DEMONSPELLS SONGS TO WATCH
A TRIBUTE TO BLIND GUARDIAN
Written October 26, 2001
Greetings, devoted readers. I know I promised a Halloween special, but I have numerous educational responsibilities and I had a hard time following the guidelines I had established, and the ongoing effects of the WTC disaster have made celebrating Halloween to seem pointless anyway. But I have listened extensively to new artists (despite some continuing problems with a few of my trusted radio stations), so I should return to normal next week. And I have also listened heavily to something I have been waiting with great anticipation for almost a year
And then, there was silence.
Blind Guardian has been one of my favorite bands for years, and one I have always regarded as being the absolute greatest band in their genre. They have so many strengths that set them apart from ordinary metal bands, Andre Olbrichs passionate melodies and skilled leads, Thomen Stauchs drumming which manages to assault and confound the senses at the same time, their arrangements, which have as many time and mood shifts as any progressive band yet always seem to fit perfectly into the overall scheme of the song, and last but not least the dramatic and expressive vocals of Hansi Kursch. When we first learned that there would be an epic length song on their still-untitled, long-delayed work in progress, we immediately prepared ourselves for an opus of unparalleled brilliance. Does And Then There Was Silence, which took four months to record and contains over a hundred tracks, live up to the enormous expectations? A detailed analysis is in order. This contains many spoilers, so leave this thread if you wish...
The song begins with a sweep of orchestral sounding keyboards, and at around thirty seconds we are greeted with the choirs that accompany almost all of Kurschs vocals. Soon afterwards the first traces of metal show up, with Andre and Thomen laying any doubts of whether BG had gone completely soft to rest this part reminds me of Into The Storm crossed with some of Nightfalls more majestic tapestries of sound. At 1:47 the first of the songs many hooks shows up: Hear my voice! leading to a fast part describing the rampage of Achilles (running around the ring!), accompanied by horns. This drops out and leads to a highly emotional slow break with great vocals from Hansi. A melody reminiscent of NIME follows along with a verse containing the songs title. Then we are treated to a tremendous two part chorus, definitely making its mark as one of the best in Guardians catalogue misty tales and poems lost, break the spell, show me the way! At 6:30, a martial rhythm shows up with appropriately bombastic choirs. Here Hansis ability to make even the most banal lyrics sound magical is displayed as clichés such as never give up, never give in and nowhere to run, nowhere to hide appear. Then at 7:40, everything drops out with only a music box remaining, quickly giving way to the main chorus NIME haters will cringe, everyone else will be amazed. What is arguably the songs peak follows, as Olbrich proves what an underrated guitarist he is with a pleasant solo, and Thomens drums soon cause a growth in intensity leading to a great chanting section, which is followed by the chorus last appearance. In another of Hansis not entirely subtle lyrical borrowings (see Blood Tears and Script For My Requiem), he uses the phrase when dream and day unite here. The final section is divided into a mournful midpaced section and an instrumental coda where the symphonic keyboards echo the feeling of sorrow and defeat.
Now here is a feature I call Blind Guardians Greatest Moments, the best part of the three albums I consider to be masterpieces of the world.
SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND
Time What Is Time The acoustic intro/outro is beautiful, along with some superb vocals from Hansi.
Journey Through The Dark One of their heaviest riffs, and the chorus is huge and instantly memorable.
Black Chamber Short piano interlude. I like the way the word chamber is pronounced here.
Theatre Of Pain One of the first BG songs to use the classical based arrangements, the flourish which opens the chorus is great. The vocal following the solo is great.
Quest For Tanelorn Very underrated song. Many highlights: the acoustic intro, chorus, Kai Hansens solos, the spiritus sanctus break
Ashes To Ashes I love how everything drops out during the chorus. One of BGs more personal songs, written about the death of Hansis father.
The Bards Song (In The Forest) Just a great song to sing, and perfect atmosphere.
The Bards Song (The Hobbit) The best part of this song is contrasting the arrangement with that of the previous track.
Somewhere Far Beyond The reprise of the bagpipe intro midway through, the great riff, but my favorite moment is the ominous the man in black he waits verse. And the lyrics are based one of my favorite fantasy series of all time.
IMAGINATIONS FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Imaginations From The Other Side Great atmospheric intro, and when Hansi sings I hope there is a way out never fails to give chills. A definite tour de force for him.
Im Alive The acoustics that show up before each chorus.
A Past And Future Secret The guitar tone of the song is majestic, and the layered vocals are intoxicating.
The Script For My Requiem One of the best choruses ever! And the still I hear the scream of thousands part is incredible.
Mordreds Song The perfect Blind Guardian arrangement, and the solos are magnificent. The chorus is superbly crafted. What the modern power ballad should be.
Born In A Mourning Hall I love how they do something different in each prechorus (especially the first and second), and the high-hat in the chorus rules!
Bright Eyes The backing vocals add to the songs feeling and the way Hansi sings the word blinded is great, as is the progression before the song takes hold
Another Holy War The emotional lead-in to the chorus, with its great call and response, and the excellent riff that shows up at songs end.
And The Story Ends Perfect ending to a perfect album. The acoustic solo is highly emotional, and another exemplary arrangement and stunning performance from Hansi.
NIGHTFALL IN MIDDLE EARTH
Into The Storm The keyboard accompaniment, and the opening verses are definite high points.
Nightfall One of their most memorable choruses, and the great medieval sounding arrangement makes this a Blind Guardian classic.
The Curse Of Feanor An incredible chorus, and featuring some of Thomens fiercest drumming in the instrumental sections.
Blood Tears Hansi saying I can hear your calls is emotionally devastating, and the guitars sound beautiful yet desolate. Also the bridge with the overlapping cruel wind intonation
Mirror Mirror The great pacesetting intro, and Olbrich seamlessly weaving great melodies on the bridge. The second verse contains a godlike progression.
Noldor I love the eerie sounding music underneath the guilty spoke the one prechorus, and the transitions between the three different repeated sections are executed with great precision.
Time Stands Still All of Hansis parts as Morgoth are great, and the lead melodies are divine.
Thorn Great atmosphere in this underrated song. Hansi delivers an especially stunning chorus better than most of Savatages catalogue J
The Eldar The albums piano ballad, very sad in tone and with appropriately pained vocals from Hansi.
When Sorrow Sang Great lead riffs and another fine example of Thomens great drumming technique, and the lyrics perfectly capture the tale of Beren and Luthien.
A Dark Passage One of their most overlooked songs, the chorus and extended outro are truly among the high points on NIME.
Best spoken interlude Captured
Best musical interlude Both The Minstrel and Battle Of Sudden Flame could have been expanded upon
A TRIBUTE TO BLIND GUARDIAN
Written October 26, 2001
Greetings, devoted readers. I know I promised a Halloween special, but I have numerous educational responsibilities and I had a hard time following the guidelines I had established, and the ongoing effects of the WTC disaster have made celebrating Halloween to seem pointless anyway. But I have listened extensively to new artists (despite some continuing problems with a few of my trusted radio stations), so I should return to normal next week. And I have also listened heavily to something I have been waiting with great anticipation for almost a year
And then, there was silence.
Blind Guardian has been one of my favorite bands for years, and one I have always regarded as being the absolute greatest band in their genre. They have so many strengths that set them apart from ordinary metal bands, Andre Olbrichs passionate melodies and skilled leads, Thomen Stauchs drumming which manages to assault and confound the senses at the same time, their arrangements, which have as many time and mood shifts as any progressive band yet always seem to fit perfectly into the overall scheme of the song, and last but not least the dramatic and expressive vocals of Hansi Kursch. When we first learned that there would be an epic length song on their still-untitled, long-delayed work in progress, we immediately prepared ourselves for an opus of unparalleled brilliance. Does And Then There Was Silence, which took four months to record and contains over a hundred tracks, live up to the enormous expectations? A detailed analysis is in order. This contains many spoilers, so leave this thread if you wish...
The song begins with a sweep of orchestral sounding keyboards, and at around thirty seconds we are greeted with the choirs that accompany almost all of Kurschs vocals. Soon afterwards the first traces of metal show up, with Andre and Thomen laying any doubts of whether BG had gone completely soft to rest this part reminds me of Into The Storm crossed with some of Nightfalls more majestic tapestries of sound. At 1:47 the first of the songs many hooks shows up: Hear my voice! leading to a fast part describing the rampage of Achilles (running around the ring!), accompanied by horns. This drops out and leads to a highly emotional slow break with great vocals from Hansi. A melody reminiscent of NIME follows along with a verse containing the songs title. Then we are treated to a tremendous two part chorus, definitely making its mark as one of the best in Guardians catalogue misty tales and poems lost, break the spell, show me the way! At 6:30, a martial rhythm shows up with appropriately bombastic choirs. Here Hansis ability to make even the most banal lyrics sound magical is displayed as clichés such as never give up, never give in and nowhere to run, nowhere to hide appear. Then at 7:40, everything drops out with only a music box remaining, quickly giving way to the main chorus NIME haters will cringe, everyone else will be amazed. What is arguably the songs peak follows, as Olbrich proves what an underrated guitarist he is with a pleasant solo, and Thomens drums soon cause a growth in intensity leading to a great chanting section, which is followed by the chorus last appearance. In another of Hansis not entirely subtle lyrical borrowings (see Blood Tears and Script For My Requiem), he uses the phrase when dream and day unite here. The final section is divided into a mournful midpaced section and an instrumental coda where the symphonic keyboards echo the feeling of sorrow and defeat.
Now here is a feature I call Blind Guardians Greatest Moments, the best part of the three albums I consider to be masterpieces of the world.
SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND
Time What Is Time The acoustic intro/outro is beautiful, along with some superb vocals from Hansi.
Journey Through The Dark One of their heaviest riffs, and the chorus is huge and instantly memorable.
Black Chamber Short piano interlude. I like the way the word chamber is pronounced here.
Theatre Of Pain One of the first BG songs to use the classical based arrangements, the flourish which opens the chorus is great. The vocal following the solo is great.
Quest For Tanelorn Very underrated song. Many highlights: the acoustic intro, chorus, Kai Hansens solos, the spiritus sanctus break
Ashes To Ashes I love how everything drops out during the chorus. One of BGs more personal songs, written about the death of Hansis father.
The Bards Song (In The Forest) Just a great song to sing, and perfect atmosphere.
The Bards Song (The Hobbit) The best part of this song is contrasting the arrangement with that of the previous track.
Somewhere Far Beyond The reprise of the bagpipe intro midway through, the great riff, but my favorite moment is the ominous the man in black he waits verse. And the lyrics are based one of my favorite fantasy series of all time.
IMAGINATIONS FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Imaginations From The Other Side Great atmospheric intro, and when Hansi sings I hope there is a way out never fails to give chills. A definite tour de force for him.
Im Alive The acoustics that show up before each chorus.
A Past And Future Secret The guitar tone of the song is majestic, and the layered vocals are intoxicating.
The Script For My Requiem One of the best choruses ever! And the still I hear the scream of thousands part is incredible.
Mordreds Song The perfect Blind Guardian arrangement, and the solos are magnificent. The chorus is superbly crafted. What the modern power ballad should be.
Born In A Mourning Hall I love how they do something different in each prechorus (especially the first and second), and the high-hat in the chorus rules!
Bright Eyes The backing vocals add to the songs feeling and the way Hansi sings the word blinded is great, as is the progression before the song takes hold
Another Holy War The emotional lead-in to the chorus, with its great call and response, and the excellent riff that shows up at songs end.
And The Story Ends Perfect ending to a perfect album. The acoustic solo is highly emotional, and another exemplary arrangement and stunning performance from Hansi.
NIGHTFALL IN MIDDLE EARTH
Into The Storm The keyboard accompaniment, and the opening verses are definite high points.
Nightfall One of their most memorable choruses, and the great medieval sounding arrangement makes this a Blind Guardian classic.
The Curse Of Feanor An incredible chorus, and featuring some of Thomens fiercest drumming in the instrumental sections.
Blood Tears Hansi saying I can hear your calls is emotionally devastating, and the guitars sound beautiful yet desolate. Also the bridge with the overlapping cruel wind intonation
Mirror Mirror The great pacesetting intro, and Olbrich seamlessly weaving great melodies on the bridge. The second verse contains a godlike progression.
Noldor I love the eerie sounding music underneath the guilty spoke the one prechorus, and the transitions between the three different repeated sections are executed with great precision.
Time Stands Still All of Hansis parts as Morgoth are great, and the lead melodies are divine.
Thorn Great atmosphere in this underrated song. Hansi delivers an especially stunning chorus better than most of Savatages catalogue J
The Eldar The albums piano ballad, very sad in tone and with appropriately pained vocals from Hansi.
When Sorrow Sang Great lead riffs and another fine example of Thomens great drumming technique, and the lyrics perfectly capture the tale of Beren and Luthien.
A Dark Passage One of their most overlooked songs, the chorus and extended outro are truly among the high points on NIME.
Best spoken interlude Captured
Best musical interlude Both The Minstrel and Battle Of Sudden Flame could have been expanded upon
