Hell Yeah: The Awesome Foursome [PA] (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Erro Kaukomies (vocals, keyboards); Stefan "Steffl" Reichel (recorder).

Audio Mixer: Tommy Newton.

Recording information: Razzmatazz I, Barcelona, Spain (05/06/2006/01/15/2008); The Medley, Montreal, Canada (05/06/2006/01/15/2008).

Technically, it would be inaccurate to call Gamma Ray a power metal revival band. Gamma Ray started in 1989, which was before alternative metal became metal's primary direction and before anyone started describing power metal as "dated" or "old-school." And unlike all the young headbangers who formed power metal revival bands in the 2000s, Gamma Ray co-founder Kai Hansen was part of power metal during its commercial heyday (Helloween, after all, was formed in 1984). So Gamma Ray was not the product of a revival movement. But fans of the power metal revival movement have definitely been supportive of Gamma Ray, and the fact that their concerts so faithfully adhere to the spirit of power metal concerts of the 1970s (when power metal started) and '80s (when it grew in popularity by leaps and bounds and peaked commercially) has made them a popular live attraction. In fact, Gamma Ray's live double-CD Hell Yeah: The Awesome Foursome (which is also available on DVD) is about as '70s/'80s-obsessed as it gets. That is not to say that Gamma Ray focus on material that was written back then. Actually, Hansen and his colleagues concentrate on Gamma Ray material that was unveiled in the late '90s or 2000s. But stylistically, everything they perform is unapologetically faithful to power metal's glory years -- and Hansen, who is old enough to have experienced that era first-hand -- does it without the slightest trace of irony. The performances sound quite dated by late-2000s standards, but then, one man's dated is another man's classic. And if 21st century consumers are willing to pay for tickets to Dixieland festivals, Edith Piaf tribute concerts, and shows by ABBA cover bands, why shouldn't there be '70s/'80s-obsessed metal concerts as well? Hell Yeah: The Awesome Foursome offers very few surprises, but for die-hard power metal aficionados, this 2008 release demonstrates that predictability can certainly have its pleasures. ~ Alex Henderson minimize