BLIND GUARDIAN A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
Century Media - 2002
By Rodrigo
Every so often an album comes out that truly transcends above the rest. An album that is destined to become a classic, an album that will be the basis to compare all other albums, an album that will cause spirited discussions, that album is A Night at the Opera. Its been four long years since Blind Guardians last album and while the wait may have been excruciatingly long, it was well worth it. Hansi Kürsch (vocals, bass), André Olbrich (guitars), Marcus Siepen (guitars) and Thomen Stauch (drums) have created the most significantly important album of the new decade.
Musically, its the continuation of what the band was creating in the past two albums. But this time everything is just "more". There are more orchestral sections, there are more harmonies, the sound is bigger and the choirs are grander. There is a feeling of something new, fresh and exciting all over the album.
"Battlefield" perfectly exemplifies this "new" Blind Guardian. There is the usual speed, great drumming and excellent solos and harmonies but the choirs and the orchestra parts, while they were used in previous albums, are simply massive. The entire song is amazing but I really like the part that starts from 5:04 and goes until the end where the orchestra comes in to finish the song and André finishes it off with a great solo. "Sadly Sings Destiny" starts of with a great rocking and groovy guitar riff that is somewhat unusual for the band but works perfectly. What makes this song simply incredible is the combination of the bridge with the awesome chorus. I dare someone not to sing along during this entire part, it is impossible not to because of how addictive it is. "Precious Jerusalem" and "Punishment Divine" are two driving, powerful songs. The latter features more harmonies and orchestra parts while the former has some awesome double-bass drums to make it a really thunderous song. "The Soulforged" is a more traditional Blind Guardian song that could have easily belonged in Imaginations from the Other Side but is not at all going back to the past. Its one of the best songs of the album due to the infectious vocals and guitars. This song is about the "Dragonlance" saga and the fans, in an Internet Poll at the bands official website, selected its subject.
Fans of songs like "Lord of the Rings" and "The Bards Song In the Forest" will no doubt enjoy "The Maiden and The Minstrel Knight". This song is destined to become the next sing-along ballad at Blind Guardians shows. It starts slowly and picks up the tempo about halfway. Finally, what can be said about the fourteen-minute epic "And Then There Was Silence"? This is a massive song that took four months to record and has 128 tracks, including fifty for the vocals and thirty for the guitars. At no point does this song drag or bore the listener. When the chorus is repeated only three times in a 14-mintue song you know that this song takes you into many different musical directions. Everything about the album is brought to the max with this song and its a fitting conclusion to this "Opera" because it just seems that the entire album is moving to this grand finale.
To put is simply: this album is amazing! I have never heard an album that moves me and that gets me excited to listen to it every single time I put it on the stereo. If you consider yourself a fan of metal, then you have to give this album a listen because there is no doubt that Blind Guardian is the most important and dominant band of metal today.
Century Media Website
Blind Guardian Official Website
Century Media - 2002
By Rodrigo
Every so often an album comes out that truly transcends above the rest. An album that is destined to become a classic, an album that will be the basis to compare all other albums, an album that will cause spirited discussions, that album is A Night at the Opera. Its been four long years since Blind Guardians last album and while the wait may have been excruciatingly long, it was well worth it. Hansi Kürsch (vocals, bass), André Olbrich (guitars), Marcus Siepen (guitars) and Thomen Stauch (drums) have created the most significantly important album of the new decade.
Musically, its the continuation of what the band was creating in the past two albums. But this time everything is just "more". There are more orchestral sections, there are more harmonies, the sound is bigger and the choirs are grander. There is a feeling of something new, fresh and exciting all over the album.
"Battlefield" perfectly exemplifies this "new" Blind Guardian. There is the usual speed, great drumming and excellent solos and harmonies but the choirs and the orchestra parts, while they were used in previous albums, are simply massive. The entire song is amazing but I really like the part that starts from 5:04 and goes until the end where the orchestra comes in to finish the song and André finishes it off with a great solo. "Sadly Sings Destiny" starts of with a great rocking and groovy guitar riff that is somewhat unusual for the band but works perfectly. What makes this song simply incredible is the combination of the bridge with the awesome chorus. I dare someone not to sing along during this entire part, it is impossible not to because of how addictive it is. "Precious Jerusalem" and "Punishment Divine" are two driving, powerful songs. The latter features more harmonies and orchestra parts while the former has some awesome double-bass drums to make it a really thunderous song. "The Soulforged" is a more traditional Blind Guardian song that could have easily belonged in Imaginations from the Other Side but is not at all going back to the past. Its one of the best songs of the album due to the infectious vocals and guitars. This song is about the "Dragonlance" saga and the fans, in an Internet Poll at the bands official website, selected its subject.
Fans of songs like "Lord of the Rings" and "The Bards Song In the Forest" will no doubt enjoy "The Maiden and The Minstrel Knight". This song is destined to become the next sing-along ballad at Blind Guardians shows. It starts slowly and picks up the tempo about halfway. Finally, what can be said about the fourteen-minute epic "And Then There Was Silence"? This is a massive song that took four months to record and has 128 tracks, including fifty for the vocals and thirty for the guitars. At no point does this song drag or bore the listener. When the chorus is repeated only three times in a 14-mintue song you know that this song takes you into many different musical directions. Everything about the album is brought to the max with this song and its a fitting conclusion to this "Opera" because it just seems that the entire album is moving to this grand finale.
To put is simply: this album is amazing! I have never heard an album that moves me and that gets me excited to listen to it every single time I put it on the stereo. If you consider yourself a fan of metal, then you have to give this album a listen because there is no doubt that Blind Guardian is the most important and dominant band of metal today.
Century Media Website
Blind Guardian Official Website
