Gamma Ray’s second album ‘Sigh No More’ is generally considered the black sheep of their discography. That probably has to do with the album’s relatively dark, somewhat cynical tone rather than with its actual musical content. No one will ever hear me say that ‘Sigh No More’ is the best Gamma Ray album unless I get a weirdly specific form of Alzheimer’s that makes me forget all about their fantastic run from ‘Land Of The Free’ up until ‘Majestic’, but what it is, is a collection of excellent songs with a somewhat different feel than most of the band’s records.

Essentially, the differences between ‘Sigh No More’ and its predecessor ‘Heading For Tomorrow’ are quite limited in number. ‘Heading For Tomorrow’ showed guitarist Kai Hansen newly unburdened from the constraints of his former band Helloween and just freely trying things out. It was significantly more upbeat than ‘Sigh No More’, but I personally think that’s to the latter’s benefit. ‘Sigh No More’ is infinitely more consistent and notably less silly. Gamma Ray is stil searching for the sound they feel most comfortable with, but it’s exactly that search that makes ‘Sigh No More’ such an interesting and fulfilling listening experience.

All things considered, ‘Changes’ is a bit of an odd opener for ‘Sigh No More’. Lyrically, it sets the stage for the rest of the album quite well, but as a laid-back rocker, it is far from the full-on power metal salvo Gamma Ray usually goes for at the start of an album. Such tracks are definitely here, as ‘Start Running’ and especially the fantastic ‘As Time Goes By’ are full of all the fast riffs and cathartic choruses one could want from the band, but the hard rock of the likes of ‘Changes’ and ‘(We Won’t) Stop The War’ goes a long way in giving ‘Sigh No More’ its unique identity within Gamma Ray’s discography.

When the band does go anthemic, it does have a bit of a melancholic edge, as proven by the amazing ‘One With The World’, although the interestingly structured ‘The Spirit’ does have a somewhat more positive tone. ‘Rich & Famous’ is about as cynical as it gets, but it does fit Gamma Ray’s tried and true formula, sharing more than a few traits with ‘Heaven Can Wait’. My personal favorite track of the album is the epic, vaguely Middle-Eastern sounding epic ‘Dream Healer’. While the re-recording on ‘Blast From The Past’ does a better job of building up the tension in the song, the original is still excellent, proving that Gamma Ray’s core sound works surprisingly well in a darker atmosphere.

While I can kind of understand where the criticism directed at ‘Sigh No More’ comes from – the ballad ‘Father And Son’ is the closest Gamma Ray ever got to nineties Seattle, not exactly the preference of their core audience – but in terms of songwriting and overall cohesive listening experience, I think it’s miles ahead of its at times goofy predecessor and its messy follow-up. There is simply too much good music on ‘Sigh No More’ to dismiss it entirely. In my opinion, it is Gamma Ray’s best pre-‘Land Of The Free’ album and certainly a lot better than the identity crisis Helloween was going through around the same time.

Recommended tracks: ‘Dream Healer’, ‘As Time Goes By’, ‘One With The World’, ‘Start Running’