Track Listing
1. Precious Jerusalem 2. Battlefield 3. Under the ice 4. Sadly sings destiny 5. The maiden and the minstrel knight 6. Wait for an answer 7. The soulforged 8. Age of false innocence 9. Punishment divine 10. And then there was silence Year: 2002 Label: Century Media - Official Site |
Blind Guardian - 'A night at the opera' - By J. Korkiam�ki
The brand new studio album by Blind Guardian, the record sharing its name with Queen�s masterpiece, A Night At The Opera, was long before its final release an album evoking much hype and expectations. The fans of the band, me being one of them, felt that the release lasted for an eternity. Everybody wanted to hear, what "the blind ones" can get done after such a masterpiece as Nightfall In Middle-Earth was. I hold in my hand...well, let�s say a...advanced version, that got lost inside my stereo the moment I got it and hasn�t come out in a couple of weeks. As you can deduce from this uplifting preview, in my opinion this album is yet another masterpiece. A Night At The Opera leaves a very good hint of what�s to come in just a couple of minutes. Hansi�s voice is much better now, artistically speaking; just a decade ago he needed Kai Hansen on the background, so that the screaming could do better. Now the ballbusting screams are done very nicely by Hansi himself, and he is apparently very proud of it, in a couple of songs traditional vocal lines are followed by a painful scream. But it�s not all about the screaming, of course. But no problem, �cause Hansi achieves his harmonically best vocal accomplishment since "Bright Eyes" especially in the song "Age Of False Innocence", which, I think, is the best song on the album, as a matter of fact. The songs generally don�t sound at all like the Blind Guardian people know, instead there is much new stuff, a lot of more traditional material, even if it was only the guitars at times, or the catchy choruses, which Blind Guardian hasn�t done a lot. Especially "Sadly Sings Destiny" is something completely different, what you�ve get used to hear from the band, in other words a song with a complete hard rock main riff. Also a very good song, of course. "The Maiden And The Minstrel Knight" is the first honest love song by Blind Guardian, and musically a bit like "Lord Of The Rings" meets "Nightfall". A Beautiful song, purposely with a capital B, like the mentioned "Age Of False Innocence", which both make me talk nicely and softly to my girlfriend when the songs are playing. Neo-romance at its best. The fast songs don�t falter, either. They go on with the traditional, twitchy Guardian style, the best probably being "Punishment Divine" and "Under The Ice". This doesn�t happen to the 14 minute single song "And Then There Was Silence", which in all of its epic proportions can keep its power in one piece, during both the more traditional heavy parts or the "Mr. Sandman" rooted tral-la-la parts. This particular CD is one of the import versions, which include the song "Harvest Of Sorrow" in either English, Spanish, French or Italian, I can�t remember if there�s also one in German. I have the Spanish version, and the song is therein called "La Cosecha Del Cecor". Hansi can handle the language quite well, and the thought that "Hey! I HATE Spanish" doesn�t pop into mind even once. "La Cosecha Del Cecor" / "Harvest Of Sorrow" is basically very similar to Hansi and Iced Earth�s guitarist Jon Schaffer�s side project Demons & Wizards� beautiful ballad "Fiddler On The Green", although it can�t quite beat that one. Well, either way, it�s not very often that you hear songs as good as this on import/alternative versions. A Night At The Opera is an incredible album, that even takes away the honour from Nightfall In Middle-Earth to be the band�s best album. I knew this was going to be good, but I never though the album could be this great. If I had the chance, I would really like to hear these songs live. And also the older material, considering that according to Tokyo Tales, Blind Guardian is incredible live. But it�s this album, which finally gives the feeling that I HAVE TO see this band on tour. I can�t praise this enough. Metal Obsessive Grade: 98% |