Reviewed:
- Battalions of Fear (1988)
- Follow the Blind (1989)
- Tales from the Twilight World (1990)
- Somewhere Far Beyond (1992)
- Imaginations from the Other Side (1995)
- Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998)
- A Night at the Opera (2002)
- Live (2002, live album)
- A Twist in the Myth (2006)
- At the Edge of Time (2010)
- Beyond the Red Mirror (2015)
- Legacy of the Dark Lands (2019)
- The God Machine (2022)
- Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited (2024)
BATTALIONS OF FEAR 1988 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: 'Majesty', 'Guardian of the Blind', 'Wizard's Crown', 'Run for the Night', 'The Martyr', 'Battalions of Fear'
In more recent years - for one reason or the other - I've become a big old-school power metal nut. I mean, I've always liked power metal, but it was never one of my absolute favourite subgenres. I've had albums from Helloween, Gamma Ray, Rage and even Blind Guardian in my collection since my teens. But aside from owning a few albums here and there from the absolute big boys of the genre, until more recently, it's not been a subgenre I really 'collected' albums of, if that makes any sense. Looking back, I could never understand why. Power metal to me is often just a more grandiose, melodic take on traditional/speed metal - and trad/speed metal has been a huge part of my world since I was about 13. I think power metal, for me, has been tainted a little over the last couple of decades due to gimmicky bands like Powerwolf and Sabaton that I've never been able to jump on board with. But anyway, it's 2025 now and Blind Guardian's entire studio discography has eventually wound up sitting among my CD collection.
Germany's birthed many a fine metal band over the years, and Blind Guardian are undoubtedly one of the finest groups they've spawned. This little debut, 1988's Battalions of Fear is a whirlpool of high velocity speed metal with all the added melody power metal brings to the table. I can only imagine that hearing this as a new release back '88 was exciting stuff for the average metalhead of the time. The album starts off with 2 absolute scorchers - 'Majesty' (complete with it's weird carnival-like intro) and 'Guardian of the Blind' are absolutely killer slabs of speedy metal, full of endlessly tight riffage. Hansi Kursch's vocals aren't quite as epic or soaring as they would be on later records, but from the get-go you can hear a sign of what was to come on this debut. The instrumental 'Trial by the Archon' is pure Iron Maiden worship; the guitar melodies and harmonies resemble Maiden's galloping style to a tee, and the track morphs into 'Wizard's Crown', which again takes inspiration from Maiden, but also blends their style with Blind Guardian's own brand of metal. 'Run for the Night' follows in similar fashion, but is overshadowed a little by the absolute riff-fest that is 'The Martyr'. This tune might just be my favourite on the whole album, but I'm not quite sure. I mean, the title track is pretty damn great too. The album ends on 2 strong, melodic instrumentals - 'By the Gates of Moria' and 'Gandalf's Rebirth'. The latter never appeared on the original vinyl release, but was featured on all CD versions.
As far as that classic power metal sound of the '80s goes, this album's definitely up there as one of the finer examples of that style. That said, I do have some minor criticisms that I can't exactly overlook. As good as the music can be here, the songs are quite difficult to pick out individually and discuss in detail. They're all really good! But they're also really quite similar and hard to tell apart from one another. They all have a very specific sound that basically plays out for the entire duration of the record, and as a result makes it makes it very difficult for me to pick out individual standouts. It's not the sort of album I can play individual songs from - not that that's a bad thing, it just means the hooks are somewhat lacking. Although I can still hear where they'd go with later albums here, this one very much focuses on being as metal as possible with almost none of the classical elements that would come later on.
Battalions of Fear is probably the most down-to-earth record they ever made. Call it full-on speed metal if you want, but to me this is still a power metal album at the end of the day. I think power metal has gotten to the point now where some people automatically assume it to feature massively overbearing keyboards and non-stop fantasy lyrics/imagery. Don't get me wrong, even here with Battalions of Fear, Blind Guardian were already dabbling with fantasy themes throughout the lyrics (plus politics since the title track refers to Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative), but back in the '80s when the genre was still a new thing, the music was still as riffy and speedy as ever. I consider those early Metal Church albums to be power metal too, and they sure don't sound like Sabaton!!
The band's playing here is tight as hell and the production is totally serviceable for an '80s metal record. The music blends the sounds of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest with Euro power metal and the album is strong from start to finish. But it's still not one of my absolute favourites of theirs! A mighty impressive start, but not every element was quite in place yet. I think an 8.2/10 is fair.
Adam's rating: 8.2/10
FOLLOW THE BLIND 1989 (Virgin)
- Standouts: 'Banish from Sanctuary', 'Damned for All Time', 'Follow the Blind', 'Hall of the King', 'Valhalla', 'Don't Break the Circle'
This and 1995's Imaginations from the Other Side were my gateway to Blind Guardian. I've had both these albums in my collection for donkey's years - and then the rest of their discography found their way into my collection much later (by 2024 to be precise). I think by default I like Follow the Blind a tad more than Battalions of Fear, but I do also genuinely believe they improved on that already impressive debut here. Opening into 'Inquisition' sounds strangely familiar - oh yeah, it's the monks' chant from Monty Python and the Holy Grail! According to Wikipedia, it's actually a real life Catholic Latin phrase, but I'm ignorant and will always know it from said comedy classic! Anyhow, the album properly gets going with the awesomely theatrical 'Banish from Sanctuary'. Musically, it doesn't seem to do anything all that differently from anything the debut was doing, yet it sounds more epic and more in-line with what I consider to be the bands' signature sound. It's full of speed metal riffs but combined with the more streamlined production and Kursch's better vocal arrangements, the whole song is power metal euphoria. Excellent! Meanwhile, 'Damned for All Time' is about as furious as the band gets. If it weren't for the big vocal chants, it could almost be thrash metal. It's terrific either way.
The 7 minute title track, based on Stephen King and Peter Straub's The Talisman, is maybe a tad progressive? It has some acoustic guitar parts and a changing tempo, and stands out as one of the album's showcases. Meanwhile 'Hall of the King' actually reminds me a little of '80s Metallica, only with more melody and grandiose of course - especially with those monk-like backing chants near the end. 'Fast to Madness' and 'Valhalla' are absolutely blazing while I can almost sing along to 'Don't Break the Circle's anthemic chorus. This is maybe the most typically 'power metal' song on the album in my opinion. My biggest complaint however, would be the fact that while there's definitely more standout tracks this time, some do still suffer from being a bit samey overall in the same fashion as the debut. Also, as cool and shreddy as the guitars are on instrumental 'Beyond the Ice', I feel like it could've used some vocals, strangely. But whatever. Also 'Barbara Ann/Long Tall Sally', the album's brief closing medley, is throwaway rubbish. It's Regents/Beach Boys and Little Richard cover that serves no purpose on this album. It completely kills the atmosphere and vibe of the record. I get that they were just joking around and having fun in the studio with it, but this is the kind of track that would only fit on an intentionally fluffy album such as Van Halen's Diver Down! Not a fucking German power/speed metal record!
Overall though, Follow the Blind displays a bit more of what Battalions of Fear had to offer, but the music has gotten slightly more Blind Guardian-y and definitely more refined by comparison. Not that the debut was considerably weaker, I just think they've improved upon their existing formula here. Many of the songs are a bit easier to dissect this time around and I think as far as '80s power metal goes, Follow the Blind is easily one I can recommend to anyone in a heartbeat. I still think we'd see better albums from this band, but the Guardian were certainly a force to be reckoned with right from their beginnings.
Adam's rating: 8.6/10
TALES FROM THE TWILIGHT WORLD 1990 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: 'Traveler in Time', 'Welcome to Dying', 'Lord of the Rings', 'Goodbye My Friend', 'Lost in the Twighlight Hall', 'Tommyknockers', 'The Last Candle'
Even better still! As much as I love the fact Battalions of Fear is the most straight up, no-nonsense Blind Guardian album, I definitely like the fact they picked up the grandeur by the time the '90s rolled around and power metal continued to get more epic in feel. This band's '90s run is certainly my favourite period of theirs. I mean, opener 'Traveler in Time' is just phenomenal! With lyrics inspired by Frank Herbert's sci-fi masterpiece Dune, you know you're in for a good time. Even if the guitar riffing style hasn't changed all that much here, Hansi Kursch just keeps improving his vocal parts and like I said, the music has become even more of a spectacle now without being too pretentious. You can sing along to a lot of these tracks too! Just listen to the soaring chorus of 'Welcome to Dying'!! And of course, the nerdy fantasy themes are in full force - 'Lord of the Rings' is based on... well, if you can't figure that one out then you need sectioning. Anyhow, this is one of the few songs on the album that takes a breather; it's an extremely melodic, mellow and largely acoustic-driven number that keeps the album fresh and varied musically. To contrast with this song's mellowness, 'Goodbye My Friend' picks up the energy once again, but is still chock-full of melodic guitar parts to accompany all that speedy riffage.
'Lost in the Twilight Hall', again, contains one of the biggest and best choruses on the entire album (with contributing backing vocals from maybe one of the most important people in power metal, Kai Hansen) while the Stephen King novel-inspired 'Tommyknockers' is a bit harder-hitting by comparison. It still features an insanely catchy chorus, it's just sang with a less epic kind of delivery. I still love it though. 'Altair 4' starts off all dark and moody and retains an odd atmosphere throughout. It's a short song that bridges the gap between 'Tommyknockers' and closing track 'The Last Candle'. This closer in question continues all that is good with this record!! You know, I can't think of any real red flags here... yet I'm kind of reluctant to score this thing any higher than a 9/10. It's not my favourite Blind Guardian album (although it's certainly up there), and I think when I stack it up against a lot of other metal albums that sit comfortably within the 9/10 realm, it's not one that comes to mind or one I immediately turn to first. But like I said, Tales from the Twilight World is still worthy of a 9 in my books, which is hugely respectable. It's a classic power metal album through-and-through, and I can't recommend it enough.
As I stated at the start of this review, I think they further improved here. The songs have gotten more memorable once again thanks to the even greater sense of melody and better vocal arrangements/lyrics, but more importantly they pulled all this off without selling out. The music's still as fast as ever, but the atmosphere is much more immense and I can now pick out more individual tracks and actually remember how each one goes thanks to all the singalong choruses! Maybe it's just the evolution of power metal? Either way I think the genre peaked throughout the '90s.
Adam's rating: 9/10
SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND 1992 (Century Media)
- Standouts: Consistently strong from start to finish!
There seems to be 3 albums in Blind Guardian's catalogue that almost always rank at the top of critics' and most fans' lists, and it's 1992's Somewhere Far Beyond, 1995's Imaginations from the Other Side and 1998's Nightfall in Middle-Earth. I've looked through various rankings online, forum posts and YouTube videos, and I can't reach an ultimate conclusion as to which is the most favoured album other than the fact it's almost always 1 of these 3!!
Anyway, I can certainly see why this album - Somewhere Far Beyond - is so highly regarded. That said, I don't think it does things that much than Tales from the Twilight World. It's more like a continued refinement if anything, with some new experimental elements here and there. But hey, that's cool with me! Finetuning an already cracking formula is never a bad thing, and things are already off to a blazing start with the simply awesome 'Time What Is Time'. It may only last under 6 minutes, but it feels like you've just sat through an epic theatrical wonder. Even the rip-roaring 'Journey Through the Dark', which is mostly played at scorching tempo, still manages to feature memorable vocal harmonies. Excellent stuff! 'Black Chamber' is a short an melodic interlude with vocals that leads the way for the melodic powerhouse that is 'Theatre of Pain'. This track borders on symphonic metal, and certainly brings a new songwriting development to the table. I know I said before that this album doesn't differ all that much to my ears after it's predecessor, but 'Theatre of Pain' is definitely one of the songs here that I can easily separate as something new for the band.
I think 'The Quest for Tanelorn' may be my favourite track from this disc - whenever this album passes through my mind, it's always that chorus from this particular song that immediately starts playing in my head! So, the chorus rules then, but musically the song is deep and complex with a nice variety of speed metal riffage and melodic clean segments throughout. The album also spawned one of the bands' best-known songs - the folky, acoustic ballad 'The Bard's Song - In the Forest'. The lyrics are inspired by the 1985 RPG video game The Bard's Tale. I must admit, I'd never heard of this game until I looked up what exactly the band were singing about here. It's a bit before my time! Anyhow, it might be one of the shortest tracks on the album, but it's also just one half of what is a 2-parter. 'The Bard's Song - The Hobbit' is far heavier by comparison, but still packed full of melody and neo-classical guitars. It's also inspired once again by JRR Tolkien, namely his novel The Hobbit if you couldn't tell already! The bagpipe intro 'Piper's Calling' serves a nice mood-setter for the album's closing piece, 'Somewhere Far Beyond'. This title track is the longest on the album, and an absolutely epic note to go out on.
Again, it's difficult to find anything serious to rant about here. Songs-wise, the album's a corker from start to finish. Maybe 'Ashes to Ashes' is my least favourite song on the album, but even that one is a classic (and the guitar solo is fire). The musicianship has gotten more intricate once again, and the vocals have gotten even stronger and better layered. The production is tip-top once again; I admittedly own the 2009 Century Media remaster and haven't heard an early pressing before, but I'm more than chuffed with how it sounds anyway. The lyrics are a total nerd-fest in the best way possible; you've got lyrical themes spanning films and TV shows like Blade Runner and Twin Peaks, fiction inspired by author Michael Moorcock and the aforementioned Bard's Tale computer game and Tolkein's The Hobbit. Even the album cover is a masterwork of fantasy.
And yet after all that praise, I'm still not sure I can call Somewhere Far Beyond my favourite Blind Guardian album!! Don't get me wrong, I do love it, and can easily rank it among my favourite power metal albums of all time. But one of my absolute favourite metal albums in general, it ain't! It improves on Tales from the Twilight World in most respects, and I do enjoy it more - but just barely. I think what's happening here is the fact I simply haven't lived with this record long enough for it to be a true favourite of mine. The only Blind Guardian albums I've had in my collection for a number of years are Follow the Blind and Imaginations from the Other Side. The rest of the catalogue has been added gradually over the last year or so. So naturally, I'm expecting Imaginations to still be my favourite... I guess we'll find out soon when I review it below!
Adam's rating: 9.1/10
IMAGINATIONS FROM THE OTHER SIDE 1995 (Virgin)
- Standouts: Everything once again!
I feel like I've stated that this and Follow the Blind were my gateway into Blind Guardian a million times already. Yep, I've lived with these 2 for far longer than I have the rest of the catalogue, and while I'll openly admit that Follow the Blind isn't necessarily one of my absolute favourite albums of theirs, Imaginations from the Other Side most definitely is.
The opening title track is probably the best BG song ever recorded in my books. That massive, multi-layered vocal chorus!! The guitar riffs may not be among their fastest and heaviest, but they define power metal for me. They're powerful and huge, yet oh-so melodic and tasty all the same! Just about every aspect of this song is pure power metal perfection! 'I'm Alive' too, is absolutely epic - this one is faster in the vintage BG sense, but it still has it's share of melody and not to mention, another truly massive chorus with a vocal intensity that's been ramped up to 100. 'A Past and Future Secret' is a folky, medieval-sounding acoustic number that only adds to the fantasy-based atmosphere that the band continue to develop, while 'The Script for My Requiem' once again multiplies the sheer epicness of this album's atmosphere - it's full of the signature speed metal riffing and overdramatic vocals from Hansi which in turn lead to some catchy vocal hooks.
The band make use of some nice acoustic melodies in 'Mordred's Song'; they also crammed in some stellar lead guitar work and the song still manages to be heavy in it's own right. To counter this track's elegance, 'Born in a Mourning Hall' is more hard-hitting and straightforward in structure. That said, it still has it's share of melody. 'Bright Eyes' and 'Another Holy War' continue the album's fantastic legacy while the finale 'And the Story Ends' may not be the fastest closer of all time, but it certainly is one of the most dramatic. The layered backing vocals and sublime lead guitar work makes this one of my favourite tracks on the album. I'm not entirely sure I can call Imaginations a 'transitional album' as it shares plenty of similarities to Somewhere Far Beyond. But it certainly is the more melodic album of the 2, and by default is 'more power metal' than it's already power metal predecessor! The songwriting style itself is relatively similar, but I find the tracks to be a tad more memorable overall probably due to the mystical atmosphere they do so well. And the production is even stronger still, courtesy of Danish producer Flemming Rasmussen, who also produced 3 out of 4 of Metallica's classic '80s output.
So yeah, like most of their older records, this one is all killer, no filler. I think it's probably their best, but it's an album I've been acquainted with for quite a long time so there's definitely some bias behind that thinking. Maybe over time it'll be surpassed by something else, but for now it's still my number 1. I just think this is the album that really summarises the band best - you've got the speed and precision of the early material combined with all the added melody and grandiose atmosphere I want out of the power metal genre. It just baffles me how Blind Guardian can pull off music as stereotypically geeky as this without coming off as goofy or gimmicky!
Adam's rating: 9.3/10
NIGHTFALL IN MIDDLE-EARTH 1998 (Virgin)
- Standouts: 'Into the Storm', 'Nightfall', 'Blood Tears', 'Mirror Mirror', 'Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)', 'Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)', 'Thorn', 'The Eldar', 'A Dark Passage'
I think it was inevitable that Blind Guardian eventually wound up making this concept record, especially when you look at all the existing fantasy/sci-fi lyrical inspiration from novels, films etc. throughout all the previous albums. So here it is, 1998's Nightfall in Middle-Earth! If you couldn't guess from the title, the album was inspired by JRR Tolkien (once again) and the whole Lord of the Rings universe. To be more precise, it's based on Tolkien's 1977 book The Silmarillion - I must admit, I'd never heard of that book prior to hearing this album. My knowledge of the universe Tolkien created is limited; I've seen Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films multiple times since they were made and I thoroughly enjoy them. But I've never read any of the books and I only ever saw the first Hobbit movie - which I thought was weak compared to LOTR and never bothered to watch the rest!! And to be honest, I'm totally fine with concept albums so long as the music is actually decent. I don't really give a toss about the story; if the music's lame then the story ain't gonna save the album for me!!
Thankfully, the music here is good - very good indeed. Things have definitely been taken further musically now; true, songs like 'Into the Storm', 'The Curse of Feanor', 'Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)' sound very much like classic BG to me, similar in fashion to anything you heard from Imaginations from the Other Side (albeit even more melodic now and a tad less hard-hitting overall). But there's a lot of folk and classical influence throughout some of these songs, which can be heard on 'Nightfall', 'Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)' and the almost choir-like chorus of 'Blood Tears' as well as many of the introductory interlude tracks scattered throughout the album. It's not like we never heard the band evolve throughout any of the previous albums, but it's definitely been cranked up another notch here. Oh yeah, about those interlude tracks... well, most of the full-length songs on the album have their own interlude beforehand. They never reach a minute in length and are there to narrate the story/set the scene for the listen. And unlike Judas Priest's concept record Nostradamus, these interlude's actually work far better on Nightfall in creating an atmosphere that's needed for an album of this calibre. Like I said, they can be folky or classical in tone, with acoustic instruments and also spoken-word dialogue at times. They serve no purpose beyond this album, in that you're never gonna listen to them individually like ever, but they're totally necessary for what the band were trying to achieve on this record - so I get it. On the back of my 1998 CD, the interlude tracks are typed in italics to separate them from the 'normal' songs.
I think the music is definitely not as heavy this time around overall; this is not necessarily a bad thing. I Imaginations is certainly not as heavy and speed-focused as an album like Follow the Blind, and that's my favourite BG record. I think the band had to continue down the path of 'epic melodic grandeur' in order to pull Nightfall off in the first place. 'Mirror Mirror' for example is full of epic multi-layered choir vocals and is about as melodic as can be for a metal band (for the time anyway), whilst still having the expected distorted riffage throughout. But the album's about a fucking Tolkien novel, so how could it have worked any other way?! 'Thorn' has it's share of heaviness to throw around, but there's a lot of classy elegance in both the music and the vocals too. I'd say 'Thorn' is probably one of the best tracks on the album. 'The Eldar' is a pretty piano ballad, and Hansi's vocals on it have only gotten even more epic in scale. 'A Dark Passage' is totally orchestral and even features militaristic drums, and those neo-classical guitar leads are sublime.
There's a lot of fans out there who cite Nightfall in Middle-Earth as the band's finest hour. It's almost always this, Imaginations or Somewhere Far Beyond that sit in the top 3, but the order of them usually varies. It's not my personal favourite. In fact, I'm not even sure it's a top 3. Top 5 quite possibly, but for me there's a time and place for Nightfall. It's much longer than any of the previous albums at 65 minutes long and it doesn't have many tracks I regularly revisit on their own terms. It's gotta be the whole concept album thing that has this weird psychological effect on me, meaning I feel like I have to listen to the album in full! Again, not that that's a bad thing! It's just that strange subconscious concept album effect makes me only want to listen to it when my house is empty and I have a hour or so to myself! If the conditions aren't right, I just find myself zoning out of this album and not particularly enjoying it. Sadly, that's gonna make an impact on my score.
I'm going off on a bit a ramble now, because I said at the start of this review that it's the music I care about most. That's certainly true, but the story of this album has to be part of the reason why I only really ever like hearing Nightfall in full under the right conditions! So I must care a little bit about the tale the album's telling here. Most concept albums don't have this effect on me. I mentioned Priest's Nostradamus before - that album has a few songs I do listen to on individual terms fairly regularly, but I can never be arsed to sit through the whole album in one sitting. It's just too much of a chore. With Nightfall, it pretty much has the opposite effect. And since this is an album that tells a story, that has to be a good thing, surely? If I was in a band and recording a concept record, it's definitely the way I'd like people to hear it anyway.
So even if this isn't one of my absolute favourite Blind Guardian albums, it might just be one of my absolute favourite concept albums. Deciding on a rating was kind of difficult. Musically it's even more accomplished and impressive than anything that came before. All the guys are fantastic musicians and you cannot deny this - that definitely goes a long way in actually scoring this thing. But again, it's not quite a go-to BG record for me - that'd be Tales from the Twilight World, Somewhere Far Beyond and Imaginations from the Other Side. Even if Nightfall is the more impressive album on a technical/musical scale, I simply don't listen to it as much as I do any of the previous 3. So I've given it an 8.8/10. I think it still sits above the first 2, and because it does manage to take me on a musical journey like it should do, I think that's an important accomplishment. It's just not a journey I'm always willing to sit through at any time of the day!
Adam's rating: 8.8/10
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA 2002 (Century Media)
- Standouts: Hard to really pick specific standouts... the whole album feels like it's own sort of experience!
No, it's not a coincidence - this album was named after the legendary 1975 Queen LP of the same name! And musically there's plenty of Queen similarities too, particularly in the layered vocal harmonies. I don't know how they do it! With every release (at least during this point in their career), they were managing to take the theatricality of the vocals even further still! As if the last couple of albums weren't epic enough, along with these massively epic vocals is an even more ambitious approach to the songwriting. The structure of the music has gotten even proggier and the symphonic elements grander... the lyrical matter also ranges from religion on 'Sadly Sings Destiny', Nazi propaganda on 'Wait for an Answer' and Friedrich Nietzsche on 'Punishment Divine'. So it's not all sci-fi and fantasy themes on this disc, you're also getting real-life history lessons.
Depending on how you like your metal, this album could very well be a masterpiece or a let-down after the previous records. Me? I mean, I came into much of this band's discography kinda late, but listening to their albums in chronological order, I can hear the progression with each record. So this album's huge scope came as no surprise to me, especially after the concept record that was Nightfall in Middle-Earth which was also ambitious in it's own right. It didn't surprise me one iota that the album's opener 'Precious Jerusalem' has none of the thrashy speed metal tones of their early works... or that 'Battlefield' is full of folky melodies... or that 'Under the Ice' has a very neo-classical style rhythm throughout it's playing time. Everything's very intricate and every note here has been thought-out meticulously. To my ears, there's a distinct lack of the bands' hard-edged riffery on this album. I suppose I was a tad disappointed in that regard, but I think the main focus guitars-wise was on the lead parts. While the speed metal riffage may be lacking, Andre Olbrich's guitar leads are sublime from start to finish on every track. 'Sadly Sings Destiny' is just oh-so melodic that some of the vocal harmonies sound like they've come straight from mid-'70s Queen themselves! So the focus was definitely on the melody of the actual music and vocals rather than jamming riff after riff down your throat.
'The Minstrel and Knight' is full of folky medieval tones to set up the atmosphere it deserves and 'Wait for an Answer' has the best vocal arrangements of the entire record. The catchiest too. 'Age of False Innocence' and 'Punishment Divine' on the other hand, are a little moodier overall but still soaring in tone and very much flow together nicely with the rest of the album. Closing track 'And Then There Was Silence' was everything I expected it to be, particularly when I noticed it's 14 minute length. It's proggy, pompy and probably the album's centrepiece. The song pretty much rolls all the musical elements of this album into 1 song, and depending on my mood sometimes flies by for me. It almost feels like multiple tracks within a track!
Much like Nightfall in Middle-Earth, A Night at the Opera is another one of those albums I pretty much have to sit through in a single sitting - for better or worse. I enjoyed this album a lot - the instrumentation and arrangements are expertly crafted, meaning there's something about every song that impressed me. But it's not quite the ideal Blind Guardian sound for me! There's absolutely nothing wrong with this album when you consider what they were trying to achieve here. I think they wanted to create a metallic rock opera, and that they did. It's epic. There's not enough ways of saying 'epic', but that's what it is! But I guess the teenager in me still likes his metal a bit more riffy and muscular than this overall. I might have matured more as a 32 year old man (almost 33 now...), but as a metalhead lifer I think mean guitar riffs will always be my number 1 musical preference!
I'm not trying to criticise this album's approach to songwriting. It really is pukka if you like your power metal as grandiose and theatrical as can be - and when I'm in the mood, I totally get lost in it. That's not an easy thing for a band to achieve. But I do think overall this album leans a little too far in the melodic/symphonic/proggy (whatever you want to call it) side of Blind Guardian's sound overall. Not too far to the point where I don't enjoy it - not at all. I'm just saying that for me an album like Imaginations from the Other Side got the balance between the old-school speed metal of the band's early days and the more progressive, neo-classical side down to a tee.
Feeling an 7.9 here. It's an impressive album from a songwriting perspective, and I've seen plenty of fans rate this as one of their best behind the usual 3. I totally get that - musically it's a thing of beauty and a real achievement for BG. It's just not always ballsy enough for me though!
Adam's rating: 7.9/10
LIVE 2003 (Virgin)
Strong 2 CD live platter, absolutely jam-packed full of classics like 'Majesty', 'Imaginations from the Other Side', 'Welcome to Dying', 'Bard's Song (In the Forest)', 'Script for My Requiem' etc., with some cuts from A Night at the Opera thrown in for good measure. Not necessarily one of my favourite Blind Guardian albums, but those tracks still slot in rather nicely alongside the older stuff. Musically the band are playing extremely tight, like a well-oiled machine. It's surprising just how close they can sound to the studio recordings at times. These songs were recorded all over the world (although mostly across Europe), so I'm assuming they just hand-picked all the best performances they could get from their 2002/2003 world tour?
Sometimes live albums don't need to be fancy. Live is just that - it's Blind Guardian playing live! Not a lot else to say! Any self-proclaimed fan will lap this up.
Adam's rating: 8.5/10
A TWIST IN THE MYTH 2006 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: 'This Will Never End', 'Turn the Page', 'Skalds and Shadows', 'The Edge'
This is less ambitious than A Night at the Opera, but then maybe that's a good thing? In some ways I respect the fact they didn't try to follow it up with something equally, or even more grandiose than the predecessor - but we'll see how it stacks up by talking about the music! Anyhow, it opens up with 'This Will Never End', which is a bit more typically Blind Guardian-sounding, i.e. the speed metal riffing is 100% back but the vocals are still operatic as they should be. A 'banger! 'Otherland' is a bit more hooky, a bit less speedy and full of endlessly melodic guitars. Track 3, 'Turn the Page' (not a Bob Seger cover!) gives me strong folk metal vibes and might just be my favourite on this album. The vocal hooks are so brilliant and uplifting, and make it the most memorable track for me. I also think 'Another Stranger Me' is a rock-solid, straightforward power metaller. Nowhere near as aggressive as anything from their first 4 or 5 records, but still very much a nice and hooky metal song. The same can be said for 'Straight Through the Mirror', which I don't think is as enjoyable overall, but still fits on this album nicely. 'Skalds and Shadows' though, is a nice acoustic folk ditty that reminds me a little of 'The Bards Song' from Somewhere Far Beyond. Don't know why the band do this type of song so well, but they do! Also, 'The Edge' may not be my favourite track here, but it's definitely one of the most metal with it's tight riffing - so I kinda like it by default.
I do have some criticisms with this disc sadly. 'Fly' is a bit of a weird one. I can't tell if it's trying to sound old-school or keep up with modern times because of it's groove. It's not a horrible song by any means, it just flows in a way that doesn't settle too well with me. I can't decide if I actually like 'Carry the Blessed Home' as well. Again, it's full of uplifting, operatic vocals but the bagpipes (assuming that's what I'm hearing?!) rub me the wrong way. 'Lionheart' is okay too I guess, but other than it's Middle Eastern-like tones, there isn't a lot else I can say about it. I can say the same thing about album finale 'New World Order'. Despite it's huge Queen-like vocals once again, I've already forgotten how it goes when it's over. There's something about the production as well that seems a bit less metallic to me. Or maybe it's just the songs themselves?
Yeah, it's the music. It's an odd one this - the music still seems to contain most of the techniques and styles of their past albums, yet the songs are more accessible to the average listener overall. Depending on how casual of a metal fan you are, this can be a good thing - but it certainly makes the music much more generic compared to, well, anything they'd recorded prior. I think A Twist in the Myth does a more than decent job of being an accessible power metal record. It'd likely make for a strong gateway album to newbies of the genre thanks to it's catchy hooks and melodies, while still being just about heavy enough to qualify as a power metal album. For me, it's certainly not a standout BG record. It's not as heavy as I'd like it to be - shame really, because opener 'This Will Never End' has enough grunt that it seems as if it could fit on Imaginations from the Other Side... but then you listen to the rest of the album and realise this isn't the case! I like A Twist in the Myth. I do. And there's not really any song on it that I genuinely can't listen to - but it was easily their most musically inconsistent album when it dropped in 2006. The songs have been somewhat simplified to make them more accessible, and while the vocal hooks have gotten more memorable, the actual music hasn't. There's some autopilot filler on this album for sure.
The fact every previous album was at least an 8/10 for me (save for A Night at the Opera) makes this feel like a serious downgrade, but in reality it's still a solid record. It's absolutely strong enough for me to consider it 'good', it's just far from one of their best.
Adam's rating: 7.2/10
AT THE EDGE OF TIME 2010 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: 'Sacred Worlds', 'Tanelorn (Into the Void)', 'Road of No Release', 'Ride into Obsession', 'War of the Thrones', 'A Voice in the Dark'
Let's just dive straight into this one shall we?
The introduction to the lengthy opener 'Sacred Worlds' goes all-out Hollywood blockbuster with it's orchestral arrangements! It almost feels like the soundtrack to some kind of epic fantasy movie! Once it gets going however, this track is prime Blind Guardian. It's pretty much full-on orchestral metal, and I don't know if I would've dug it a few years back. I was never a big fan of bands like Nightwish and the like, but I guess I'll have to give them another go at some point. Anyway, 'Sacred Worlds' is the sound of modern Blind Guardian; it's a proggy slice of melodic, orchestral power metal. Not as heavy as their older stuff but more inspired than a lot of what A Twist in the Myth had to offer. 'Tanelorn (Into the Void)' is excellent. Jam-packed full of tight riffing, a great atmosphere and the usual epic vocal hooks. Pretty much why I listen to this band in the first place. I think 'Road of No Release' could have maybe fit on Twist for the simple fact that it isn't very heavy and focuses more on hooks. For the most part though, it's more refined and memorable than what many of the songs the predecessor had to offer. So that's good! I also dig 'Ride into Obsession' by default a fair bit too, because the riffs remind me of classic BG.
'Valkyries' and 'Control the Divine' are maybe a tad less memorable than the first bunch of tracks, but are still hardly what I'd call filler. The band dip their toes into that medieval-like acoustic folk stuff they've been doing for quite some time on 'Curse My Name'. Of all their tracks of this ilk, it's not one of my favourites - but it's does pace the album rather nicely and adds some extra variety to the music. And so does 'War of the Thrones', which is an almost entirely piano and acoustic-driven ballad with some pretty arrangements. The band still do occasionally remind us of their roots, and that much is true with 'A Voice in the Dark' - fast, tight, heavy - but still melodic and hooky enough to satisfy any power metal fan. 'Wheel of Time' is a long closing number at almost 9 minutes, and I like it's Arabian-sounding charm and progressive structure.
I don't have any serious complaints with this CD, but I'm definitely more of an '80s/'90s Blind Guardian kinda bloke. I certainly think At the Edge of Time improves upon A Twist in the Myth overall. But it definitely follows a similar formula for the most part, it's just that the songwriting is more inspired as a comparison. But like I said, this disc is definitely following the more modern formula the band has come up with in the 21st century. That means it isn't as heavy as anything they'd released prior to A Night at the Opera, and is more of a symphonic melodic power metal album than it is a traditional melodic power metal album in the same vein of Somewhere Far Beyond or Imaginations from the Other Side. I just prefer that sound they had in the '90s more-so than I do some of these later releases. But that doesn't mean I don't still enjoy this or Twist. Many bands evolve over time, Blind Guardian are no different. These more modern albums still get tons of praise because even if you have a preferred era of this band, they're still doing what they're doing extremely well. And you can't exactly accuse them of lacking in the lyrical department; here they touch on more Michael Moorcock novels, Norse mythology and John Milton's poem, Paradise Lost.
I can't give this an 8 however. I don't enjoy it enough for it to be 'great' like I do a lot of the older releases, but that doesn't automatically mean it isn't 'great' for everyone. As I was explaining in the paragraph above, it probably is a great album if you prefer the more symphonic route the band has gone down. Still, I liked pretty much everything At the Edge of Time had to offer even if it's likely never going to be a standout album in their catalogue for me.
Adam's rating: 7.8/10
BEYOND THE RED MIRROR 2015 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: 'The Ninth Wave', 'At the Edge of Time', 'Distant Memories', 'The Holy Grail'
20 years later and the band release Beyond the Red Mirror, a sequel to Imaginations from the Other Side. Indeed, Beyond the Red Mirror is a concept album about... something fantasy, something sci/fi. Oh all right, I don't know!! Like I said in my Nightfall in Middle-Earth review, I'm not opposed to concept albums by any means, but the quality of the music is always top priority for me. I'll straight-up admit that this 2015 release doesn't quite immerse me in the same that Middle-Earth did. Not that I'm ever fully invested in Middle-Earth's lyrical content, but the way that record is paced with all those interlude tracks makes it more atmospheric in my opinion, and for some reason makes me feel like I'm listening to a concept album more-so than this does. True, Beyond the Red Mirror does pace the album in it's own way, in that the songs are split in to 6 chapters, usually with 2 standard-length songs per chapter. Save for chapters' IV and VI that is, which are 2 individually long songs - but it's quite clear that this is an album that's meant to be listened to in full every time. Really though, this feels like a follow-up to At the Edge of Time to me. If I hadn't read other peoples' reviews of this disc (and the Wikipedia page), I wouldn't have even noticed this was a concept album, let alone linked it to Imaginations from the Other Side.
This isn't really a serious issue for me, thankfully. And it certainly isn't an issue for a lot of other fans from the looks of things online, because like most of their albums new or old, it's another highly-rated release. Yeah, to me this feels quite similar musically to At the Edge of Time to me. Maybe even more symphonic, if anything. It's hard not notice just how much effort must have gone into the choir arrangements on 'The Ninth Wave', which is a hugely symphonic, bombastic opener. 'Twilight of the Gods' and 'Prophecies' offer more of the same power metal influences of their '90s albums mixed with orchestral-like passages and multi-layered vocal harmonies. In short, they sound like modern Blind Guardian. Ironically, this album has a song called 'At the Edge of Time', whereas the actual album of the same name didn't. This track is a standout for me as I found it to be more memorable than many of the others. Not too sure why, because it doesn't really do anything differently as such, it just gives me even stronger fantasy vibes.
I really enjoy 'Distant Memories' too. It's a nice ballad-like number with a kind of a floaty feel with a level of pomp that sounds like mixture of Blind Guardian and Magnum to my ears. Also, 'The Holy Grail' is most definitely one of the riffiest tracks on the album that hearkens back to their '90s works. 'Sacred Mind' has a nice level of grunt too, with some much-need pummelling riffery to accompany Hansi's soaring vocals. The last track, 'Grand Parade' is an appropriately grand-sounding 9-minute epic. It's difficult to really analyse a lot of these songs in detail, but there's certainly nothing sketchy on here to speak of (except maybe the piano number 'Miracle Machine'... meh!).
I know I'm likely in a minority here, but like the last couple of albums, this one doesn't really standout in the Blind Guardian discography for me. I respect what they were doing on these releases, but sometimes the music sounds more like the soundtrack to a fantasy movie or video game rather than the product of the metal band they once were pre-A Night at the Opera. Again, that doesn't automatically mean I don't like these albums; in fact, I get more than enough enjoyment out of them to consider them 'good'. And the songs really do feel like they've had real craftsmanship put into them; everything feels intricate and flows meticulously despite the fact there's so much going on throughout all of them. And the production is classy as hell. There's no fucking way the average band could confidently pull off music of this calibre like Blind Guardian do. So kudos to them in that regard, and if this is the kind of style you think the band do best, then that's cool too. Plenty of fans dig the style of albums like this and At the Edge of Time more than they do anything they were doing in the '80s and '90s.
But that's just not my preference!
Maybe I'm just a simple man who likes having endless riff-based songs in my metal? Yep, that'll be it. I have to be in the right mood to listen to some of these 21st century BG discs, whereas I can listen to and enjoy several of their '80s and '90s albums on most occasions. I think Twilight, SFB and Imaginations are among some of the finest power metal albums of all time. They have tons of melody too of course, but they balance that melody with the heaviness to perfection. Beyond the Red Mirror is another one of their 'still metal enough for me to like, but too symphonic for me to love' kind of albums.
Adam's rating: 7.5/10
LEGACY OF THE DARK LANDS 2019 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: ...
Oh man, I can't even get through this in one sitting! I'll cut it some slack though, because this isn't really a true Blind Guardian album. In reality, it's just Hansi Kursch singing with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, with Andre Olbrich producing and lending a hand with the songwriting. The album is dubbed 'Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra', and is effectively a Kursch/Olbrich passion project that had apparently been in the making since 1996. It's another concept album, this time about the Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648 in Europe. All well and good then, but the album's entirely orchestral with Hansi handling all vocals. 24 songs and 75 minutes of music. 24 songs and 75 minutes of music that isn't really Blind Guardian!! In this disc's defence, it makes it quite clear that this isn't a regular BG album with that Twilight Orchestra tag, and frankly it's not like the music is horrible either. It basically just sounds like an orchestral soundtrack with Hansi's iconic vocals, and with that voice you're gonna get some BG vibes by default. And honestly, if you like listening to classical music I'm sure these arrangements are probably great. On Metal-Archives there's a number of fan reviews giving it praise.
So placing an accurate rating on Legacy of the Dark Lands is not easy. I'm not a fan of this kind of music, which kind of makes me unqualified to fairly review it. 5/10? At least that's a bang-average score!! I won't say it's bad because it probably isn't if you like this sort of stuff! I picked this up for no other reason than to fill the gaps in my Blind Guardian collection, 'cos I've got chronic collector's syndrome.
Adam's rating: 5/10
THE GOD MACHINE 2022 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: 'Deliver Us from Evil', 'Damnation', 'Violent Shadows', 'Architects of Doom', 'Let It Be No More', 'Blood of the Elves'
They're back! Not that they ever left exactly, but this time they've decided not to expand on the sounds of the last bunch of albums and go for a vibe and style that's much more comparable to their '90s stuff!
From the get-go, full-speed Blind Guardian returns with 'Deliver Us from Evil'. The whole vibe of this track reminded me of what Imaginations from the Other Side had to offer, so of course I like it! Same goes for pummelling cuts like 'Damnation' and 'Violent Shadows' - pure speed metal riffage from Andre. But the signature melodic vocal harmonies are still there, hence why they're so comparable to their '90s albums. I think at this point, if they tried to replicate Battalions of Fear or Follow the Blind, Hansi's vocal talents would be somewhat wasted. They have to have those epic vocals at this point in time. But anyway, 'Secrets of the American Gods' is another rock-solid number. Mid-tempo by comparison, yes, but still very much a pure power metal affair with tinges of that orchestral sound they've absorbed over the past few records - but they don't overdo it either. The Battlestar Galactica-inspired 'Architects of Doom' is indeed another standout. Just top-notch speed/power metal from a bunch of seasoned veterans!
'Let It Be No More' is a nice and moody ballad that provides variety to the album and keeps me drawn to it, while 'Blood of the Elves' continues in the very much old-school heavy and metallic direction that was somewhat lacking on albums like Beyond the Red Mirror and At the Edge of Time. Excellent! Frankly, I like each and every one of the 9 tracks here, and I think the 51 minute album length is just about right. Thing is, I don't love this album. Most of the songs are great, but I'm a little on the fence with the plodding 'Life Beyond the Spheres'. It has a bit of a modern edge about it - can't really describe it. It's not modern in that it sounds like anything the band have done this century, more like it takes influences from elsewhere. Still sounds like Blind Guardian I guess, just different. And maybe 'Destiny' is tad less inspired and lacks the energy of some of the other tracks, but it's still a solid if unremarkable way to close this album.
At the end of the day however, The God Machine is unsurprisingly my favourite Blind Guardian album of the last couple of decades. It hearkens back to the sound they perfected in the '90s with some hints of their more recent material here and there, plus even cleaner production. It basically gets the balance of the old and new just right for me overall. I missed out on this in 2022, otherwise it probably would've been one of my top picks for that year. Where would I rank it now then amongst the rest of this catalogue? Well, I can't say I like it as much as any of those '90s classics, but it's certainly in the same league as the first 2 records and definitely my favourite from this century. The fact it isn't as good as what they were doing 3 decades ago means it probably won't be a Blind Guardian album I'll regularly reach for. When I compare it other metal veterans' more recent works, e.g. Judas Priest's Firepower and Invincible Shield, or anything Saxon have been doing since the late '90s, I won't say I'll take The God Machine over any of those albums. But then my history with Blind Guardian isn't anywhere near as deep or sentimental as my history with Priest or Saxon anyway. Plus, I've only had this in my collection a couple of months... I wouldn't be surprised if I grow to appreciate it more as time goes on.
Adam's rating: 8/10
SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND REVISITED 2024 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: Same standouts as the original!
Hmm. Kinda hard to review this disc, but I'll try! Plus it came out as I was just finishing up my Blind Guardian collection, meaning I had to pick this one up too in order to finish it! My goddamn collector's syndrome kicking in once again! But anyway, this album does exactly what it says on the jewel case - it's a modern re-recording of their classic Somewhere Far Beyond album.
In some ways, you could call this the definitive version if you want to hear these classic tunes with a crisper, cleaned-up production. Not that the original was poorly recorded or anything, but you can almost always hear the difference between an album from the '90s next to something from the past few years or so. Sonically, this new redux is arguably the better sounding version thanks to those modern production values. The instrumentation is a bit clearer overall (apart from the orchestral horns on 'Theatre of Pain' for some reason), with the bass being more audible than ever - and I'll always be in favour of that. The drums are louder too. Thing is, I never had any issues whatsoever with the OG mix. It's one of those albums that I didn't really know could be improved sonically until this dropped in 2024... but considering this is a 2024 release after all, it bloody well should sound better! Maybe, just maybe the new version of 'The Bard's Song - In the Forest' reigns supreme here? The band play the songs more-or-less identically to the old album - same tempo, same notation... there's really not a lot to say. Hansi's vocals are as strong as ever, pretty damn impressive considering the dude is now 58.
Really, I don't have anything negative to say about the actual quality of the music here. No, my major complaint would be the fact I don't think this album needed to be re-recorded in the first place! I never used to listen to my '90s SFB CD and think to myself "what this album needs is a new coat of paint!". Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited just, well... exists!! Despite the fact this thing's very own existence confuses me (some sort of contractual obligation? A celebration of the original? Or just a cash grab?), it doesn't bring the original album down in any way at least. That's a true testament to just how good these songs are.
Maybe it's a good thing that it stays true to it's older brother and doesn't stray too far musically. I remember some years ago Exodus re-recorded Bonded By Blood in the 2000s, and the new version had a different vocalist (Rob Dukes I believe), detuned guitars and the whole vibe of the original album was dead. People fuckin' hated it. At least Blind Guardian don't do anything offensive here. I think fans will get some novelty out of this, and I totally recommend giving it a listen. I don't think it's really any worse than the '90s version, but calling it better and scoring it higher seems silly to me. It's not like we're hearing these songs for the first time. An inoffensive update to a classic metal album.
Adam's rating: 8/10
