'Land of the Free II' marks the ninth album in for a band who can now be regarded as old school Metallers and it's business as usual as they release the follow-up to 1995's highly regarded 'Land of the Free'. As with previous 'Gamma Ray' albums there is that slight quirkiness inherited from 'Helloween' and perhaps by this stage of their career these uneven retro moments should have been ironed out, but this is just me point picking as they have released an album that is at least equal to it's predecessor 'Majestic'.

The albums gets underway courtesy of the slashing yet uplifting 'Into the Storm' and while at times it treads on the toes of 'Running Wild' is still a fine opener, which comes complete with some fine interplaying solos between 'Hansen' and 'Richter'. A more classic 'Gamma Ray' sound can be found on the following track 'From the Ashes', which also incorporates some more recent 'Maidenesque' style arrangements and although it's not 100% perfect is a another strong cut. The brief instrumental 'Rising Again' acts as a needless intro to the brisk but melodic 'To Mother Earth', a song which blends some thundering rhythm work with more controlled sections and is another winner, again sporting more fabulous guitar solos. 'Rain' ensues with plenty of promise, illustrating a slashing approach with some more modern element, regrettably the lyrics leave a lot to be desired, which does regrettably take the edge off somewhat. Next up is the more straightforward 'Leaving Hell', a strong if somewhat generic Power Metal staple, while 'Empress' mixes the album up with it's keyboard heavy approach, but to my ear the gang chanted chorus is a complete 'Accept' rip-off. The intensity is picked up with the 'Primal Fear' style blazer 'When the World', a well penned track which features a powerful uplifting chorus and the usual fret brilliance from 'Kai and 'Henjo'. The tempo falls for the plodding 'Opportunity' which introduces a nice change of pace to the album, but for me this could have been better, as lyrically it's a all bit naive and ultimately long-winded. The momentum is picked up with the more rocky sounding 'Real World', which at times does have a slight commercial feel, whilst the 'Iron Savior' reminiscent 'Hear Me Calling' comes right back at you with energy and purpose. The album concludes with the epic 'Insurrection' and it's the kind of track that can make or break an album, thankfully this is a very good cut, at times a little 'Maidenesque', but unlike songs from their last release, this has plenty of tempo changes and variation to keep the interest- nice work!

As with 'Majestic' another very fine album, but perhaps 'Gamma Ray' are still not totally fulfilling their potential?