Blind Guardian

Nightfall in Middle Earth (Century Media)
by Scott Hefflon

Melodic heavy metal is well-known for its theatrical presentation and sci-fi/fantasy concept albums as well as its dueling, spiraling, searing solos and layered-to-the-heavens vocals. Germany’s Blind Guardian may’ve come a little late for American audiences (it seems we lost our taste for the stuff around ’88, just after Helloween’s classic Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II), but European audiences have always been less embarrassed by their metal alliances. Thus Blind Guardian had the good fortune to sell a shitload of records across the pond (and in Japan where they still think Ratt is rad) without any help from fickle American audiences. Finally Century Media got hold of them and has now re-released all the early records so we don’t have to pay so freakin’ much for the imports. (Don’t worry, die-hards, you still get total cred points cuz you got ’em the first time ’round.)

Nightfall in Middle-Earth is 22 tracks, 60 minutes of pure German melodic metal, complete with lush orchestration and vocal harmonies that roll through the songs like that huge snowball did in Willow. And yeah, the lyrics are all Tolkien-inspired: goblins, keys, battles, tears, Fate, and all that fun stuff. Leads are, of course, amazing, and the melodies are strong and heart-felt – the kinda stuff of lockin’ arms and bellowing praises to heathen gods or whatever those people do. Hell, I live in a city and I can’t even see stars, much less meet fellow fur-wearing countrymen in a tavern beneath them for a goblet of mead and a few hearty rounds of “Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill).” But for authentic, medieval, melodic heavy metal, look no further than Blind Guardian’s Nightfall in Middle-Earth, available in your neighborhood record store.
(1453-A 14th St. #324 Santa Monica, CA 90404)