Love or Hate?

Trollheart · 08-24-2015, 10:07 AM

Title: A Night at the Opera
Artiste: Blind Guardian
Genre: Power Metal
Familiarity: I've heard Nightfall in Middle Earth

1. Precious Jerusalem: I'm not crazy about the different direction they're going with here. Sort of group vocal, very Queenlike (is this really based on the Queen album or was that guy at Wiki just being lazy?). Decent track but not the sort of power metal thing I'm used to. Heavy enough but a little offputting.
2. Battlefield: Yeah, this is much better. Now we're talking!
3. Under the ice: Yeah, getting better now. The vocal harmonies here are pretty sweet. Great rocking track, plenty of drama and excitement. Now this is Power Metal!
4. Sadly sings destiny: Like the religious references in this. Thought it would be a slower song though. Great all the same. Isn't it a little like the title of the Judas Priest album though?

5. The maiden and the minstrel knight: That was more like I had expected the above track to sound; still quite a lot of power even for a ballad.
6. Wait for an answer: Here's that one about racist crows! Yeah, I really like this one. Great hook. Love the keys.
7. The soulforged: Sort of a celtic feel to this, a real marching, triumphant song.
8. Age of false innocence: Sounds like we have a proper ballad. Piano and synth, soft vocal, introspective guitars. Oh, now it's picking up and is obviously not a ballad. Well, shut my mouth!
9. Punishment divine: Another good heavy track. I will say that much of this album seems a little samey and unadventurous, but then, this is Power Metal after all... Some great shredding here, actually.
10. And then there was silence: Okay, a fourteen-minute closer is asking a little too much. It's good but why does it have to be that long? This album has been okay but nothing terribly special, and I'm really not in the mood for a track that goes on for a quarter of an hour.

End result: A very good album but I'm slightly underwhelmed by it, and I doubt I'd listen to it again. Maybe I would, but at the moment, no. I'd certainly think the words “pretentious” and “overblown” apply here, but then again as I already noted, this is Power Metal...

So, Love or Hate? Still a Love, though.

08-24-2015, 10:07 AM	#11 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Title: A Night at the Opera Artiste: Blind Guardian Genre: Power Metal Familiarity: I've heard Nightfall in Middle Earth 1. Precious Jerusalem: I'm not crazy about the different direction they're going with here. Sort of group vocal, very Queenlike (is this really based on the Queen album or was that guy at Wiki just being lazy?). Decent track but not the sort of power metal thing I'm used to. Heavy enough but a little offputting. 2. Battlefield: Yeah, this is much better. Now we're talking! 3. Under the ice: Yeah, getting better now. The vocal harmonies here are pretty sweet. Great rocking track, plenty of drama and excitement. Now this is Power Metal! 4. Sadly sings destiny: Like the religious references in this. Thought it would be a slower song though. Great all the same. Isn't it a little like the title of the Judas Priest album though? 5. The maiden and the minstrel knight: That was more like I had expected the above track to sound; still quite a lot of power even for a ballad. 6. Wait for an answer: Here's that one about racist crows! Yeah, I really like this one. Great hook. Love the keys. 7. The soulforged: Sort of a celtic feel to this, a real marching, triumphant song. 8. Age of false innocence: Sounds like we have a proper ballad. Piano and synth, soft vocal, introspective guitars. Oh, now it's picking up and is obviously not a ballad. Well, shut my mouth! 9. Punishment divine: Another good heavy track. I will say that much of this album seems a little samey and unadventurous, but then, this is Power Metal after all... Some great shredding here, actually. 10. And then there was silence: Okay, a fourteen-minute closer is asking a little too much. It's good but why does it have to be that long? This album has been okay but nothing terribly special, and I'm really not in the mood for a track that goes on for a quarter of an hour. End result: A very good album but I'm slightly underwhelmed by it, and I doubt I'd listen to it again. Maybe I would, but at the moment, no. I'd certainly think the words “pretentious” and “overblown” apply here, but then again as I already noted, this is Power Metal... So, Love or Hate? Still a Love, though. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018