Blind Guardian
“A Twist in the Myth”
Nuclear Blast Records
(Out Of 5)
To judge from their musical exports, the Germans have had it
tough. Ever since the ’80s, the only way they’ve been
able to rock is like a hurricane, which, ironically enough, is
something they probably had little experience with until the
Scorpions’ 1984 hit.
All that changed with Blind Guardian. The four-piece group,
formed in the ’80s, combines mythic Iron Maiden-like
storytelling with superb musicianship, creating a sound distinct
among metal bands.
To describe them by comparison with their contemporaries, they
dress like Megadeth, have the metal chops of Pantera and the
medieval obsessions of Dio, and can craft songs as beautiful as
Poison was pretty.
On “A Twist in the Myth,” Blind Guardian delivers a
musically tight album of melodic and moving songs, due in large
part to the guitars of André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen, who
add another dimension of expression behind and above the
lyrics.
Throughout the album, vocalist Hansi Kürsch gives a
powerful, emotion-drenched performance with literary lyrics that
culminate in overdubbed choruses that create the band’s
signature epic sound.
Both “Turn the Page” and “Straight Through the
Mirror” are epic tracks, drawing heavily on the Celtic
influences that colored 1998’s Tolkien-based masterpiece
“Nightfall on Middle Earth.”
The band continues to evolve, however, with tracks featuring
modern influences combined with vintage guitar riffs, creating the
new sound found on “Fly” and “Dead Sound of
Misery.”
The single “Fly” opens with the pounding of jungle
drums and Guns N’ Roses-style guitars ““ an influence
that carries over into the solo ““ and progresses to a typical
soaring, inspiring chorus.
“Dead Sound of Misery” features the same drums and
’80s-era guitars, paired with poetic lyrics set against
guitar-backed bridges that are emotive in their simplicity.
Urgent rather than angry, guitars wail with a choir on the
rousing choruses of the ominous “Otherland” and power
the resonant, anthemic “Another Stranger Me,” which
gallops with blasting beats and rhythmic riffs.
What truly sets Blind Guardian apart are songs like “Turn
the Page” and “Skalds and Shadows,” with flutes
and bagpipes evoking medieval minstrels, immediately followed by
the double bass and driving guitars of “The Edge,”
itself a contradiction with thrash shredding framing a bluesy,
swing-inspired guitar solo.
One of the brightest stars in today’s power-metal
constellation, Blind Guardian creates unforgettable landscapes
brighter and more tragic than before, full of beautiful and
fantastic images, inhabited by minstrels and armies of forgotten
eras. Vocalist Kürsch sings, “Just hand me my harp/ And
this night/ Turns into myth.” On “A Twist in the
Myth,” Blind Guardian does just that for modern metal, like a
piper leading listeners through a labyrinthine forest to a vast
clearing where the stars can be seen and songs are still sung of
heroes and villains, myths and memories.