A Twist In the Myth -Blind Guardian

Mon 11th Sep, 2006 in Music Reviews

The opening moments of Blind Guardian’s new CD is a little disturbing – they have a logo with looks a lot like Avenged Sevenfold’s bat of death and it starts with a loud blast of noise from the guitar and drum kits.  It soon becomes clear that they have put together nothing to be thrown out or tossed aside on A Twist in the Myth, however; the German band take on a wide range of styles beyond their ‘power metal’ tag and, even if some of the songs, joined together as they are, are draggingly long, it may even succeed for fans of progressive music where bands like Tool haven’t done so well this year.

In and out of major to minor singing changes, such as on opener ‘This Will Never End,’ the band explore a good deal of myths and, yes, fairy tales, but backed by big good-sounding hooks that sound almost poetic backed by the usual loud guitar solos.  But that’s not all: ‘Carry the Blessed Home’ is softer and radio-friendly without, politely, being a whore-out, and the terrific experiment ‘Skalds and Shadows’ feels almost medieval, what with a harpsichord sample and all, the perfect triumph that throws shame on many of their fellow power metallers.  It goes on, in fact, without losing any real steam, until ‘The New Order,’ a big building that drifts between the best of both worlds.

Of course it may be found boring for no other reason than tracks like ‘Turn the Page,’ Fly’ and ‘Otherland’ are all joined together into one mega-song, not a good experience for the impatient, and the pleasures do take some getting to, sometimes for no other reasons than Hansi Kursch’s thick accent and high voice.  Of course, A Twist In the Myth is a suprise and excitement (at the same time!) for those looking for something deeper or more poetic than today’s normal stereotype rock music, and its even got a suprisingly spot-on title.  Maybe it’s the German power stepping in or something.