After all the hype and media, A Night At The Opera is finally out, the new Blind Guardian album with the same title as Queen's fantastic album from 1974. I got hold of this just as it was released, and it pretty much hasn't left my stereo case since 
During the grand opening "Precious Jerusalem" you can clearly hear the progress Hansi has made in the field of singing and in creating voice atmosphere. I don't recall hearing Hansi singing as beautiful as on "Age Of False Innocence" and the great ballad of the album "The Maiden And The Minstrel Knight" since the Guardian classic "Bright Eyes".
The album goes on with equally great songs, the best ones clearly being at hand, although at times it is very difficult to decide which is better, for example in the cases of "Under The Ice", the hard rock tinged "Sadly Sings Destiny" and "Punishment Divine".
The album ends with "And Then There Was Silence", the 14-minute massive single track, which remains fantastic its whole length and doesn't begin to tire at all after a couple of times of listening. The first vocal/guitar bridge is fantastic!
On the import and some versions of the album, there is a bonus track, the acoustic "Harvest Of Sorrow" (originally the b-side of And Then There Was Silence), which, depending on the version, is sung in either English, Spanish, Italian or French. I have the Spanish version, which is named "La Cosecha Del Cecor". I haven't heard the original song, actually, and now that I've heard this, I might say that it sounds quite much like Hansi and Iced Earth's Jon's side project Demons & Wizards' song "Fiddler On The Green". A great song, at least for a import track.
A Night At The Opera is at the moment the best album that has come out this year. A fantastic, massive true opera, which no power/prog fan shouldn't be without. I'm sure everyone of you aforementioned will enjoy a pleasant night at the opera
During the grand opening "Precious Jerusalem" you can clearly hear the progress Hansi has made in the field of singing and in creating voice atmosphere. I don't recall hearing Hansi singing as beautiful as on "Age Of False Innocence" and the great ballad of the album "The Maiden And The Minstrel Knight" since the Guardian classic "Bright Eyes".
The album goes on with equally great songs, the best ones clearly being at hand, although at times it is very difficult to decide which is better, for example in the cases of "Under The Ice", the hard rock tinged "Sadly Sings Destiny" and "Punishment Divine".
The album ends with "And Then There Was Silence", the 14-minute massive single track, which remains fantastic its whole length and doesn't begin to tire at all after a couple of times of listening. The first vocal/guitar bridge is fantastic!
On the import and some versions of the album, there is a bonus track, the acoustic "Harvest Of Sorrow" (originally the b-side of And Then There Was Silence), which, depending on the version, is sung in either English, Spanish, Italian or French. I have the Spanish version, which is named "La Cosecha Del Cecor". I haven't heard the original song, actually, and now that I've heard this, I might say that it sounds quite much like Hansi and Iced Earth's Jon's side project Demons & Wizards' song "Fiddler On The Green". A great song, at least for a import track.
A Night At The Opera is at the moment the best album that has come out this year. A fantastic, massive true opera, which no power/prog fan shouldn't be without. I'm sure everyone of you aforementioned will enjoy a pleasant night at the opera
