When I look back upon my life, it's always with a sense of shame; I've always been the one to blame. Sound familiar? Why am I quoting a line from one of the Pet Shop Boys biggest hits? Because believe it or not, Gamma Ray does a fascinating cover of it here on their newest album "Powerplant." Or as the liner notes reveal, "80's pop, ROCKED by Gamma Ray! But before you scratch your head in amazement, be warned, it's lethal! But then again, what could anyone expect from this band? Anyone who's followed the career of Kai Hansen whether going back to his days as CO-founder of German metal legends Helloween, or today having just completed GR's seventh full album knows this man would never betray his true metal roots. no matter how outlandish something may appear on the outside.

"Powerplant" is all it's been cracked up to be. The advance word on this new disc was it was the band's best work to date. I'll reserve opinion on that just yet because they've had so much extraordinary material over the years and I'm not that familiar with this one just yet. But I will tell you this, everything you've come to expect of the band is in here. Power, speed, melody, group choruses, classically inspired guitar work and the underlying concept that's been as big a part of Gamma Ray's character as anything.

The first thing we notice here is as usual, the cover artwork is amazing. But not designed by who you might think. None other than Derek Riggs, the talent who first introduced us to those macabre images that made Iron Maiden's Eddie a part of every metal head's life lends his creative hand to "Powerplant." And the results are nothing short of brilliant. Gamma Ray, its current membership now having recorded together for two straight albums-that's saying something-is as tightly constructed and in top form here. From the opening salvo of "Anywhere in this Galaxy," which batters against our senses like a windswept storm on a chilly dark night, there's no turning back from whence you came. You're stuck firmly in your grounded position as the heavy metal radiation bombards your bloodstream and after it's all over, you'll be glad to have been subjected.

Is there a weak link found anywhere amongst the eleven tracks on "Powerplant?" Not really, but that's not to say every song here is worthy of praise. As with any album, no matter how far reaching a band's talents are, and GR's go as far as anyone's, there are a few filler tracks that borrow a little too much from previous material and carry on inattentively, but they'll pass. "Short as Hell" is not one of these to be sure, but it's different from the rest in a sense where it's got a slower, heavier beat, grinding along deviously before giving way to "It's a Sin." Yes we already discussed this one but whether anyone wants to admit it or not, you've all heard it. But never quite like this. Should be a big time player on metal radio.

"Powerplant" ends much as it began-cutting loose like a violent storm, cracking the sky bringing forced aggression building toward "Armageddon" and then quickly vanishing off into the darkness. A full eight plus minutes of pure metal drama sure to leave a flushed look on your face by the time it's all over.

So there we have a brief glimpse at Gamma Ray's newest creation "Powerplant." The title says it all.