:: Blind Guardian - A Twist In The Myth

Blind Guardian

Quality progressive power is something of a rarity these days as every act within the scene seems to be following the trend of mimicking those who helped found the movement in the first place (such as Helloween, Rage and countless other German acts). But then there are those acts that defy the trend, and determine their own direction within the scene, and duly inspire their own legion of followers. One such act is German based Blind Guardian, who over the last twenty years have consistently moved with the times and evolved from their earlier speed metal origins to eventually become one the scene's leaders. With their release of ‘A Night At The Opera’ in 2002, Blind Guardian pushed the operatic/overdubbed aspects of their music to the extreme, and in a sense alienated many who thought they had perhaps taken thing too far in the studio. But with their return to the studio, Blind Guardian has realised limitations, and made a triumphant return to basics on their eighth full length release ‘A Twist In The Myth’. The energetic, riff led and double bass heavy opening track ‘This Will Never End’ is a storming return to form with Kürsch utilising every conceivable note he’s able to summon up within his wide range. The follow on track ‘Otherland’ begins in a somewhat sedate nature before increasing in heaviness and blowing out to epic proportions in the vocal sense, while ‘Turn The Page’ is a sing along anthem with a slight folk feel injected into its bass heavy gallop like rhythm section. The lead off single ‘Fly’ is perhaps one of the more misleading examples of what the album holds with its keyboard heavy enhancements and its restrained choral chorus, but tracks such as the slower ‘Carry The Blessed Home’, the mid paced ‘Another Stranger Me’ and the energetic ‘Straight Through The Mirror’, another stand out cut on the album, manage to balance the equation between the experimental and the traditional. For the remainder of the album, Blind Guardian continue to shine with riff heavy ‘Lionheart’, the operatic/acoustic folk inspired ‘Skalds & Shadows’, ‘The Edge’, and the dramatic closer ‘The New Order’ all ensuring that ‘A Twist In The Myth’ is nothing short of a another classic release from the Germans. Blind Guardian has realised the limitations, and also some new tricks along the way, and simply come out on top once again.