 Being released one year after the fabled and worshiped “Imaginations From the Other Side”, the expectations for this album were quite high. Did Blind Guardian manage to pull it off. In a way, yes, in another, very much no.
The first 2 tracks on this album are cover songs from other artists. I was never a fan of either, and I have to say, although I did not like the songs, Blind Guardian put a interesting focus on it. I would much prefer, however, if Blind Guardian simply created two of their own songs.
Soon after, we get “Bright Eyes”. Yes, even though it was on “Imaginations”, the Guardians decided it was good enough to put on their new album as well. You’d think they turned into a lazy band, putting the same songs over and over again on their albums. Well, fear not, this version of Bright Eyes is acoustic, much more sad, and depressive, which is the original points of the songs I believe. This song will take some super glue and stick itself right onto your brain. I have yet to hear someone say they really hate this song.
This is a very slow and not so powerful album. But that is certainly not a bad thing. The Guardians really slowed down their style, making the songs more sad, and much more meaningful, almost in the style of “Nightfall in Middle Earth”. How much more can you possibly say about this album? It in fact, speaks to you directly, you need not even turn it on, just looking at the cover will give you some sense of what you are in for. I will not say, “Most of the Album is in the style of Song “X””, because none of them are.
In total, this album contains, four cover songs, that I think, are not very good. They may be performed well, but I dislike the songs themselves. This lost the album very serious points.
The song A past and Future Secret is also on this album. This now seems like an album of all covers and re-releases, although Bright Eyes was re-mixed. Not to mention, Mordred’s Song being here as well. No doubt, it may be a good album with good songs, but this is not right. As far as I know, the only new songs from Blind Guardian here are: Lord of the Rings, The Wizard, and To France. Although Lord of the Rings is a spectacular song, describing Tolkien’s work very accurately, and the instrumentals to back it up will make you want to listen time and time again.
So, wow, I gave one of my favorite bands a 6.9! I feel I have a good reason. Not only does it have four cover songs, which, anyway, in my opinion are not good songs, it also has 5 previously released tracks. I didn’t mention “The Bard’s Song” earlier, but it’s there no doubt. Three original songs from them doesn’t make a very good album.
1.5 points for the covers, and another 1.5 for unoriginality on the album. It could have been a much better album, but they covered the wrong songs, and they did not write much of their own, not to mention mooch off their previous songs. You might like it, if you are a big BG fan, or you really like lot’s of acoustic sounds on your albums. If you’re a big Blind Guardian fan, it might be worth your money, but since you are only really paying for 3 songs… it’s your call. True some are re-mixed and given a new focus on, they are still mostly the same thing. I won’t recommend it to you, so don’t blame if you find you don’t like it much either, and have already spent your time and money acquiring it.
Patrick Burent
 |
01. Mr. Sandman [The Chordettes cover]
02. Surfin' USA [Beach Boys cover]
03. Bright Eyes [acoustic version]
04. Lord Of The Rings [acoustic version]
05. The Wizard [Uriah Heep cover]
06. Spread Your Wings [Queen cover]
07. Mordred's Song [acoustic version]
08. Black Chamber
09. The Bard's Song [live]
10. Barbara Ann / Long Tall Sally
[Beach Boys cover]
11. A Past And Future Secret
[acoustic version]
12. To France [Mike Oldfield cover]
13. Theatre Of Pain [orchestral version]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read also: Blind Guardian - A Night At The Opera, Blind Guardian - A Twist In The Myth, Blind Guardian - Battalions Of Fear, Blind Guardian - Bright Eyes, Blind Guardian - Fly, Blind Guardian - Follow The Blind, Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side, Blind Guardian - Mirror Mirror, Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth, Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond, Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond, Blind Guardian - Tales From The Twilight World, Blind Guardian - The Bards Song (In The Forest)
|
