Requires a lot of both: time and patience

Really glad I did not on the 2015er-work of Blind Guardian, Beyond The Red Mirror. For the albums were previously just too disappointing. Especially At The Edge Of Time was in my opinion a big disappointment and meant that I no longer wanted to blind access for Blind Guardian. Fortunately Beyond The Red Mirror is a completely different caliber, let me elaborate.

First, a small digression to my personal Blind Guardian history: Up to and including Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998) I find on any album of Krefeld any complaints. Yes, you read that right: included. Nightfall in Middle-Earth was basically my introduction to the work of Blind Guardian and it grabbed me immediately. Following all older boards came off of which I was able to convince each fully. After 1998, saw the thing but different. On A Night At The Opera (2002) I could (which began while looking at the cover) used even me after a brief moment of shock. A Twist In The Myth (2006), however, was a much harder nut to crack, the main reason was the soundtrack overkill which almost killed one. Ultimately, it was then but a few individual songs that have remained in my memory (Turn The Page, Fly, Another Stranger Me, Skalds And Shadows) and the board have yet anchored still positive in my memory. In At The Edge Of Time (2010) then went nothing more. Ok, Sacred Worlds known (mainly because of the computer game Sacred), Tanelorn (Into The Void) is (on: Somewhere Far Beyond, 1992) due to The Quest For Tanelorn and possibly also Michael Moorcock readers a term and A Voice In The Dark is a veritable hit, at least in the context of the album. But overall you can not say that the 2010 album would have been a good one.

So much for the story, we come to the present and the reason for my Abschweifens: After the first three or four Hördurchgängen I thought, Beyond The Red Mirror would be classified in the ranks of past albums. As did namely not much. But sometime it is really well done and the songs began to open up. Granted, all that did not work out, but overall you have to say: patience here is really worth it. Should questionable whether all listeners bring as much Muse, try to it but in any case.

And now we come to the details and start with the positive aspects of Beyond The Red Mirror. First there would be the extraction Twilight Of The Gods, the advance sounded weak, but stands in the gallery context as relatively catchy and slightly audible. Better than I had thought in advance as you may be at hand with its judgment too quickly. Even better, it makes the most powerful and at the same time the hardest song on the album, namely The Holy Grail. Here the Krefeld can actually stand out and manage to combine their own past with the time of about A Night At The Opera skillfully, without overloading the whole. And the line of text There on the battlefield / She sings praise, hallelujah is virtually impossible to get rid of again. Almost as good to hear are Prophecies (with one or the other part, which might live well suited to sing along), Ashes Of Eternity (relatively hard and fortunately very metallic for the newer Blind Guardian ratios), The Throne (curiously, chaotic-anthemic charm to come without really the climax, but equipped with the best guitar solo of the album) and Sacred Mind (another almost thoroughbred metal song, settled on the darker side and with very aggressive vocals, where time must face whether Hansi Kürsch the live yet hinkriegt).

Rather bland, but not negatively striking in my ears: Distant Memories and Miracle Machine, the standard ballad (In this case, quasi just Hansi Kürsch and a piano, a little chorus and orchestra are still in the process after all sang beautifully..).

And now we come to the negative part, which you guessed it unfortunately has come to dubious honor. At The Edge Of Time (sic!) Is totally forgettable. Boring and does not hang no idea who wants to hear a similarly structured song ever. Similarly, it is with the bulky and vacuous Opener The Ninth Wave, the many already expected to discourage in advance. Had at least spun off to dramatic start as orchestral intro, it might have been bearable. So unfortunately, I can not imagine that many people want to give this song at a time to me. Is compensated for the false start in my opinion, by the end: The Grand Parade is a song in which the spirits are divorced. My mind is with the thumbs down. When a kind of And Then There Was Silence wanted kreiren here that has gone thoroughly into his pants. So a song I would have rather expected from Avantasia but not from Blind Guardian. And that's not a compliment, not for a band, nor for the other. In Avantasia the piece could have worked eventually by different singers, here it is more like well kitschy Tra-la-la. Or so. No big deal, but this Say good-bye my friend chorus does not go with me halt.

Conclusion: Overall, I think Beyond The Red Mirror much better than I had at first, then feared after single after the first runs. This reminds me from the feeling a bit like A Twist In The Myth, where I have a similar learning curve needed. Have to chalk up to Blind Guardian in my opinion, two things: First, the sound in my ears is sub-optimal. Dull and not perfectly mixed a bit, sometimes you wonder where that guitar ever be heard. Secondly, I do wonder whether it makes sense to either patch up every little snippets with choirs or orchestral parts (or both). This makes the songs hard to breathe air and enables the average Joe metallers extremely difficult to tap the plate super example: Sacred Mind. Well, such things can be exciting but the Krefeld exaggerate my opinion mercilessly. I'm afraid that is also at the concerts very clearly show invites to sing along here namely a next to nothing, partly because there are no compelling choruses. And the really big hit, unfortunately, once again missing.

Published on weltending.wordpress.com.