Blind Guardian Album: “Twist in the Myth [Bonus Track]”

I must admit I was leery of this release. A Night at the Opera was so busy and packed with tracks that it gave me a headache each time I tried to listen to it.

But A Twist in the Myth is astounding. The guitar riffs are - as the included interview track says -- '70s and '80s sounding. They have a crunchy-ness that I really like. And they're prominent, too. Right out front instead of buried under layer upon layer of stacked guitars and vocals.

And the fun kicks off from the very first track -- "This Will Never End." Great riffs, almost Judas Priest-like.

A few stand-out tracks for me:

Track 3: "Turn the Page," which has an anthemic, Celtic sound. Hansi's Na-na-na chorus is so catchy I hope they perform this one live. It would bring down the house. This is a really fine track!

Track 5: "Carry the Blessed Home," which is another big anthemic track with a melody that sweeps me away. This track is grand and uplifting, a big sound without an overpowering use of multi-track recording.

Track 6: "Another Stranger Me," which begins with a guitar riff straight from a .38 Special or Lynryd Skynrd album. Crunchy, catchy, and powerful.

Track 9: "Skalds and Shadows," a minstrel-like track with a pretty, emotional melody and acoustic guitars at the start that remain that way throughout. It's just a pretty track sandwiched in between a couple of all-out corkers.

Track 12: "Dead Sound of Misery," a powerful drum- and guitar-driven track that's a perfect way to end the album. Great soloing.

Hansi's voice is more restrained on A Twist in the Myth. He's less screechy and definitely less multi-tracked.

This is a tremendous release from Blind Guardian -- one of the world's most consistently fascinating bands. This is a powerful album, full of great guitar riffs, beautiful melodies, and anthemic themes. I highly recommend A Twist in the Myth.

I'm so glad these guys are touring the U.S. this fall. I can't wait to see them play these songs live!

Rating any given Blind Guardian album is rather difficult, because they vary so much from album to album. People often whine about this, and I don't quite understand it. Looking at many of their interviews and such, BG has made it quite clear since their conception that they are the type of band who seeks new sounds and experiments in different means of musical presentation with every project they do.

"A Twist in the Myth" is definitely a lot of new stuff, but this album is definitely reminiscent of past BG themes and styles. This particular album is unique in that it brings a lot of the softer elements of BG music and intensifies them, and by that I mean this album is not very "crunchy." Am I still not making sense? The sound here has quite obviously reached a level of digital remastering (some would say editing) that is unprecedented in this band's history. Guitars are a little less solo-oriented (although guitarist Andre Olbrich certainly does not fail to deliver in songs where we do hear him in all his glory!), and a little more attention is spent on background patterns or melodic chord progression. This album is the maiden album of BG's new drummer Frederik Ehmke, and I for one am not disappointed in the least...the drum patterns are smooth and work very well with what the rest of the band is doing. Perhaps the biggeset part of this album is BG's beloved lead vocalist, Hansi Kursch, and rightfully so. The grand majority of BG fans simply can't get enough of this man's power and diverse styles. He absolutely delivers on "Myth." It is in Hansi's voice that the digital work is most apparent, but do not mistake that for a derogatory remark! He sounds GREAT - you get a taste of his immense power and fantastic range on virtually every song. One thing you won't hear, however, is the throaty screaming sound Hansi pulled off in previous albums (think "Another Holy War" from "Imaginations from the Other Side" and the like), but the greatness seen here makes it completely forgivable (some are glad of the lack thereof).

1. "This Will Never End" - good sound, probably the speediest song on the track, but still doesn't have a complete thrash sound. Imagine a more melodic, less frantic "I'm Alive."

2. "Otherland" - my personal favorite song on the album. Listen to the vocals on this one, it's what you're going to be hearing for most of the album (that isn't to say if you don't like this give up! then again, it's hard -not- to like this one)

3. "Turn the Page" - another one of my favorites. This is an interesting one, as it completely captures that jovial medieval melody style, yet has all the energy of the best of BG.

4. "Fly" - well done, BG. this was the single that preceded the album, and I would argue (as the band did) that this a completely new sound for BG. give it a shot - I bet you'll like it.

5. "Carry the Blessed Home" - this one starts off just a wee bit weak, but wait til it's 30 seconds in - you'll start to like it in a hurry. Chorus is a bit reminiscent of previous album. Did I mention the bagpipes? :)

6. "Another Stranger Me" - probably the most guitar-oriented song. The vocals here are a lot more gruff than the last song too, and Hansi just sounds amazing. It's different from the rest of the album (less epic and more head-bangin), but very good as well.

7. "Straight Through the Mirror" - classic BG. this one could is something you would hear on "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" with bit 'happier' melody to it. vocal editing very evident, but very well done.

8. "Lionheart" - the freshman drummer shines on this one. it's a just a wee bit buried, but if you listen to what he's doing it's great. the musical rhythms all around the band in this one are fun (tri-ple-et, tri-ple-et).

9. "Skalds and Shadows" - you know you're not going to get away from a BG album without a ballad. It's definitely going to remind you of "The Bard's Song" or "A Past and Future Secret," but it's unique. Definitely not their best ballad, but it's still fun if you're into that sort of song.

10. "The Edge" - another one of my favorites...energy just radiates all over this song, from drums to guitars..everything. Once again, musical rhythms are lots of fun, even if you don't consciously recognize they're there and changing up on you. Have fun listening to this one :)

11. "The New Order" - this one is less tempo, but all the same it's beautiful. The chorus of this song is simply phenomenal, from drums to guitars to vocals - not to say the rest of the song isn't good, but the chorus is just such a highlight here!

12. "Dead Sound of Misery" - this is basically Fly again, except a lot darker and new lyrics. a good song, lots of classic BG stuff ("Opera"/"Nightfall" elements present).

That having been said, it really depends on what kind of BG fan you are (or, if you have never heard these guys before, read on nonetheless). For example, if you are into the thrashy crunchy sound BG has to offer, this album is probably not for you. The speed-thrash metal sounds of oldies like "Majesty" and "Valhalla" won't be found here. Nor should you expect the high wailing vocals of the previous album "A Night at the Opera". For BG regulars, by that I mean don't expect the vocals you heard on the chorus of "Age of False Innocence," but rather expect to hear a -lot- of what Hansi managed to do on "Curse of Feanor" (remember how awesome that chorus was?).

The bottom line is this: if you're a BG fan, you're probably going to get this album anyway, and you very well should. If you're the dark speed-thrash type, you're going to scratch your head a bit, but eventually you'll like it. If you're the melodic, major-key energy type, you'll fall in love with this album 7 times over again. I'm giving it 5 stars, some might disagree, but I can't imagine anyone who likes metal in general will give this masterpiece any significant grief.

There's simply too much to appreciate. Enjoy!!

A Night At The Opera was not my favorite Blind Guardian album, so I was a little hesitant about the new one, specially after listening to Fly, but after a few spins of Fly it was impossible to get that song out of my head, so I was really expecting this album, and now that I have it, it's safe for me to say that it's my favorite BG album ever, drums, guitars, bass and vocals are all perfect, not only in sound quality (which by the way is incredible) but also in songwriting, hooks, grooves, killer drums, in your face guitars and melodies all over the place. That is what evereyone expects out of this band and they have delivered in a monumental way, hail the bards!!!

One thing that I think makes Blind Guardian particularly special among other metal acts is their fearlessnes when it comes to changes styles between albums. After all, Blind Guardian have played everything from Speed to Thrash to Power to Prog Metal, and have been mostly successful each time. In accordance with this tradition, which Blind Guardian seem to have set for themselves, A Twist in the Myth is no another "A Night at the Opera". It is just as polished as that album, but less produced, and with more standard metal songs.

It had to have been hard for the band to play the songs from A Night at the Opera live because of all the orchestrations. The band seems to have kept that in mind when recording this album. If you're expecting to hear Queen-like vocal sections like the ones in A Night at the Opera, then you are in for a disappointment. Likewise , Orchestrations have taken a back seat. Rather than elaborate, layered Keyboard parts, this album's keyboards are much more subtle. There's a few strange "nintendo-ish" sounds, as someone else pointed out, hear and there. It's almost reminiscent of what you might hear from an act like HORSE the Band.

This album is probably most like "Imaginations from the Other Side" then any other album, because it is probably the most diverse. There's Thrash Elements, Acoustic Ballads, Straight-up Rock songs, and classic Iron Maiden-ish Metal songs. All in all, this album is a good buy for Blind Guardian fans (except the ones who only like their early days, and even they might find something to enjoy hear) and fans of modern metal.

Not many bands can match the pure majesty and epic power of Blind Guardian, and after almost 20 years it's good to see that they still reign as kings of power metal. A Twist in The Myth does not deviate too much from their previous work but neither is it stagnant. It is a continual refinement of their classic sound, honing it to a fine edge. And despite power metal's notorious reputation for wankery and pompousness, BG exhibits grandeur without bloat.

Opener "This Will Never End" barrages you from the first second with blistering guitar and thundering double bass drum. It's clear they're going for the throat here but just when the assault is at its most severe, one of those soaring harmonized choruses breaks in like a breath of fresh air. BG deftly dances between the styles like true masters.

The only stinkers on Twist are the requisite ballads "Carry The Blessed Home" and "Skalds and Shadows." As usual, they are cheesy as all get-out - the synth strings kill me every time I hear them (if Dimmu Borgir could get an actual stringed instrument, surely Blind Guardian could as well). You know, I don't think I could ever get used to them. Images of Ren Faires and fat dudes in loin-cloths just turn me off completely.

But the rest of Twist shows these Germanic metal virtuosos in top form. If death and black metal explores the darkness within ourselves, Blind Guardian shines as a beacon that we can't help but be drawn to. A Twist in The Myth is another solid and masterful album that will not only please die-hard fans but could easily guide the uninitiated to-ward the light. Sometimes it's okay to root for the good guys.