Blind Guardian - The God Machine (2022)

I consider myself a punctual person in general. I get the kids to the bus on time, I pick them up on time. If I'm coming for you, I'll be there on time. If you're picking ME up, I'm already waiting when you drive up to the curb. It's likely an obsessive compulsive thing for me, and just something I feel shows the proper amount of respect to other people, be they family or friends or acquaintances. I tell you this because Blind Guardian's 11th proper studio album The God Machine made me late for work. I'd heard a track or two in advance, of course, who hadn't? But I got the CD in the post before a shift, fired it up en route, and when I arrived at the parking lot, I just could not stop listening. I could not get up out of my seat, and promptly forgot where I was until I happened to see a customer wave to me out the rear view mirror. It was then I realized that, through the miracle of technology, I could actually stream the album OUTSIDE of my car and CD player.

But yeah, The God Machine is THAT fucking good. It totally encapsulated me with the charging fury of the unique Teutonic power metal machine, in a way that hadn't really happened for me since the 90s. Now, mind you, I like EVERY album that the band has ever produced, and there's nothing necessarily novel about this one if you've heard the rest, but it just kicked my ass over and over again and I felt a magic to the musicianship that might have been in slightly shorter supply on A Twist in the Myth, At the Edge of Time and Beyond the Red Mirror. The amazing Peter Mohrbacher artwork seemed to hint that there's a song here based on possibly kaiju or Evangelion or something, and even though that doesn't seem to the be the case, there are plenty of subjects here to nerd out about...Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive gets a tune. Great series. The Witcher novels. Good stuff! Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Fantastic. The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss...well, that one started out pretty good until it devolved into the author's self-insert fantasies about shagging a fairy queen and a village of hot ninjas.

But I digress. It's all here...André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen's riffs are more inspired than they have been in forever, and what's more, they've's got a great, heavy tone on the rhythm tracks that really drives it all home, while you still get a lot of those popping, squealing little processed melodies, they just blend in better with the overall force of the production. Frederik's drumming is also fire, he's definitely one of those modern power metal drummers who can bring to bear the muscle of extreme metal, but also helps fill in all the gaps. Hansi doesn't sound he's aged a single day since the 90s, his throat still delivers that grittier personality which sounds like absolutely nobody else in his field. The leads are intense, the Queen-like choruses are as involved in their arrangement as you've always loved (another of their distinct features), and this is a 51 one minute album across which I skip absolutely nothing. All nine tracks have something to offer, whether it's the lyrical approach to their varied subjects, or the hooks around every corner, the tasty riffs waiting in the depths, or the freakout leads that catapult its magnificence into the stratosphere.

Even the slow jam, "Let It Be No More", which only gets heavy for a few seconds, is engrossing, with the scintillating acoustic guitars, backing vocals and a little of the orchestration left over from Hansi's total 2019 nerdfest Legacy of the Dark Lands. It's all as well-plotted as any of their previous albums, and Charlie Bauerfeind and company make sure to make this sound like one of the slickest power metal recordings this side of the millennium shift. This thing just explodes out of my car speakers, my PC speakers, my tinny little iPhone, and the surge of energy in "Blood of the Elves", "Deliver us From Evil", and "Damnation" takes complete control of me. The God Machine is not the most progressive of their albums, and it might not be the most ambitious either, but in 2022 when I heard this, it was exactly what I needed, and dozens of spins later I am proud to say it's become one of my favorites in the band's catalogue along with Imaginations and Nightfall in Middle-Earth. Worth being late for work, even, but just make sure you've got an alternate excuse when your boss listens to Taylor Swift and 90s butt rock and doesn't know the Guardian.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10]

https://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - Imaginations from the Other Side Live (2020)

Blind Guardian already has at least three live offerings that I can remember, all being good; 2003's Live probably remaining my favorite of them, but none of them a disappointment, and one of them, Live Beyond the Spheres being quite elaborate in all the history it covers from their discography. So I don't think the market was really chomping at the bit for another, but this is quite a popular band, so this and many more are inevitable. Also, this one has the distinction of being one of those 'played in full' performances, all the rage in recent years, though they've been around for decades. It's recorded in Germany, the band's home turf, and it's Imaginations from the Other Side, my second favorite Blind Guardian album. I'd have loved to see this myself, but I'm happy to settle with this just to hear what I was missing out on...

It's the whole shebang, all nine tracks, played in the order they appear on the studio version, sounding heavy and driven and pretty damn good, though there are a few nuances missing on the stage. For example, the volumes are often a little lopsided, with the rhythm guitar being pretty weak against the drums, vocals, effects, and leads, but it's still something you can make out well enough to support the songs and keep them thundering along. There's a hovering din of audience noise, and the effects like bells and such are amplified here, giving the whole affair a more vaulted effect than the more direct, balanced production of the original. Hansi does sound quite good, getting pretty aggressive and almost turning to extreme metal vocals in a few places, while the backing shouts also sound pretty energized. You'll also get your singalong moments that every Blind Guardian show needs as it goes dweeby, especially here with "A Past and Future Secret", and you can just hear all the lighters popping off (actually I have no idea if they allow for this in Germany but you get what I'm saying).

Hearing favorites like "The Script for My Requiem", "Another Holy War", "Born in a Mourning Hall" and especially the title track and "Bright Eyes", is all I really need to get put in a good mood, because I love this fucking band and that's not about to change even with a subpar live offering. Which this isn't, but I think of the four, if I were going on balance and quality alone, I might not choose it over the three others I've covered; but then, it's Imaginations from the Other Side, I get goosebumps hearing it, and it features a couple tunes that you're obviously not going to hear on all their live tours. Everything sounds adequate, as processed as you'd expect from their modern era, I just think such powerful songs need some more powerful rhythm guitars, but then in my head I already know how these tunes sprawl out so I was able to fill in some of those gaps inwardly. If you haven't heard this stuff, obviously get the studio disc immediately and study it meticulously, but this also isn't a bad introduction to how one of their shows just charges you up, although I've only seen them once in person. Thumbs, and lighters, up.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra - Legacy of the Dark Lands (2019)

Legacy of the Dark Lands is a vanity project, perhaps misbranded under the Blind Guardian moniker, in which Hansi Kursch gets his fantasy nerdery on in an even more hardcore manner than he ever did with his mainstay. Granted, there's a pretty huge crossover audience for this stuff, with lots of Blind Guardian tunes devoted to various fictional universes, some of which probably brought new fans over to the band and to the power metal genre in general, so it's not all that unusual to tie this in with the band. There's also some orchestration involved with some of their heavier albums, but nowhere near this level of overt, pompous cheese. Hansi drafts up the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, who seem to appear on a lot of metal or metal adjacent works, and a whole slew of guest vocalists to join him in exploring his epic fantasy milieu, his 'Twilight Orchestra'. It even features narration!

Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings this is not, but more of a serious if a bit generic fantasy saga like you'd find on a string of Rhapsody of Fire albums. It's certainly not intentionally stupid or silly, and there's a dark tone to the 24 tracks and 75 minutes, which range from intros and interludes, with the narrators telling the tale, to epic symphonic tracks in which Hansi flexes his pipes against the choir. If you enjoy opera or glorious Wagnerian compositions, these will probably have some appeal for you, between the calmer and whimsical flights and the sweltering belligerence. Despite the vocal presence, Kursch really lets the symphony itself shine, and they get in a lot of time and for my dollar many of the better moments on the album like "War Feeds War" and "In the Red Dwarf's Tower", the title of which does make me crack up, as much as I love the vertically stunted fantasy race in a number of IPs. The tunes have wonder, they have magnificence, they have conflict, and if you find some of the narration and chorus parts to be too dweeby or cringeworthy, you can always put on the instrumental side, which would be a far better accompaniment for your night of fiddling with your...Baldur's Gate 3, or as a soundtrack to your D&D session.

You MIGHT even hear a little of the reflection in how Hansi contributes to the Blind Guardian writing process, because there are more than a few points where I'm just imagining one of Olbrich's charging, squealing, processed guitar lines ringing out, and I was a little surprised that the tunes weren't more metalized, or that a version like that wasn't included on an extra disc. Some of the instruments and key tones (like in "Point of No Return") even feel like they might have appeared on A Twist in the Myth or something. There are also versions of this without the interludes, or an 'audio book' approach which I'm assuming must have more of the narration at the forefront with the music taking on a backing role. The production is pretty nice, and it's all pretty pro...the conductor is obviously great, as are most of the guest roles, a few of which are metal guys used to these sorts of massive projects. Does the music stir me as much as proper fantasy soundtrack? No, and it's not something I get absorbed into as much as Blind Guardian proper, but it's clearly a labor of love for Hansi and I don't mind an occasional spin.

Let's put it this way, if your inroads was "Sacred Worlds" and you dug the Sacred tie-in but thought the metal stuff was too heavy, this has your name written all over it. Otherwise, if you're a metalhead, just know what this is, and if you're not into the same sort of epic fantasy fiction and the hilarious pretentiousness of the whole thing, it's probably one to avoid at all cost.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - Live Beyond the Spheres (2017)

I had already heaped quite a lot of praise upon Blind Guardian's 2003 Live double-album, and experienced the band's performance for myself enough to know that I didn't really require another live product from their camp. But Live Beyond the Spheres, culled from a long stretch of European gigs in 2015, is yet another impressive feat in this arena, spanning three discs and close to three hours of material both obvious and less so. It also prompts me to ask the question: are these sorts of 'compilation' live discs 'cheats'? Is it swaying the odds in such an album's favor if it's simply preened from a bunch of gigs, where you know the band have only really been 'on' for a handful of tracks? I realize that's unlikely in the case of these beloved Germans, who rarely half-ass anything, and I also realize I've responded both positively and negatively to such efforts in the past, because ultimately I think the final product and how it sounds coming from your speakers is ultimately the measure of its value. But it still seems less impressive than it might have if the band pulled it off on a single night.

Otherwise, Live Beyond the Spheres is another gem in the band's crown, a large amount of material which successfully captures the magic of their instrumentation, songwriting and in general the fun factor that their music inspires in their audiences. That's not to say Blind Guardian clown around, the themes in their music tend to the serious, but head out to one of their gigs and you're very likely to see thousands of folks singing along to almost every word through most of the sets. And I feel that warmth and community oozing through every pore of these selections, which have been chosen to represent a wide range of the band's discography, with newer pieces like "The Ninth Wave" and "Twilight of the Gods" bumping uglies with classics like "Valhalla", "Mirror Mirror" and "Bright Eyes". The guitars, drums and vocals all sound great here, with Hansi clearly at the forefront, domineering the performance and complemented with Olbrich's perky, popping and intricate melodies, just the right amount of crowd response in between tunes, and a good variety of material that ranges from the more frenetic and technically impressive to the good old, simpler sing-a-long.

The mix is so balanced that you won't really pick out incongruities between songs performed at different shows. I did notice a slight lack in energy between the tunes from the latest album at the time, Beyond the Red Mirror, and their predecessors, even as recent as "Tanelorn" from At the Edge of Time, but this is more the substance of the compositions themselves than any laziness on the band's part...the material is simply not as distinct or explosive as that found on earlier albums. There's also the problem of how you approach the listening experience...do you really want to sit back in your recliner and listen to three entire discs of Blind Guardian live? There are worse things you could be doing, surely, like the taxes or inflating your sex dolls...strike that, you can do some of these things simultaneously with this album, and it's no less depressing...but the point stands that it's a lot to take in, and I'm not sure that breaking it up into little chunks serves the purpose of the release. I guess if you just want to hear your favorite band perform favorite songs that sound pristine despite the little imperfections and flaws that mar nearly any live performance, and you're waiting for more original material, of you've never gotten to see them for yourself, then this works pretty well. Not as taken with it as I was their prior live album, but there's no debating that they deliver.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - Beyond the Red Mirror (2015)

Beyond the Red Mirror is one of those albums of which the first track is not necessarily representative of the work as a whole. This has never been a band alien to the concept of orchestration or other mild experimentation on their classic power/speed metal formula, but even as someone open to such practices, I was a little thrown off when I heard the first tune. "The Ninth Wave", a bloated piece led off by choirs affixed with electronic percussion and more vocal arrangements bouncing to and fro than some weird Gospel setup accompanying a shitty rap act at a Superbowl halftime show, I was immediately inundated with 'future sickness'. Did the beloved Blind Guardian finally jump its shark and record a concept album about Buck Rogers in the Disco Century? Or did they succumb to the bland 'go big or go home' fever that they partially helped invent, which has infected all manner of hack European Gothic/power metal hybrids with female vocalists and lavish stage productions with all the substance of Disney's Frozen?

I find the first few minutes of this record slightly obnoxious, if only because they seem to have put all this effort into layering these disparate elements into a unified whole but along the way forgot to make it catchy. Thankfully, as soon as the digital dust clears, and the band remember that they can sound like they're scoring a large budget German computer RPG by just being themselves and not TRYING to sound that way, Beyond the Red Mirror is actually a pretty damned solid outing which embodies much of what the band represented over the last 25 years, albeit with that slightly more fulfilling stereo production which supplants a little of that processed, heavily layered tone which they have been gradually distancing themselves from since that 1992-2002 creative pinnacle. Don't get me wrong, Olbrich's rhythm guitars still pop a lot here, and he's not bringing many new tricks to the kennel, but everything about this album sounds much 'richer' than the last few, immersive and fully modernized to the detriment of only those fans who wish they still sounded like Follow the Blind or Somewhere Far Beyond...only, they kind of do. Behind the sweltering studio facade, the Germans still beat with the dorky power metal heart that has pumped from the start, with a substantial selection of those flighty, simmering speed metal licks that put them on the map.

Apart from the intro, the orchestral arrangements through the album actually do it justice. Strings and other instrumentation used to great effect in "At the Edge of the Time", which evolves into a pure triumph that wouldn't have felt out of place on Nightfall in Middle-Earth or A Night at the Opera, only with far more bombastic horns leading the charge of the palm muted, constantly shifting rhythm guitar patterns; not the fastest Blind Guardian material, but quite complex in how they structured that all out, constantly attempting to one-up their inspirations Queen if not quite succeeding when it comes to the raw ability to deliver an unforgettable melody or chorus. "The Throne" is another great implementation, which almost has a spy-like aesthetic that felt like they were writing some metal for a future installment of the James Bond franchise. "Miracle Machine", a non-metal tune, is probably the closest they come to Queen or Journey with all those pianos and vocal arrangements, but I don't find it essential whatsoever (would have been a better bonus track/B-side). That said, the entire album has this enormous, worldly sense of momentum which is felt in both the neoclassical harmonies gleaming from within the meaty, punching rhythms and the occasional flare for a more exotic, Eastern note progression. Hansi is as always the central focus of the band, but while he delivers as always, it's Olbrich and Siepen who seem to be having the best time, and it's their frolicking little nuances in tracks like "Sacred Mind" that make, rather than break, the album.

I would like a Blind Guardian record with better bass guitars. Most of Barend Courbois' lines (on loan from Vengeance) are scantly noticeable, and this is a region in which the band has long suffered from a deficit that would better support all those booming symphonic swells, eclectic riffs and leads. I notice the instrument is there once in awhile, but it becomes too easy to forget about amidst the constant piling on of dramatic orchestration and Hansi reaching for the vaulted ceilings of whatever cathedral he imagines himself singing in when he records one of these things. Frederik Ehmke, on the other hand, manages all of the band's vivid eccentricities with firm planning, loads of potent fills and a lot of attention paid across his entire kit. The choirs, strings and other instruments thrown in here all sound high end, though they don't always consistently add much beyond breadth to the riffing. It's a vast, airy, state of the art record, which is going to titillate the modern metal audience while further alienating those who covet their copies of Tales from a Twilight World and cringe at change, which let's face it, already happened a very long time ago once the band decided to put out a concept album about The Silmarillion.

I flounder about in both camps, really, but considering this band even wrote a song about Peter Pan that could find emotional resonance with me, I have no aversion to the scope of what they were trying to accomplish here. With the caveat that the intro and "Miracle Machine" are things I could very easily skip, I find that the guitar work and the song arrangements here are marginally better than the last full-length. Is it on par with that decade of excellence now removed by another 13 years? Not on your life, but it's aspiring, dramatic. Far more functional than it isn't. Pompous. Elegant. As goofy as ever. Still Blind Guardian, still plucking at the heartstrings of men. Halflings. And elves. And that hot chick at the LARP. You know the one.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (Gods will come and gods will go)

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - Memories of a Time to Come (2012)

Interestingly enough, Blind Guardian has only smacked us once in the past with a compilation, and that was The Forgotten Tales in 1996, a gathering of odds, ends, covers and alternate versions that were previously only available on import singles and such. In fact, that collection was itself not domestically released at the time and I had to import it, but at least I was satisfied that I did not own much of the content. Well, that time has rolled around again, and once more the German power metal legends have satisfied this critic in that they show some due concern for their fans receiving a degree of value from what might have otherwise been a worthless repressing and reconfiguring of tracks to cash in on redundantly on their considerable, prior success.

No, most of the tracks here have at least been 'remixed'. Brightened and adjusted to meet the sleeker, 'modern' visage that Middle Earth's most lovable bards have presented on their latest studio full length At the Edge of Time. There's not a massive difference, in my opinion, and I doubt I'd ever spin this collection over the original incarnations, but the vocals in cuts like "This Will Never End" and "Imaginations from the Other Side" sound slightly more fulfilling in their presence, and the mix of the guitars less squeaky and distraught, a factor that was fortunately never enough to entirely curb my enjoyment of the albums in the first place. In other places, though, like "Follow the Blind" the vocals seem a bit wavier in quality, so to hear them so much more to the fore is not necessarily a positive thing. But at least Blind Guardian managed to add SOMETHING to the tracks, so for better or worse, they're not precisely the same.

The problem is that they've pulled off a bit of a 'dick move' reminiscent of Iced Earth's Days of Purgatory collection, where there were different versions available with varying degrees of content. Personally, I'm not fond of this practice, here or in video games or DVD sets or really anywhere. My opposition is not from a pure capitalist standpoint; clearly an individual can discern what he or she is purchasing in advance and make the choice to buy the better product. It just seems arbitrary and wasteful not to give all your fans the same amount of content, or to even waste whatever raw materials are essential to bother printing up separate products when it might save a whole lot of time and effort just to give everyone the full monty. For Memories of a Time to Come, this comes in the form of a third disc incorporated to the 'deluxe super special magnificent elite wonderful' edition, which features 70 additional minutes of content over 15 fucking tracks. Consider that Discs 1 and 2 are only around 51 minutes each, and then realize just how much you'll be screwed if you don't buy the deluxe version...

Obviously, I recommend that anyone who is actually interested in this would buy the fuller, more expensive and expansive version, because who knows if they'll just cave in and make it all available in some later pressing, and there's just so much more bulk to it. Great tracks like "Time What is Time", "A Past and Future Secret", "Lost in the Twilight Hall" and "The Script for My Requiem" are compiled there plus a few rarities like "Brian" from their 1989 live/demo promotional release, or "Dead of the Night" and "Lucifer's Heritage" from their Symphonies of Doom demo when they were actually called Lucifer's Heritage. In fact, that whole demo is here on the extra disc and it's been tweaked. But then, I don't really care for any of those particular cuts, they showcase a much rawer band in which Hansi has only the slightest trace of ability that he would later adapt into renown. The few tracks that Blind Guardian decided to fully re-record for this release were quite surprising. There's a good, heavy version of "The Bard's Song" which I love a lot more than the wimpier, acoustic versions that have long numbered as some of my least favorite content in their whole catalog. Ditto for "And Then There Was Silence".

Does Memories of a Time to Come justify the 30 beans (US) that you'll likely drop for it? That really depends if you have a huge problem with the production of their earlier records. It's not as you're getting a full remix of their discography, but the mix of oldies and from their early speed power metal years and somewhat more recent fare is interesting. A lot of favorites have been omitted like "Journey Through the Dark" and "Time Stands Still (at the Iron Hill)", and I just don't see myself desiring this experience when I could just listen to the originals and experience the full breadth of Somewhere Far Beyond, Nightfall in Middle-Earth, etc. This is a lovely package with a great looking cover, and I do appreciate the fully re-recorded versions, but it just depends how much money you wanna throw at the Germans, and how much you really need to hear the same songs with edited production. If you DO get it, though, don't waste your money on the normal two-disc version, or you'll just regret it.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10]

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time (2010)

Once more, a period of massive anticipation subsides for the latest effort from Germany's most visible metal export and one of power metal's royalty, and the product rolls out into hobbit holes, LARPs and out across gaming grids the world-wide. Another cycle of interesting literary subjects has been gathered for discussion, and the band have kept their fans in on the recording process, samples, and probably even the dietary supplements when recording their 9th full-length effort, At the Edge of Time. The band is so transparent and builds hype so well for each new release that I'm surprised we haven't been forced to suffer through a Hansi Kursch reality TV show in the months before each new release.

Judging from the single teaser, "A Voice in the Dark", my expectations were not sky high for this effort, as the two songs there felt like simply more of the same that the band had been rattling out forever, only lacking that certain explosive, memorable ingredient they'd perfected though the 90s in their rise to power. But the samples on their site held out some hope, and now that I've gotten to tear through the album a number of times, I can honestly say that the remainder of this material makes up for the few, forgettable pieces. It was probably foremost on the fans' mind whether or not Blind Guardian would be pushing to an even more poppy level than they did with their previous A Twist in the Myth, or regressing to their far more inspirational past, and I would offer that this represents a mix of these directions. There are no outright, cutesy rockers like "Another Stranger Me" or "Fly" (which were not bad), but several segments that feel close enough; and the straight speed metal raving doffed throughout this album recall the days of Somewhere Far Beyond and Imaginations from the Other Side, with a studio gloss every bit as modern and layered as their former 21st century arrangements.

It's off to a damn fine start with the symphonic suite that heralds "Sacred Worlds", which is an extended version of the song "Sacred" that was used in the computer game Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. In all, this rendition is over 9 minutes in length, but the orchestration truly helps flesh out the track, and if you can wipe your mind of goblins and trolls dancing and head banging to a computer generated cast of Hansi and crew, you are subjected to a reasonable measure of emotional power. "Tanelorn (Into the Void)" returns to the world of Michael Moorcock's Elric saga, a sequel or sorts to "The Quest for Tanelorn" from Somewhere Far Beyond, both lyrically and stylistically, for this is sheer speed/power metal with some excellent vocal arrangements that don't ignore the Queen-like rapport the band had developed in the past decade or so. "Road of No Release" centers on a Peter S. Beagle story, who you might know better as the author of The Last Unicorn. It's one of the most proggish pieces on the album, and could have easily appeared on the previous record, but not the most enticing here, despite a quality burning lead segment with some vocals cascading across it.

Next, "Ride Into Obsession" explodes into the realm of Robert Jordan's haughty and far too worded Wheel of Time saga, doing great justice to the meandering narrative, with a fairly catchy chorus sequence and a nice lead sequence as payoff to the storming aggression that the band have once again found themselves attached to. "Curse My Name" is another of the band's 'bard-like' pieces', slowly developing and steeped in flutes and windy, soaring background vocals. Like many similar tracks throughout the band's career, this would normally represent a sappy and unnecessary lull from their true strength (the metal), but the percussive climaxes here at least give something for the ears to latch upon. "Valkyries" might tease itself as yet another ballad, but soon matures into a multi-tiered, melodic prog piece that was one of my favorites on the album, a fitting enough tribute to the mythological, beautiful entities. Like "Curse My Name", "Control Divine" is based on John Milton, but this time his famous Paradise Lost. The various shifts in tempo and surges of melody do well to capture the desperation of the epic poem, but one wonders if this subject would have been served better by one of Blind Guardian's 8+ minute compositions instead of stuck into a shorter length.

We've already heard the next pair of songs from the single leading up to this album. Both "War of the Thrones" and "A Voice in the Dark" represent George R.R. Martin's sprawling, unfinished political fantasy epic A Song of Ice and Fire. The former is a calmly thriving ballad that blows into some soothing, sailing vocal passages, and I feel like the version presented here is superior to that of the single. "A Voice in the Dark" is probably the least interesting of the metal tunes here, with really only one catchy bit in the bridge riff. It conjures up Somewhere Far Beyond in style, but not execution. "Wheel of Time" revisits the Robert Jordan novels, a nearly 9 minute piece with plenty of savage orchestration and glistening melody to resonate through a long series of listens. This has some of the best individual licks on the record, so its almost a shame its tucked into the finale, but then, like any good stage performance, its indeed climactic.

At the Edge of Time is overall a pretty good record, though far from the best the band have produced in their 20+ years of existence. The musicianship is stunning, Hansi's vocals still honed and sharp, and the writing good enough to support longer and shorter tracks. Not everything here is gold. There were moments in "War of the Thrones", "Road of No Release" and "Curse My Name" in which I felt I was nodding off, and "A Voice in the Dark" is simply average at best, but you've still got about 45 minutes minimum of excellent writing that will hook onto your psyche and have you back, feeding for more until the inevitable follow-up. I truly believe that if the band is going to devote chunks of the album to specific writers or fantasy series, that perhaps the Germans should strive for another pure concept album like their finest, Nightfall in Middle-Earth. It just seems clunky to my mind having pairs of songs devoted to George R.R. Martin or Robert Jordan, it'd be nice for them to go all out. By this point I don't feel the band have much ground to cover musically. Everything here is old hat, a classy retread of former works, with perhaps the exception of clearer orchestration, so a singular lyrical focus is one area in which they might keep us enthralled for another decade or beyond.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (it is more than a game)

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - A Voice in the Dark CDS (2010)

Once again, we stand on the precipice of a new full-length Blind Guardian release, and once again, the band and their following are hyping this up through the roof. Whether this is deserved due to the band's veteran status and financial success, or the rabid 'Beatles for nerds' obsession, I can only guess, but one would think the fans would not have such high expectations after the previous effort, A Twist in the Myth. While a good enough album, it was certainly the weakest they've put out to date, with some fruity lyrics and inconsistent writing quality. The 'lead-off' single is nothing new to the German mainstay, and A Voice in the Dark comes conveniently to fuel the fan reaction and perhaps ensure some additional sales of the full-length.

It's fortunate that we have had access to clips of all the album tracks from the band's official website, because I've heard some promising snippets in various tunes. What's not fortunate is that none of those tunes are here on this single, so putting their best foot forward here is really out of the question. This contains both of the album songs centered on George R.R. Martin's fantasy epic A Song of Ice and Fire, and another of the band's unceasing parade of cover songs. From a production standpoint, the tracks are flush and clean, and though highly processed as per the last few albums, they feel a little glossier and more coherent, and I daresay the title track is a little heavier, returning to the Imaginations from the Other Side era and before.

"A Voice in the Dark" focuses on the tragic character of Bran Stark from the Martin novels, and this is a pretty interesting idea. The riffs are aggressively thrashing speed like old school Blind Guardian, but sadly they're just not very memorable, with the one exception of the uplifting sequence first arriving around 1:20. The multi-vocal tracking is fairly tight, the musicianship competence, including a thundering volley from Frederik Ehmke, but it's hardly as emotionally inspiring as a "Bright Eyes", "Time Stands Still" or "Journey Through the Dark". The other original is an acoustic version of "War of the Thrones", which is a fairly typical Blind Guardian ballad with somber guitars, soaring and soothing vocals, and as much orchestration as can be packed in. A few of the escalating vocal segments are satisfactory, but the actual gist of the piece feels rather samey, as if the band has been down this road before and there's not a lot of distinct qualities.

The cover track is an interesting choice, and though I didn't care for it, it seems to suit Blind Guardian's style fairly well. It's a pop song called "You're the Voice", which I assume is supposed to fit in here due to its similar title to the single track. Although I've been a fan of Australian pop for decades now, fawning over such cheesy and disposable, but catchy artists as Wa Wa Nee or Pseudo Echo, I've never cared for the Johnny Farnham original. The guy could sing, and Hansi does a fairly predictable interpretation of his chorus here, but I simply never found the notes or melodies all that interesting, nor the all too typical 80s anti-war hippie lyrics. Thus, though curious to behold how the band converts the cover straight into the power metal format, its pretty fruity and I felt no compulsion to play it repeatedly.

Probably the real sinker to this single is that almost ALL of the material here is available with the limited edition of the full-length, including an edit of the cover song. The one exception is the 'acoustic' version of "War of the Thrones", which is probably not as good as the album cut anyways. So unless you like flushing your cash down the toilet of Hansi and the boys' pants' pockets, or you absolutely must be the first dork on your block to own the new Blind Guardian single and be that much less likely to get laid, you should save your purse for the full-length, since some of the other tracks are vastly more intriguing than these. I'm all for George R.R. Martin metal. I've read the books for many years, and eagerly anticipate the TV version. It's the right time to strike lyric-wise into this territory, but the songs are not that great otherwise, and there is little else of value to this single except maybe the unique cover art.

Verdict: Fail [3.5/10]

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - Another Stranger Me EP (2007)

Another Stranger Me is the 2nd and final single for A Twist in the Myth, with an extended EP release format, featuring 5 musical tracks plus the video for "Another Stranger Me", which was honestly not that bad, taking the Dark Tower-based lyrics of the song and instead setting up a detective character with a split personality disorder (a film noir Jeckyl & Hyde). As for the value of this single, that is debatable. There is more material here than the average offering of its type from this band, but only 1-2 of the tracks are actually worth seeking out. It seems to be another case of wanting to slap together some fancy cover art with the Blind Guardian logo and eke out a little profit.

"Another Stranger Me" is a good song, an obvious choice for a single due to its infectious hooks and big band rocking attitude, but it has not changed here from the album it was originally released on, so scratch the first 4:35 of value from this release. "All the King's Horses" was originally included as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the full-length, a simmering and tranquil piece which deals in the folklore of Taliesin and the Holy Grail. This is a relaxing enough track, but I can certainly hear why it wasn't good enough to include on the domestic version of the album, there just isn't much to it aside from the balladry of the atmosphere. For "Dream a Little Dream of Me", Blind Guardian reach back into the past for another cover which smacks of the commitment they once had to a "Barbara Ann" or "Enter Sandman". However, I actually do like this cover, the way they transform the standard into an often plodding but satisfying rhythm. Of course, it's already been covered on scores of recordings by artists all across the musical spectrum, and not quite as good as when Blind Guardian clutches on to a classic track like their great covers of Satan and Demon.

The remainder of the EP consists of two demo versions of album tracks "Lionheart" and "The Edge", neither of which really comes close to the final cut, and therefore they do not hold much interest, since I would never exclaim "OH MY GOD. I need to hear the demo version of LIONHEART! So much better than everything else the band has ever recorded! I am glad I spent money on this, indeed!" Another Stranger Me has an inherent value somewhat greater than prior singles from this band, but the cover is the only thing I could give a shit for, and even that leaves a little to be desired.

In short, don't waste your money on this. Download "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and maybe the Japanese bonus track. Then forgive and forget. Or better yet, forget, but DON'T forgive, and don't pander the cash to any more of these Blind Guardian singles. Then maybe they'll stop wasting the plastic to package them.

Verdict: Fail [3.5/10] (cold and sore)

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - A Twist in the Myth (2006)

There aren't too many bands out there, especially in the power metal field, who can hold together a fanbase so deep into their career, yet by 2006, Blind Guardian were on the verge of releasing their 8th album and continuing to broaden their own. A Twist in the Myth seems a natural progression from A Night at the Opera, with a huger, even more processed feel to its digital sound, a slew of catchy new tunes, and a fresh young drummer in Frederik Ehmke (not that I'm inferring that Thomas Stauch was 'stale' by this point). Though it retains the heaviness of the past few albums, there is a certain element of accessibility which has crawled into their sound for this release...of all their albums, the songs here might be the friendliest for radio play and it only make sense that with age there comes a toning down of prior excess.

Speaking of which, the album is simply shorter than the last two, running at about 51 minutes for 11 tracks. Of these, there are around 6-7 brazen offerings which remind me of precisely why I love this band. The rest I could live without. Blind Guardian are still delving into interesting works of folklore and fantasy/science fiction lyrics, and there were a few surprises here which I would never have expected, as I've found the band almost always focused on more popular sources in the past.

"This Will Never End" is an extremly strong start to the festivities, a powerful and soaring track with a hint of menace that subtly underlies its chorus. Upon hearing this song, I was quite ready to have my socks blown off by A Twist in the Myth. Tasteful thrashing/speed metal licks wound into tightly strung melodies in the verse, and a chorus that climbs mountains in a breath. Based on the Walter Moers novel A Wild Ride Through the Night, it recounts the story of Gustave Doré, the boy who would cheat death or die trying. "Otherland" shocked the fuck out of me, as it is based on the science fiction series Otherland by the great writer Tad Williams (his fantasy saga Memory, Sorrow and Thorn would make for a great Blind Guardian album all by itself, but this sci-fi/virtual reality epic is also quite engaging until the sadly lacking finale). No surprise then that this is another good tune, carefully building its epic landscape like the elite fellowship of megalomaniacs of the novels who secure themselves away as lords of their virtual domains. I can't point out a specific 'payoff', but the whole track is engaging.

"Turn the Page" is a tribute to nature magic and the passing of seasons, and I didn't get much out of it save for the chorus and some of the glistening lead breaks. There is a folkish frolic about the tune which is certainly consistent with much of Blind Guardian's history, but I was simply not caught in its snare. "Fly" follows, the first single from the album, inspired by the film Finding Neverland, but balances the gaiety of Tinkerbell and Peter Pan with a solid, rocking anthem with an emotional build-up and climactic chorus capable of drawing a tear from even the most hardened enemy of the fairy tale. Possibly the best chorus of this entire album. "Carry the Blessed Home" is the first of three tracks on the album to deal with Steven King's Dark Tower series of novels, the saga of Roland the Gunslinger. It moves like a river through its Queen-inspired gang rock verses and a chorus dowsed in synthesized pipes, but I did not fall deeply for its charms.

Pale faced the innocent
Will drown in blood
Hurt and withdrawn
Don't dare to steal my grief
In this haze of green and gold

From the lyrics (to a lesser extent) video, I've always privately held that "Another Stranger Me" should be Blind Guardian's penultimate tribute to Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, but it's set against another Dark Tower story, The Drawing of the Three, based on the entertaining and flawed Odetta/Detta character. It's easy to understand why this was chosen as a single for the album, it's extremely catchy and rock & roll with a huge guitar melody, swaggering horns and a great chorus. The verse is quite seductive, though the payoff is about as subtle as a brick across the jaw. "Straight Through the Mirrors" features strong guitar melodies and a strong chorus, a song which lyrically lauds the importance of dreams to the waking conscience. "Lionheart" has an opening reminiscent of "Precious Jerusalem" from the previous album, percussive as it slowly drives into its soothing, memorable chorus at :45 which again features a huge rock rhythmic base. The solos here are flighty and wild, with a mystique that stretches above the pumping rhythm guitar chords, and it's the third track based in King's Dark Tower series.

Next come the "Skalds and Shadows", a ballad in the tradition of "The Bard's Song - In the Forest" or "A Past and Future Secret". The version here is fuller than the simpler acoustic found on the Fly CDS developing more power through its orchestration. But aside from the shanty-like acoustic guitar and references to the Norns, I found it little more than a curiosity. "The Edge" gives its chugging some room to breathe across a backdrop of brooding horn synths and scintillating electronics, a pretty intense tribute to St. Paul and his interactions with Jesus, and though it's not a favorite for the album, it's probably one of the more interesting constructions due to its seemingly bizarre of archaic subject matter and modern crushing power. "The New Order" is the final track of the normal release, but despite another big Queen vocal bridge and a grooving riff reminiscent of Sabbath, it's just not that memorable.

Your soul's like water but
Your fate is like the wind

There are various bonus tracks one will find on different international releases of the album. My copy has "Dead Sound of Misery", which is essentially an alternate take on the "Fly" single, dealing with a far more interesting subject, the Whore of Babylon. I can't recommend the music over the normal version, it simply isn't presented in such a catchy manner, but if only they could have used these lyrics in place of Peter Pan...

A Twist in the Myth certainly benefits from a large budget Charlie Bauerfeind sound which is the result of many careful pickings over, undoubtedly a huge plus for many younger listeners accustomed to the modern radio they grew up with, but it had me longing for the old days and the sounds of Somewhere Far Beyond and the crispness of Follow the Blind. Still, the songs are the bottom line on any album, and A Twist in the Myth has a handful of winners that I'd include among any extended collection of essential listens. It may be my least favorite from Blind Guardian, but it's still Blind Guardian, and considering the quality control assurance this band maintains, I doubt we'll ever be hearing anything void entirely of mirth and merit.

Highlights: This Will Never End, Otherland, Fly, Another Stranger Me

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (come turn the wheel)

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - Fly CDS (2006)

Fly is another of Blind Guardian's many singles, dropped far in advance of the release of its corresponding LP (A Twist in the Myth), and perhaps wisely, as it was the first real buzz about the band since their Live album and Through the Looking Glass DVD, the first new material in years. While the album was not due until September of 2006, this single came out in February, so the fans were left to simmer in its glories for a little over six months, though other teasers were offered online before the fateful full-length. Like most CD singles, Fly features both album and non-album material, three tracks in total in under 13 minutes.

"Fly" is one of the catchier songs from A Twist in the Myth, a tribute to Peter Pan. Granted, this is based more on the film Finding Neverland and it's message of believing in one's abilities; but still, something about the thought of Pete's tights and Tinkerbell in the hands of a German power metal band has my heart bursting with awkward, nervous laughter. The song itself is quite good, carefully developing its momentum with an inspirational chorus that more than honors its source material, and if you can close your eyes and imagine this track is about something else...anything else, then you'll probably dig it. Though the material doesn't fall far from A Night at the Opera, you can already hear hints at an even more accessible Blind Guardian, with a hard rocking vibe right down the center (which coincidentally would be carried forward to their next single).

The single also contains an acoustic version of "Skalds and Shadows". The album version features a more powerful chorus, but otherwise this doesn't differ greatly. The lyrics here once again feel rather self-referential to the whole bard culture that Blind Guardian propagates, but when someone utters the word 'skald' I simply perk up. The track reminds me a lot of "The Bard's Song (In the Shadows)", which I didn't like, so you can imagine this one runs straight through me like cranberry juice through a kidney. The last track of the three is a cover of Iron Butterfly's "In a Gadda Da Vida", which has already seen a treatment via Slayer and just about every blues or cover rock band across seven continents. I can't say that Blind Guardian's version offers me much to come back for, but at least they transform it into an epic composition that suits their style.

As for the value of the Fly single, there is simply little left now that A Twist in the Myth has been out forever. The Iron Butterfly track is the only reason one might spin this, as the "Skalds and Shadows" version here simply doesn't live up to that of the album.

Verdict: Fail [3/10] (no one ever dares to speak)

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - The Bard's Song (In the Forest ) CDS (2003)

A CD single that begins and ends with perhaps my least favorite Blind Guardian track is not likely to evince much sympathy, especially when it is this much of a fucking ripoff. Yes, The Bard's Song (In the Forest) is nothing more than a studio rehash of the original from 1992's Somewhere Far Beyond, joined with three separate live performances of THE SAME SONG. Add to this a video performance of the same precise track from a Stuttgart live, and the fleecing is complete. This time I can say with honesty that I was not taken by these charlatans; instead my former roommate ordered the CDS and was so pissed off with the contents that he just gave it to me.

Take that!

This new studio version of "The Bard's Song (In the Forest)" is indeed superior to the original, if mainly through the modern production values that are used to flesh out the acoustics, rendering it good and loud across your speakers. The lyrics are still dopey and self-referential, but even I will laud it as the superior version of the song found anywhere. As for the lives, there are only minor differences in the performances which certainly do not warrant their inclusion on the same release. For fuck's sake, can't we just leave this baited obsession to the bootleggers? Sure, the crowd may chant and clap at different volumes, after all it's three different countries (Milano, Madrid and Munich). The crowd actually does quite a lot of the performance, as usual. And "The Bard's Song (In the Forest)" is the point of their set in which the lighters and cheers come out and I go to the bar for another drink. Got a long drive home! As for the video...it's just another live performance.

You would have to be insane, or simply ignorant of the contents of this CDS to own it. If you fancy Hansi and the boys with a Teen Beat-level of passion, then I'm sure I could find this in among your private stash. As I always say, no one is forced at gunpoint to purchase this or anything from Blind Guardian (or any other band), but it's a total waste of product. As a tribute to just how needless this is, I will now take it outside and run it over with the car, before placing the remains in the recycle bin.

Verdict: Epic Fail [1/10] (fick dich!)

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - A Night at the Opera (2002)

In 2002, the world was Blind Guardian's to lose, as they had amassed perhaps the largest following of any German power metal band since pioneers Accept. Their fans were spread far and wide, within the metal scene and beyond into the realms of the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings following, geeks, Renaissance Faire rejects and gamers everywhere. Blind Guardian is one of those few bands that even the fringe metal fan appreciates. I think we all knew that awkward youth, with his hands in his pockets, greased hair and acne that probably would have become a raving Burzum maniac if given half the chance, but just stuck to Blind Guardian, Magic the Gathering and Everquest to be safe. Truth be told, the Germans are one of those bands (alongside Primal Fear and HammerFall) that created a rift through which all manner of fresh young faces appeared, as if power metal (and traditional metal) itself had not already been around for decades beforehand. This is not a 'get off my lawn' statement. No, this is the power of Blind Guardian's theme and music.

But the question brewing on everyone's mind had to be: how do you follow up a effort as brilliant as Nightfall in Middle-Earth? Perhaps the perennial power metal concept album, it left scars on the heart and dreams of an ancient, other world on several generations of fans. Blind Guardian's answer was A Night at the Opera, named for both the classic Marx Brothers film and the 1975 Queen album of the same name, coincidentally a massive influence on this band's love of operatic vocal harmonies, multi tracking anthems and spiritual bombast. I'm surprised more people don't make this connection, even when the Germans have made it only too plain to see, but they had been working wonders within the influence for years. This was the last studio album for drummer Thomas Stauch, who was growing disheartened by the band's direction (on both Nightfall and this album) and decided to break off to form a band that mined the inspiration of the early 90s Blind Guardian sound.

My dreams for another fully realized concept album would not come to fruition here, as A Night at the Opera returned to the band's earlier practice of bandying about several subjects through history, mythology and genre fiction. There's a big influence from archaic literature, in particular the Greeks and the stories of the Bible. Sure, it's not The Silmarillion, or the full-fledged Dragonlance concept album some dorks were crossing their fingers for (to whom B.G. does throw a bone here), but the songs and sources are, as always, interesting and make for wonderful imaginative fuel to the band's writing.

"Precious Jerusalem" christens (haw haw) this album with a blaze of thundering, tribal percussion that weaves into melodic grace as the tweaky little leads flush and flow throughout the ancient architecture of the track's titular holy city. You will immediately notice an even more digitized sound than on the previous two albums, and to a small extent this detracted from my enjoyment, especially with the almost constant whining processed guitar tone overkill on several of the tracks, that left me longing for that earlier, speed and power crunch of the old days. However, the band must have deemed it necessary to create such an intricate lattice of compositional elements, and in all fairness, the songs of this album are still extremely song.

"Battlefield" is one of my favorite tracks on the album, a raging and inspirational piece which touches close to home, as it is based on the tragic German lay the Song of Hildebrandt. This one is beautiful, in particular the amazing chorus which first arrives at around the minute mark and then parts into an epic sequence of vocal hooks and ringing atmospheric guitars which sound worthy of some epic film or television score. "Under the Ice" is another stunner, a mesmerizing vortex of atmospheric speed metal, with a beautiful verse, and emotionally wrenching chorus. This is one of the Greek elements to the album, relating to Cassandra after the Trojan War. "Sadly Sings Destiny" opens with a poppin' hard rock riff, dowsed in the super processed squeal of the modern B.G. guitar tone, and takes a pretty unique view on the crucifixion of Jesus. I do enjoy the slow, steady climb of the track towards its soaring backing vocals, and the bouncy little guitar melodies near the close.

Round the fire everyone should sing
And praise the gracious queen
Round the fire everyone should dance
And we praise the handsome knight

"The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight" is another elegant ode to Blind Guardian's own national past, based on the Wagner opera Tristan und Isolde (itself based on the von Strassburg romance). It's a slow builder, powerful and pretty, though perhaps not as striking as other tracks on the album. Anyway, next time you bring that cute nerdy girl (or boy) to the joust, play this for her/him and it may initiate a joust of an entirely different order. "Wait for an Answer" is actually an original tale written by Hansi, about the friendship of two unlikely woodland creatures in the face of a grave danger on black wings. It's very Watership Down, and a nice touch to the album, especially when the music is this good, almost on par with "Battlefield" and "Under the Ice". "The Soulforged" is a solid tune which builds a dangerous and glorious atmosphere, true to the character on which it relies, that is the twisted, ambitious wizard Raistlin Majere of the Dragonlance novels (in which the ideas are superior to the writing). It's not one of the album's finer moments, but earns its place with a desperation hinged to its constantly wailing melodies, which are like the new bagpipes as they brazenly smack you in the ears, over and over.

My body fails
My soul will (rise)

"Age of False Innocence" is a nice prog-rocking ballad across a smokescreen of moody synthesizers, a tribute to the great astronomer and philosopher Galileo Galilei which erupts into a chugging force and then the expectant melodic storm, graceful enough that you can close your eyes and picture the swarming stars as they converge about Galileo's revolution in thought. The operatic chanting is a nice touch where it appears. Next, Blind Guardian tackles another famous historical figure, Friedrich Nietzsche, and his mental decline, with "Punishment Divine", another of the very best songs on this album, very loyal to the band's raging speed metal roots. Despite the wealth of annoying pop & squeal guitar at some of the tracks' climactic moments, there is a power and mystique which truly honors the philosopher.

Assuming you don't have one of the several lingual versions of "Harvest of Sorrow", the album then closes with "And Then There Was Silence", the 14+ minute epic of the Trojan War drawn from the inspiration of Homer and Virgil. Most had already heard this on the single the year before, but it's a decent balance of powerful moments and playful tragedies, serving as a semi-narrative through the heights and falls of the dreadful war. There are some moments of brilliance within the track, like the early driving mutes around 1:00 or the inevitable, climactic chorus vocals, but I do feel it rambles on a little long.

A Night at the Opera is another excellent Blind Guardian effort, with over an hour of material. The tracks here are longer than most previous albums, in part to make up for the myriad of tiny segues that made up a fraction of Nightfall in Middle-Earth's bulk, and in part to absorb the listener into each of the distinct stories of the album. Though the squealing guitars can grate on my nerves after a spell, it would be foolish to infer that the rest of the album sounds anything less than cosmic, especially when you think how much effort went into all the tracking...I mean literally, the band used 100s of guitar, keyboard and vocal tracks here, so think of it more like an orchestra starring a few of the same musicians (and specific parts) over and over. It's ambitious, and it's successful. Though one might derive from my lesser score that I found this something of a disappointment from the previous two albums, that is not the case. When this album shines, it shines just as brightly as Nightfall in Middle-Earth. But there are simply 2-3 songs here which do not stand out to me as much as the rest. Still, the fascinating subject material of each track and the great overall songwriting should earn it a spot in any metal fan's collection.

Highlights: Battlefield, Under the Ice, Wait for an Answer, The Age of False Innocence, Punishment Divine

Verdict: Win [9/10] (no more pain, and no more gods)

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence CDS (2001)

After a few years of having one's mind blown by the band's 6th album Nightfall in Middle-Earth, the anticipation for its followup was running extremely high, as Blind Guardian were a band that could do no wrong. The single for And Then There Was Silence was released a full 4-5 months before A Night at the Opera, and it's an unusual single as the title track is 14 minutes long. There is no radio edit here, and since I'm accustomed to the advent of the 'single' as a direct vehicle for radio promotion, I'm at a loss to think that anyone outside a devout college radio metal program would have aired this. More likely it's a well planned teaser for fans, giving them 17 minutes of new material far in advance of the full-length.

Was Blind Guardian's ode to the fall of Troy a great idea to get the blood running in the band's legions of fans? More or less. Like any track pushing such a huge length, it requires a lot of patience to digest, and not all of the 14+ minutes here glint with brilliant steel or fresh ideas. But if you enjoyed the Germans' Queen-influenced operatic power metal on the past two albums, surely there are moments of satisfaction, like when the band finally builds to the glorious chorus, the drums rolling along to a march beat and the multi-tracked vocals soaring. Ideally there are 3-4 minutes of fat here that could have been trimmed off without the song losing any emotional impact, but then you'd be left less time to get involved...

Also included on the single is the English version of "Harvest of Sorrow", a gentle ballad with flute and synthesizer that recalls "The Bard's Song" or "A Past and Future Secret". The track is fairly catchy (a leftover from the previous album), and was released in different languages for separate regions, an obvious bone cast to the band's rabid international following. It's a pleasant ballad, almost as smooth as "A Past and Future Secret", but I can see why they'd (initially) reserve it for this single and not the core album. A "Born in a Mourning Hall" multimedia video clip is also included with the single, but as there are other means to see it and it's the same collage of live and backstage footage we've seen already from thousands of other bands, this was not a huge draw for me.

As a preview placed well in front of A Night at the Opera, this was actually not bad for tiding the fans over until they could get their claws around the full-length. I know I bought it. Looking back though, there is simply little reason to purchase it. "And Then There Was Silence" is on the album, and there are multiple versions of "Harvest of Sorrow" available as bonus tracks, depending on which pressing you own. Assuming you don't, then that would be the sole reason to pursue this release.

Verdict: Fail [3.5/10] (the ferryman will wait for you, my dear)

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998)

As you look back over the career of Blind Guardian, it would seem something like Nightfall in Middle-Earth was only inevitable. Taking their well established love for the world of J.R.R. Tolkien to a new height, it stands as one of the best tributes metal has ever mustered for the pinnacle of popular epic fantasy (outside of Summoning, who have a much bleaker outlook that I find most loyal to the writings.) But what's even more impressive is the specific material which the concept album is based upon... The Silmarillion. Hansi Kürsch and company could have taken the easy way out and written a concept album based upon The Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings trilogy itself, yet they instead opted to give musical life to the lesser known tales that created the basis for the setting and events of those more popular novels, stories which only a fraction of the most hardened Lord of the Rings fans have ever had the patience to sit through.

And they do this extremely fucking well...through 65 minutes and 22 tracks of their very best material. Now, before going further, I shall point out that 11 of these tracks are brief segues, intros and narrative pieces used to directly steer the course of the stories and set up the longer tracks. Most are less than a minute in length, and I have read a great many complaints over their presence here. While my initial reaction to these many shorter pieces was mixed, they have aged well alongside the core metal tracks and I now consider them an essential part of the experience, assuming you are listening straight through this album and not just seeking a few classic Blind Guardian tracks to toss onto your iPod playlist. Yes, give it the time and the attention, and Nightfall in Middle-Earth will gel with your imagination 100%. I'm not dismissing the fact that a few of the voices recorded for the narrative can seem corny or contrived, but then, this is Blind Guardian, and they've always been that way (arguably, so was Tolkien).

"War of Wrath" is the longest of the intro/narrative tracks, with the deep tones of Norman Eshley & Douglas Fielding against a warring backdrop before the surging "Into the Storm", a track that endlessly builds its momentum with Hansi's operatic approach to lyrical stories, using his voice in multiple patterns and octaves, with the band's penchant for chorus shouts, all scripted for pragmatic accuracy. This is the first album on which the bass is taken over by Oliver Holzwarth, so Kürsch is given full freedom to transform himself into the Teutonic sonar weapon in totality. You may have also seen me complain about Andre Olbrich's guitar tone on the later Blind Guardian albums (and Imaginations from the Other Side). Well, strangely enough, despite the same processed sound, the tone is absolutely stunning on this album, and I wouldn't have it any other way, as it gives the guitars a vibrancy and pop to stand out among the huge multi-tracked vocals and various instrumentation being used throughout most of the songs.

The stormy "Lammoth" intro sets up the gloom and balladry of "Nightfall", carefully wound into a chorus that feels as sharp as a blade, yet as soothing as breaking into an amusement park late at night and taking a solo ride on the carousel, the horses moving in steady rhythm and your mind reeling in reflection, drowned in the beauty of that stolen moment. "The Minstrel" casts Hansi into his bard-like fantasy briefly before the galloping mystique of "The Curse of Fëanor", sauteed in speed metal rhythms and left to simmer in the juices of an understated chorus that slowly elevates itself above a simple series of arena rock chords. The solos really wail in this track, and I enjoy how they twist into the vocal hooks before 2:00. Next you are "Captured" and whisked into the beauty of "Blood Tears", which strides past you like a river of lights at an Elven mourning rite, a procession of pain and remembrance that cannot stay solemn forever, and thus often rages out with a barely contained ballistic metal force.

And blood tears I cry
Endless grief remained inside
Cut off your old friends hand

"Mirror Mirror" (which was the first single for the album) first arrives at a folkish gait before the thunder breaks and the band charges out of the gate, weaving back towards the opening melody as it creates an escalating storm of melody of flutes and axes both acoustic and electric. "Face the Truth" narrates into "Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)", with a shining acoustic grace soon leveled in a foundation of power chords and haunting but warm, vocal harmonies. Hansi is waxing his versatility here, as the popping acoustic funk of the guitar bridge transforms into a mounted rush into the slick, sultry dooming of the pre-chorus. This is a beautiful track which improves with each listen, until it clings heavily to your heart like the unforgiving snows of a deep winter. "Battle of Sudden Flame" features some beautiful flutes and acoustic strumming as Hansi once more conjures forth his inner troubadour, and then comes the greatest song of this album...

Finally I've found myself
In these lands
Horror and madness I've seen here
For what I became a king of the lost?
Barren and lifeless the land lies

If you've ever dreamed of a truly heartwrenching, power/folk metal epic, "Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)" is that and more. No Renaissance Faire is worthy of this song's traipsing, indispendable glories, as it leers to and from some of the best metal riffing this band has ever committed to disc. The chorus alone is enough to cast me back thousands of years to a world that never was, but all of the dressings here point to perfection, and this is the one song in Blind Guardian's catalogue that has ever come close to unseating "Journey Through the Dark" as a personal favorite. It is stupefyingly, outrageously awesome, and if it doesn't make you break into song immediately...well, you just need to work on that inner geek. That it stands among such high company makes it all that much more impressive, because after the mourning and rain of "The Dark Elf", "Thorn" arrives you exclaim that this record is far from finished. Gorgeous acoustic melodies, calming vocals, and an immortal chorus.

In the silence, it's time to explain
And search for truth in lies
Useful lies
Needless love's damned

"The Eldar" is a moody but sweeping piano piece with some of Hansi's best vocals on the album, an elegy to the ancient race of Tolkien's creation, pulled straight from a broader folklore of Europe. "Nom the Wise" is narrated into the dynamite injection of "When Sorrow Sang", which picks up the pace to that of Blind Guardian's past, searing speed metal with aggressive vocals and a killer mid section with a great little muted rhythm guitar bounce at around 2:00. The brief and beautiful "Out on the Water" and the imminent damnation of "The Steadfast" lead into the album's final, full-blown metal track, "A Dark Passage", a proggish folk metal opus that yet again reminds me of a German Queen long lost to the mythology of the fantasy world they inhabit. "Final Chapter (Thus Ends...)" is the last narrative bit, and to be honest the one segue on this album that I wish they had skipped, since it feels a little too obvious, and the end of a full-length track would have been more than efficient (and tactful).

Nightfall in Middle-Earth is hands down my favorite Blind Guardian album in terms of sheer content and production values, not to mention the fluently executed concept. Few would dare to touch The Silmarillion, yet Blind Guardian manages to take some of its more important moments and actually make them accessible. The writing is superb, complex enough to satisfy the more difficult metal fan, but loaded with big hooks for everyone. The entire band is on top of their game, seamlessly integrating each instrument into the more orchestral foundation. I did not care for the very end of the record, and there may have been a combined 2-3 minutes throughout where the riffs weren't mesmerizing me, but even if you clipped away this excess fat, there is an hour of essential metal music comprising one of the best concept albums ever released for its genre. I would very much like to hear the Germans produce another of its caliber some time in my life.

Highlights: all of the music of the Ainur.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.75/10] (I feel like screaming)

http://www.blind-guardian.com/

Blind Guardian - Imaginations from the Other Side (1995)

Though the progression to Imaginations from the Other Side from the previous albums seems only natural, the band's 5th album would also mark a shift in sound and recording. This is the first album where the guitars would transform from their brazen German speed and power into a more processed tone, and where the band's multi-pronged vocal chorus attack would become the rule rather than the exception. This is the Blind Guardian you will become accustomed to for the next 15 years, for better or worse. But regardless of the arguments to be made for/against such details, Imaginations from the Other Side is one hell of an album, their most consistent up to this point, cementing their status as a top ranking German band and helping forever change the game for traditional power metal as it was forced to mutate and co-habit the 90s with its more extreme stepchildren in the belly of the Digital Age.

The title track leads from the center of the battlefield, its rapidly picked melodies and thundering, steady percussion escalating to a fist pumping rhythm at 1:10 that gathers up chug like a stone gathering moss, before the soothing, tranquil chimes and vocals of the pre-chorus, the majestic, sailing guitar melody, and then the chorus climax, which cruises over the stream of subtle, writhing melodies set below in the mix. The charging, melodic bridge late in the song gives an impression of classic Maiden, and though it's the longest track on this album (over 7 minutes), I was never once less than immersed in its intricacies. This was the new, modern Blind Guardian, folks, and I was hooked. "I'm Alive" opens with a brief battery, then a segue of scintillating acoustics, and the trampling resumes with Thomen Stauch taking names and kicking ass. The acoustic break at 1:10 is a perfect example of how the band has mastered a hybrid of Romantic and Medieval aesthetics with gut-wrenching heavy metal power. "A Past and Future Secret" ups the game on all of their previous balladry, a rousing and unforgettable piece with acoustic guitars, orchestration and atmosphere.

My song of the end
I had seen it in my dreams
my song of the end
I can't stop the darkening clouds

"The Script for My Requiem" has an opening reminiscent of the band's 'Guardians of the Blind' charge from previous songs, before it lapses into thick, brooding chords and flurries of bristling speed metal, and the band's Queen influence shines through once more with a huge chorus. Yes, if Freddy Mercury and crew were thrashing up Hobbiton with rubber swords and cloaks, this would be the soundtrack! "Mordred's Song" begins in wondrous acoustics and a great little lead that reminds me of something Andy la Rocque would write for a classic King Diamond album, and then a slow trotting rhythm after the verse which falls back into acoustic bliss. As they have many times before, Blind Guardian show here why they are the masters at the 'bridge' of a metal song, as a series of captivating rhythms and leads loops around to the return of the final verse and chours. "Born in a Mourning Hall" explodes into an anthem of soaring, melodic flair which would have made for a perfect battle theme to the classic color Flash Gordon film. Of note is the ever thundering Thomen Stauch, whose drumwork brings glory to all the man touches, and then the huge vocal chorus hook, with its playful tails.

Oh, I know this can't go on
but the ghost called fear inside
lames my tongue, my nerves, my mind

And though the album had thus far been excellent, it was about to get even better, with the mesmerizing "Bright Eyes". If I had to draft a short list of favorite Blind Guardian tunes, this one would be just shy of "Journey Through the Dark" and "Time Stands Still (at the Iron Hill)". I absolutely adore the 80s pop elements like the repetition of 'watching you', and then of course the chorus is so good that I started crying when I saw them perform it live. What a pussy! On that note, I'm sure a great many women' bits were tingled to this track, as it is unabashedly beautiful as it basques in its own steaming, streaming glories. "Another Holy War" picks up the pace, majestic and searing with some welcome aggression in Hansi's strangled tones. "And the Story Ends" may not be an oft-spoken of track, but it's a strong finish to a superb offering, with huge chords, a mountainous atmosphere conjured through the vocals, and adequate closure to the saga of Blind Guardian's transformation into a new realm of possibility.

Imaginations from the Other Side is an album worthy of its title in mystique and musical evolution. There was no other band out there barking up quite the same tree, and along with its mindblowing successor Nightfall in Middle-Earth, this album represents to me the apex of this band's storied career. My only gripes with this album are quite inconsequential in the grander scheme of things. Of its 50 minutes of playtime, there are perhaps 4-5 which do not provide the ecstasy and wonder of the remainder. And while I'm not a huge fan of the guitar tone in the chords, which reminds me a lot more of the compressed sound used by Iced Earth or Kamelot than the previous Blind Guardian albums, it doesn't cripple any of the songs, which are so good that the album could have been recorded with banjos and a washboard and still probably ruled.

Highlights: almost everything, but bring a handkerchief for "Bright Eyes".

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (without a task, without a name)

http://www.blind-guardian.com/