Kingcrimsonprog Land Of The Free II, from 2007, is the ninth full-length studio album by the legendary German Melodic Power Metal band Gamma Ray. It is titled as a sequel to the band’s seminal classic album Land Of The Free, and musically it sometimes picks up a few riffs and melodies from that record and reworks them into new tracks.

This record is not held in high esteem by a lot of the band’s fans and critics. Partly that is because the idea of doing a sequel to Land Of The Free (which isn’t even a full on concept album to begin with so the need for a story sequel isn’t even necessary) after such a big gap just seems like an off-putting idea, and forever-doomed to negative comparisions to the fantastic original from the offset and secondly because the band are accused of running out of ideas.

How much you enjoy this record will depend primarily on how much you don’t mind hearing the band rework old music (or indeed nick Iron Maiden breakdowns almost wholesale and your opinion on whether it is tribute or theft). Do you enjoy a sense of familiarity or not?

If we overlook those issues, there are some absolutely blinding moments on this record, including the flashy eleven minute album-closer “Insurrection,” as well as the ridiculously catchy ode to atheism that is “Real World” and the exciting, chunky “Rain.”

Add to these strong songs, an absolutely flawless slick production, some of Kai’s most polished vocals to date and the fact that actually the band do explore some new territory here and try things at a slower pace than usual. Top it all off with the lush sing-along choruses, glorious uplifting lead guitar melodies and delicious drum fills you would expect from Gamma Ray and you have a very solid record.

Overall; historically, this album will be viewed alongside Majestic as a sort of down-point in the band’s discography, however this is very far from a bad record on its own merits and there is much enjoyment to be found here if you are willing to overlook its flaws.