review by: Steppenvvolf

One thing you can be sure of is that the release of a new Blind Guardian album will stir the metal scene in Germany. This time, more than ever, the record is preceded by a big fuss over technical aspects such as the amount of tracks used in the production or the fact that it took two years to write and record the songs for this album.

If you're a power metal nut, you might have got wind of Blind Guardian's single release And Then There Was Silence, a 14-minute song, meant as a prelude to this album. The former took four months(!) to record. Please mind the exclamation mark while being impressed with and honouring Century Media's efforts to make A Night at the Opera seem essential by pushing it with all-but-music-related facts.

Speaking of the music, Blind Guardian has proved loyal to its elves-and-orc-metal style. But despite some potentially good riffs the songs come over awkwardly. This is because Blind Guardian simply tried to squeeze in too much into each song. The deeply layered structure doesn't allow for its effect to mature since the themes follow too densely one after another and suffocate the clear brilliance that could be achieved by one theme alone. This observation coincides with the fact that all the songs have a duration of more than five minutes. "The Soulforged" has evergreen-qualities, but again it stumbles over its long-winded character. If Blind Guardian should move on in extending the duration of their songs they should consider moving on from the epic metal genre, create the "metal musical" genre and ask someone to produce a Blind Guardian musical.

If you're a Blind Guardian fan, there's nothing that should keep you from buying this album. The songs ARE good, but they do not stand out.