December 2020 Feature Release - The Guardians Edition

It's now December which of course means that we'll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we're asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We're really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don't be shy.

This month's feature release for The Guardians is 2000's classic "Blast From The Past" double album from German power metal icons Gamma Ray which is made up of re-recordings of older Gamma Ray material from the Ralf Scheepers era with Kai Hansen singing the vocals & remasters of more recent tracks. All instruments for old songs were also re-recorded with new arrangements by the then current members of the band.  The songs from each era to be included in the compilation were chosen by the band's fans so let's see whether our clan members think this was a worthwhile undertaking or not.

https://metal.academy/releases/2216

Surprisingly, despite my general aversion to the European brand of power metal, I quite enjoyed this lengthy release. The speed metal focused material definitely appeals to me a lot less that the more moderately paced classic heavy metal material & the signature European power metal cheese does create its obstacles but I really dig the Judas Priest worship in the vocals, solos & metal-as-fuck riffage along with the glossy production & stunning musicianship & execution. Fans of Helloween, Blind Guardian & Judas Priest will likely find a lot to enjoy here. I've gone with a very respectable 3.5/5 rating.

Here's my full review:

https://metal.academy/reviews/19491/2216

I've been a bit busy the past couple weeks but I definitely look forward to reviewing this re-recording/compilation album (among other releases I plan on reviewing). I have a feeling this would also be a nice blast from my power metal past...

Finally did my review! Here's its summary:

This compilation is never ordinary. The first disc has songs from the era of their first vocalist Ralf Scheepers, while the second disc has songs from the vocal era of no other than Kai Hansen! All selected songs from the Ralf Scheepers era and Land of the Free were re-recorded (possibly to fit with E-flat tuning, though some songs have to stuck to the original E tuning). Are ya curious? Look no further and find many of the greatest hits, along with a few sh*ts including the weak ballad "The Silence". Despite a few flawed tracks, everything else is some of the best songs in the first decade of Gamma Ray's career. Personally, if I were to pick two songs, each for one of the discs, to be added in, they would be the cover of the "Gamma Ray" song the band was named after, and the "It's a Sin" cover. Both great covers! Blast From the Past is a greatest hits album the way it was meant to be done; an awesome overview of mostly their best songs, with the older songs re-recorded to please both newer and older fans. Highly recommended for power metal fans as big as I used to be. Indeed a blast from my power metal past!

4.5/5