Land of the Free (Gamma Ray album)
Land of the Free is the fourth studio album by German power metal band Gamma Ray, released in 1995. It is considered a concept album, telling a story of rebellion of Good against Evil. Continuing a trend that would conclude with the band's fifth studio release, the lineup for the album was different from the previous one, as Land of the Free was the first Gamma Ray album to be released since the departure of Ralf Scheepers, leaving guitarist and founder Kai Hansen to take up lead vocals. While not his first stint as a vocalist (Hansen had sung lead for Helloween until 1987 and had also recorded lead vocals on "Heal Me" from Insanity and Genius), it would be the first time he had performed lead vocals exclusively in 8 years. Additionally, bassist Jan Rubach was to swap positions with guitarist Dirk Schlächter. Rubach initially agreed, but then resisted making the move. Rubach and drummer Thomas Nack instead decided to leave Gamma Ray. Rubach left towards the tail end of Men on a Tour; Schlächter took over the bass duties and Henjo Richter took over as the second guitarist. Nack would complete the tour and then leave, with both Rubach and Nack rejoining their former band Anesthesia. Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween) and Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) were featured on the album as guest vocalists. The track "Afterlife" was written as a tribute to Ingo Schwichtenberg, Kai Hansen's former bandmate in Helloween, who committed suicide prior to the album's release. Along with most of the band's past catalogue, the album was re-released in 2003 with a different cover and expanded track list which featured three tracks that had either appeared as bonuses on various editions of the album (namely "Heavy Metal Mania", which was a Japanese bonus track on the original release) or were unreleased tracks. The face of the figure in the cover is the same of the Helloween album Walls of Jericho. Reception In a contemporary review by the German magazine Rock Hard, Land of the Free was elected Album of the Month and described as "the best, heaviest and most polished Gamma Ray album since Heading for Tomorrow". Modern critics praised the album, with Antti J. Ravelin of AllMusic stating that it served "the definition of power metal well and is indeed one of the most metal albums of the late '90s". Mike Stagno of Sputnikmusic wrote that "if there was ever an essential power metal album, Land of the Free would be that album" and noticed how "Gamma Ray took their songwriting to a new level", putting "an emphasis on speed and melody, but also aggression and power". Canadian journalist Martin Popoff was less enthusiastic and stated that Land of the Free was too similar to a Helloween album for his taste, remarking how speed metal was more "insistent and persistent than in the past." Jerry Ewing of Classic Rock lamented the absence of Ralf Scheepers' vocals and defined the material on the album as "merely adequate".