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Montag, 25. Oktober 2010

Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time


I first heard about the release of this CD when I was on Wacken 2010 standing infront of the stage waiting for Alice Cooper to play. While waiting for the rock'n'roll zombie to perform I caught a glimpse of a familiar face on one of the screens: Hansi Kürsch. At first I couldn't believe my eyes (and mostly my ears) as I recognized his divine voice in the chorus of "A voice in the dark" - the new single out of "At The Edge Of Time".



Immediatelly I was hyped to see that the bards from Germany decided to create a new studio album after 4 years and a very mediocre "A Twist In The Myth" and all I wanted to do was get back home and buy the fucking CD - which was an impossible task being trapped on Wacken and stuff.

Now, after hearing the album over and over and over again I can safely say that "At The Edge Of Time" is easily their best album since "Follow the Blind" (not counting "Nightfall in Middle Earth" which is still the measure of all things).

With the new album you can hear a strong back-to-the-roots approach (especially when listening to "Tanelorn (Into The Void)" or "Valkyries") that is very reminiscent of "Follow The Blind". Such an approach may not always be a good thing, but they did a very good job implying their new experience as well as stuff we know and love about the Guardians. They also prove that André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen - both playing the guitars - are excellent at what they are doing and are capable of some magnificent solos as well Frederik Ehmke playing the drums.

We start with "Sacred Worlds" as the opener to the album. This piece is about 9 minutes long and sets the mood for the album perfectly. It opens up building the tension magnificently, inviting you in the mysterious world that is "At The Edge Of Time". The pacing is rather slow but Hansi's voice does a magnificent job stringing all the different parts together and creating a piece of music that is in every definition worthy of being an opener to an epic Blind Guardian CD.
Things get sped up with "Tanelorn (Into The Void)" which makes you feel like being thrown back to the times of "Somewhere Far Beyond", as some of you might remember the song "The Quest for Tanelorn". After a very calm and slow "Road Of No Release" things start getting hectic again with "Ride Into Obsession", Hansi sounds fantastic, the guitars and the drum do a very good job with some excellent bridges and an excellent pacing. Still when I hear Hansi singing "Let ages come and go (The Wheel will turn now), The wheel will turn, Another ride into obsession" I can feel chills being sent down my back. After two not-so-special songs "Curse my name" (very folky) and "Valkyries".


"Control The Divine" is another song that profits very much from Hansi's voice, that sounds clearer than in any other Blind Guardian album, as it's focused more on the vocals than any other song on the album and it's great. Fucking great. Now, let's skip "War Of The Thrones" and get to my favorite song of the album (and favorite song in years).



I fucking love this song. I think with all honesty that this is one of the best, most well put-together, best written and best structurized songs of the last years. It is the perfect single to pick to promote your album. It's fast, it's varied, it shows how much talent this band actually has stored up over the years. The lyrics are great and very well put-together. I especially love the part "Curse me, hate me, hurt me, kill me!". The drums are doing a very good job keeping the pace and driving the song forward. The vocals perfectly embody the spirit of Blind Guardian and the guitars are only enhancing the mood. 'nuff said.

The album ends with another song named "Wheel Of Time" that is just like the opener about 9 minutes (8:55) long and what it does is leave the audience astonished about what they just heard.


I am glad that my favorite band of all time didn't disappoint me on this one after a pretty weak "A Twist In The Myth" which was too light for my taste (even as a Power Metal fan). I can really recommend this piece of art to everyone that is (or wants to get) into power metal. Enjoy.

21 Kommentare:

  1. Sweet, always enjoy some Blind Guardian

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  2. Blind Guardian is sweet, gonna roll them up onto a playlist right now

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  3. blind guardian is a great act when playing live

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  4. Some metal bands are so godawful live.

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  5. i love blind guardian so mcuh!

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  6. Decent song, the lead singer looks like an office worker! not a rock singer xD

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  7. Holy crap, good brand, freakin' great blog.

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  8. best power metal bend of all times (with a bid speed, progressive)

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  9. wow he has a very unique voice

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  10. Awesome band, awesome vid, awesome blog. Looking forward to more from you.

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  11. There is a local band called Toluca from my home town that I had a chance to introduce at a concert. I was surprised, and im not really super into metal. check em out if you want. http://www.myspace.com/thisisprogressmetal

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