GAMMA RAY

Having been trailblazers of modern power metal, at some point GAMMA RAY shed their pioneer badge, transforming the originality and freshness of their early works into the rationalism and 100% quality of their later opuses. On "Majestic," the band continues playing with their grown-up toys -- the ultra-dense guitar trills keep flying, the drums keep pounding with the straightforward sincerity of a metronome, and Schlachter's bass keeps rumbling. A string of magnificent anthems -- "Fight," "Condemned To Hell," "Spiritual Dictator" -- weaves like a sine wave between mid-tempo tracks -- "Blood Religion," "Strange World," and "Majesty." "Revelation," the final 8-minute composition, leaves a slight feeling of regret that not a single ballad made it onto the album after all. And yet "Majestic" is an indisputable hit of the outgoing season. Seek it out, buy it, listen!