Blind Guardian--A Night at the Opera

Blind Guardian--A Night at the Opera (2002/Century Media) Rating--8.0

A very bombastic release, even by Blind Guardian's own standards. In terms of the band's European popularity, they are somewhat the second-coming of Helloween: a band that all the fans love, and that new groups want to be like. And because of that immense popularity they usually get rave reviews (which are perhaps driven a bit too much by the popularity/image), especially from their local fanbases. Now... back to the bombastic part. Much of this release tries simply to do too much. Every song seems to want to pack in every little chime, key, chorus, guitar lead, and drumline imaginable... while often foregoing good ol' metal in the process. There is a lot of orchestra-like, big sound filler, which in part plays into the album's title. An unfortunate result is often a lot of fast drumming and underlying lead guitar work laid beneath Hansi's singing, with not as much crunch and bottom-end that would make for a more solid experience.
Enough of the nitpicking, though--there are plenty of good points, as indicated by the rating. The vocal melodies are still some of the best out there, and technically and musically-speaking the band can match with anyone in the genre. The second half of the disc is a huge redeeming point, and bumps and cruises along nicely.
Heavier tracks show up via "Sadly Sings Destiny," "Age of False Innocence," "Punishment Divine," and highlight "The Soulforged," with its anger-tinted verses. All of "Battlefield," "Under the Ice," and "And Then There Was Silence" have their good parts as well.
TRACK LIST: Precious Jerusalem/Battlefield/Under the Ice/Sadly Sings Destiny/The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight/Wait For an Answer/The Soulforged/Age of False Innocence/Punishment Divine/And Then There Was Silence

Back to Discography