Howly! I first listened to Blind Guardian in a School Bus in the early 90s, when a Friend brought his Discman and a new CD "Somewhere far beyond"! 3 decades later, I still love their Sound and Hansi´s unique Voice!Back then, we all were Tolkien or PnP fans, so their Songs from Middle Earth just were hitting our hearts!
This is easily the most over-the-top song in the BLIND GUARDIAN catalogue not short on them. The whole "A Night at the Opera" album (named to honor QUEEN, of course) was appropriately styled to present sonic excess and a mayhem of harmonized vocals and instruments. For some fans, it proved too much, and a "cleansing of palate" was needed to fully enjoy the band's brand of Metal again. I have grown to love this epic number over numerous repeated listens, although I have a metalhead friend who declared he "tried to listen to it sober, and tried to listen to it drunk, and still don't get it!". :] The chorus of "And then there Was Silence" is probably in the running for the longest chorus in modern Rock music, or just music, period. It is in 3 (!) healthy parts flowing into each other, and you only quoted a third of it really. But what poignant beauty resides in that coda with repeating "Still the wind blows, calm and silent, / Carries news from the distant shore..." Poetic and impactful way to ring out the bloody tale, in which even the victory had the bitter aftertaste of loss. I agree that at their most polyphonic, BLIND GUARDIAN of that period (around 2000) can become hard to wrap one's head around, including the song structures. Their "bard" signature still comes through strong, but the shifts that occur take us a LONG way from those "Battalions of Fear" times. :) I think, in the last decade, the band have found a balance between their divergent influences (thrash, symphonic, progressive and story-telling epic) while remaining recognizably themselves. If you need real breaks between songs, the "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" album (based on J. R. R. Tolkien) provides those with real acted story bits, which may turn off some, but surely set up nicely for every coming track. And you could spend your spare time way worse than listening to more BLIND GUARDIAN - especially their classic, and my personal favorite, "Imaginations from the Other Side" album. 9 songs that have no throw-aways whatsoever! The aggression, invention and melody in the same helping, but without the later sonic overload. Treat yourself! \m/ P. S.: A shout-out for going all the way back to mention "Heroes III", one of the iconic games of our youth, ha. Another props for including the ALAN PARSONS PROJECT into the context of this discussion. Good taste!
Thank you so much for this! BG's library is honestly pretty intimidating because of the complexity and sheer volume, so stuff like this helps immensely.
I liked your reaction/analysis, it was very thoughtful. I found this song to be quite overwhelming at first, with all the vocal overlays, but it grew to be one of my favourites as I listened to it more
Holy shit it's my favorite song. This is one of the most over-produced, exceptionally dense songs, but is also infinitely re-listenable. Not quite representative of Blind Guardian as a whole, but this track is a journey. A 14 minute rock opera of the Illiad. Their career has a few distinct eras, but Nightfall In Middle Earth stands as both a transition from older to newer and as their best album.
I have to agree with everything you said. I’ve been listening to this song/album since 2003 since I discovered them and I still get those feelings I did when I was 16 y/o.
Being a mythology geek this one is one of the songs by Blind guardian i like the most. Very good reaction 👍👍 Fun fact: this song is from the perspective of Cassandra (well...almost all of it 😅). Cassandra, sister of Hector and daughter of the king of Troy was gifted by Apollo with the ability of seeing the future...but since she refused his love he, being a pretty big pile of shit, cursed her so that no one would ever believe her profecies. This whole song is her profecy, as you understand in the final verse "we're condemned though the trial's far ahead ... your handsome son (Paris) is heading home"
Had I known that you know Blind Guardian, I would've probably suggested another band or song 😂 They still have a special place in my heart, as I've heard them a lot in my teenage days and I just love their "Story telling". The whole Nightfall in Middleearth album blew me away when I first heard it... Anyway, funny coincidence though that you know them, I'm curious what you have to tell about sacred 😁
Howly! I first listened to Blind Guardian in a School Bus in the early 90s, when a Friend brought his Discman and a new CD "Somewhere far beyond"! 3 decades later, I still love their Sound and Hansi´s unique Voice!Back then, we all were Tolkien or PnP fans, so their Songs from Middle Earth just were hitting our hearts!
This is easily the most over-the-top song in the BLIND GUARDIAN catalogue not short on them. The whole "A Night at the Opera" album (named to honor QUEEN, of course) was appropriately styled to present sonic excess and a mayhem of harmonized vocals and instruments. For some fans, it proved too much, and a "cleansing of palate" was needed to fully enjoy the band's brand of Metal again. I have grown to love this epic number over numerous repeated listens, although I have a metalhead friend who declared he "tried to listen to it sober, and tried to listen to it drunk, and still don't get it!". :] The chorus of "And then there Was Silence" is probably in the running for the longest chorus in modern Rock music, or just music, period. It is in 3 (!) healthy parts flowing into each other, and you only quoted a third of it really. But what poignant beauty resides in that coda with repeating "Still the wind blows, calm and silent, / Carries news from the distant shore..." Poetic and impactful way to ring out the bloody tale, in which even the victory had the bitter aftertaste of loss.
I agree that at their most polyphonic, BLIND GUARDIAN of that period (around 2000) can become hard to wrap one's head around, including the song structures. Their "bard" signature still comes through strong, but the shifts that occur take us a LONG way from those "Battalions of Fear" times. :) I think, in the last decade, the band have found a balance between their divergent influences (thrash, symphonic, progressive and story-telling epic) while remaining recognizably themselves. If you need real breaks between songs, the "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" album (based on J. R. R. Tolkien) provides those with real acted story bits, which may turn off some, but surely set up nicely for every coming track. And you could spend your spare time way worse than listening to more BLIND GUARDIAN - especially their classic, and my personal favorite, "Imaginations from the Other Side" album. 9 songs that have no throw-aways whatsoever! The aggression, invention and melody in the same helping, but without the later sonic overload. Treat yourself! \m/
P. S.: A shout-out for going all the way back to mention "Heroes III", one of the iconic games of our youth, ha. Another props for including the ALAN PARSONS PROJECT into the context of this discussion. Good taste!
Thank you so much for this! BG's library is honestly pretty intimidating because of the complexity and sheer volume, so stuff like this helps immensely.
I liked your reaction/analysis, it was very thoughtful.
I found this song to be quite overwhelming at first, with all the vocal overlays, but it grew to be one of my favourites as I listened to it more
Deeeeefinitely a lot going on!
This song is based on Homer's masterpiece ' Iliad !! '
Matt Groening is awesome
Holy shit it's my favorite song. This is one of the most over-produced, exceptionally dense songs, but is also infinitely re-listenable. Not quite representative of Blind Guardian as a whole, but this track is a journey. A 14 minute rock opera of the Illiad. Their career has a few distinct eras, but Nightfall In Middle Earth stands as both a transition from older to newer and as their best album.
Yeah this was pretty wild! Hahaha. Another BG song (one of my favorites) coming next week. :D
Thanks for the info on the era transitions!
I have to agree with everything you said. I’ve been listening to this song/album since 2003 since I discovered them and I still get those feelings I did when I was 16 y/o.
Being a mythology geek this one is one of the songs by Blind guardian i like the most. Very good reaction 👍👍
Fun fact: this song is from the perspective of Cassandra (well...almost all of it 😅). Cassandra, sister of Hector and daughter of the king of Troy was gifted by Apollo with the ability of seeing the future...but since she refused his love he, being a pretty big pile of shit, cursed her so that no one would ever believe her profecies. This whole song is her profecy, as you understand in the final verse "we're condemned though the trial's far ahead ... your handsome son (Paris) is heading home"
Ahhhhh, well that makes a lot of sense! Thank you!!
Had I known that you know Blind Guardian, I would've probably suggested another band or song 😂 They still have a special place in my heart, as I've heard them a lot in my teenage days and I just love their "Story telling". The whole Nightfall in Middleearth album blew me away when I first heard it...
Anyway, funny coincidence though that you know them, I'm curious what you have to tell about sacred 😁
Yeah, I'm keeping what I have to say a secret but I think you'll like the Sacred Worlds video when I get to it! Super cool band.