Blind Guardian
At the Edge of Time
8 out of 10
Symphonic metal is a genre bordering between being breathtakingly awesome and incredibly cheesy.
Bands like Therion and Nightwish helped formulate the style of music by combining heavy metal riffs with operatic sounds. Since then, there have been many bands, mainly from Europe and countries outside of the US, who have further explored this genre.
Blind Guardian started out as a straightforward speed metal band in 1984, then added a heavy dose of folk to create a dynamic sound that would be at home within The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
However, Blind Guardian is one of the few groups that can pull this off without inducing too much cringing, mainly because its members are so damn talented (Hansi Kursch is one of the best touring vocalists out there today).
2002’s A Night at the Opera saw the band taking on a more progressive symphonic direction, which continued on 2006’s A Twist in the Myth and the latest release At the Edge of Time.
The direction wasn’t really a surprise for Blind Guardian’s devout fan base, but every stylistic change comes with criticism.
The good news is, At the Edge of Time successfully combines Blind Guardian’s operatic sound, with its speed metal roots. The songs on the album are at times reminiscent of 1995’s Imaginations From the Otherside and most fit well into the band’s catalog of nine studio albums, although there are still a few issues holding it back from being a truly great album.
