came from and fans of their older stuff should find songs like Heaven or Hell, Follow Me and Eagle to their liking. Heaven or Hell ranks as one of the catchiest songs that Kai Hansen has written ranking right up there with Valley of the Kings and I Want Out. Follow Me, the only song penned by Henjo Richter, would fit perfectly in Powerplant and Eagle combines the new sound with the old to create another great song.
Gamma Ray was clearly not interested in following the same musical path anymore and I welcome that change. This still sounds like Gamma Ray , there is no doubt about it. Some fans might not appreciate what Gamma Ray have done with No World Order! but I say to you, Did you really want another Powerplant? The new influences and changes that Gamma Ray have incorporated into their sound have made No World Order! their strongest album since Land of the Free.
Visit the Gamma Ray website.
Noise Records - 2001
By Rodrigo
No World Order! is Gamma Rays highly anticipated seventh studio album and it finds the German trying different things from their earlier efforts that makes this latest effort sound fresh and new. For one, the speed has overall slowed down. Songs are no longer played as fast like in albums like Land of the Free and Somewhere Out in Space. At first it was hard to get used to but it ended up being a very wise decision by Kai Hansen and company because No World Order! definitely distinguishes itself from their other albums. Some of the faster songs like Dethrone Tyranny never really match the speed of classics like Beyond the Black Hole. Dethrone Tyranny is one of the best songs in the album and it really was surprising hearing the song start with an acoustic intro. This song is preceded by Induction which introduces the loose concept story behind New World Order!. The basic idea of the main theme is that there is a global conspiracy by secret societies to control the world.
The second big change is the strong Judas Priest influences in many of the songs. Never a fan of Judas Priest I was very cautious on the first listen of how strong those influences were going to be. Thankfully those influences arent all over the album but those songs that do feature a Judas Priest sound work really well. One such example is The Heart of the Unicorn which easily reminds me of some of the Painkiller material. Kai Hansen sings in a high-pitch screaming voice never heard before and it also their thrashiest song to date. New World Order has a great groovy 80s main guitar riff and Fire Below has an extremely heavy feel to it.
But these changes doesnt mean that Gamma Ray has forgotten where they came from and fans of their older stuff should find songs like Heaven or Hell, Follow Me and Eagle to their liking. Heaven or Hell ranks as one of the catchiest songs that Kai Hansen has written ranking right up there with Valley of the Kings and I Want Out. Follow Me, the only song penned by Henjo Richter, would fit perfectly in Powerplant and Eagle combines the new sound with the old to create another great song.
Gamma Ray was clearly not interested in following the same musical path anymore and I welcome that change. This still sounds like Gamma Ray , there is no doubt about it. Some fans might not appreciate what Gamma Ray have done with No World Order! but I say to you, Did you really want another Powerplant? The new influences and changes that Gamma Ray have incorporated into their sound have made No World Order! their strongest album since Land of the Free.
Visit the Gamma Ray website.
