BLIND GUARDIAN – At the Edge of Time CD review

BLIND GUARDIAN – At the Edge of Time CD
Nuclear Blast Records

If there’s one thing about Germany’s BLIND GUARDIAN that makes them consistent are their album covers. Anyone who’s into fantasy fiction artwork should have this band’s releases plastered over their walls. I’m not one of them nor am I a huge fan of their music which I just found out this weekend puts me in the minority where I live. I was at a show the other night and saw a guy at the bar with a BLIND GUARDIAN back patch on his denim cutoff. My friend Andy told me that they’re big with alot of local area bands. I’ve known about BLIND GUARDIAN, heard songs over the years that were decent but never owned a full length until now. My collection of power metal CDs is severely lacking to say the least especially ones with a full orchestra as session players which this one has. Well be that as it may; this is the band’s ninth full length in their twenty five year existence. From what I recollect of the cuts I’ve heard before they weren’t as symphonic as what is on here. I’ve been listening to this for over a week now and I just can’t get away from the idea that this is actually the Prague Philharmonic with a couple of metalheads sitting in as opposed to it being a metal band.

Vocalist Hansi Kursch can pull off a decent heavy metal scream when he wants to but over this whole release I find him annoying. If it wasn’t for the lead guitar work of Andre Olbrich I would have pulled this out by the third cut and used it for a skeet target. There are too many moments on here which remind me of FAIRYLAND who are a joke in my not so humble opinion. “Tanelorn” (Into the Void) held promise until the chorus hits. I don’t wanna “cry for Tanelorn”. “Ride into Obsession” keeps things on the metal side where as “Curse My Name” could appear on any number of releases I have from Folk Metal bands. But as the release continues on I find most of the songs relying on grandiose structures that turn this more into a Broadway musical soundtrack than a metal album. My idea of Power Metal is 3 INCHES OF BLOOD or WOLF which don’t have choral arrangements that remind me of QUEEN. When “Voice in the Dark” finally hit my ears I was relieved because here was something I’ve heard before in terms of this band’s past. If Power Metal is supposed to take me away to a fantasy land then BLIND GUARDIAN’s realm is full of pretentious bull layered thick.

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