Nothing really stands out, and who's band is this anyway?

Review Score: (6/10)
Ok, after listening to the debut album from GammaFall, I mean, HelloRay, er, that is Hammer Guardian, no, Blind Ween. Oh, I have no idea who this is! I'm now convinced that there are 11 power metal musicians in ALL OF EUROPE and they're in one big band with rotating memberships of anywhere from 3-5 members using 8-10 different names. Sometimes the chosen members produce SICK albums (a la Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray), and sometimes they sound just like well, everybody else (i.e. this album).

All kidding aside, I was really having a difficult time concentrating while listening to this record. It sounded just like many other power metal bands out there. Only this bunch of guys sings about a big metal thingie and the lost continent of Atlantis, or some such silliness. I was hard pressed to pick a single song that really stood out for me, though "For the World" (featuring Hansi of Blind Guardian on guest vocals) was the best of a mostly forgettable bunch. And strangely, there's a subtle-as-a-sledgehammer tribute to a friend of Piet's who's apparently struggling with heroin addiction. Not coincidentally, this is by far the worst song on the album. Not counting the awful Nazareth cover that closes the album.

On the whole, it's a good album. It's just that Kai Hansen's own band, Gamma Ray, does this SO MUCH BETTER. So this is average power metal at best. Get it if you haven't heard much else, otherwise, stick to the proven kings like Helloween, Hammerfall, Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Angra, and some others.

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