The Official Blind Guardian Thread v. Yup, Still a Necrothread

[gazinwales]

New as yet unrecorded song, sounds pretty good too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBieoMlzOEg&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0LxD89iSDVQZPRPfks21gML4aHE3w_cjfnPFUWaarRNhvD5b2F8OUjf34

[MirrorMask]

I wonder how much the setlist was a necessity - playing "safe" songs for an almost improvised show - and how much was an attempt to win back some of the fans that weren't crazy about the orchestral album.

I mean, announcing a "speed metal" set, playing old and fast songs, playing a new fast songs.... maybe it was a way to say "Hey, remember all that stuff you liked about us before we embraced our more orchestral side? it's still there and there's new stuff like that coming!"

[cramx3]

I wonder how much the setlist was a necessity - playing "safe" songs for an almost improvised show - and how much was an attempt to win back some of the fans that weren't crazy about the orchestral album.

I mean, announcing a "speed metal" set, playing old and fast songs, playing a new fast songs.... maybe it was a way to say "Hey, remember all that stuff you liked about us before we embraced our more orchestral side? it's still there and there's new stuff like that coming!"

Probably a bit of that and also a bit of "we haven't played in awhile and just threw together a set of our most familiar songs, plus a new one to change it up"

I think it was a cool set overall though, going with all fast/heavy classics and a new song that fit in just fine.  Also not being a full headline set, they could push themselves hard and just do all the heavy stuff.  No need to slow it down for a song or two.

[Evermind]

I wouldn't mind a turn into a fast/heavy direction once more. BTRM was a bit too orchestral for my taste, and the actual orchestral album I only listened to once and didn't bother after that. BG can do orchestral stuff well (Sacred Worlds, Wheel of Time), but I wouldn't mind something in their earlier vein.

[MirrorMask]

I love the orchestral album and I still listen to it from time to time. I think that album has been almost killed by the interludes - having literally ever song broke up by an interlude slows down the momentum so much, and it doesn't help that only two people voice different characters. The no interludes version is almost a different album, more tight and more coherent.

It's not something worth 20 years of waiting, but it's good. Heck, probably not even Scenes from a Memory or The Dark Side of the Moon were worth a two decades wait. I had unrealistic expectations about this but overall I liked it.

I agree that Beyond the Red Mirror went overboard with the orchestral complexity (wouldn't surprise me if the album will be "dead" for future setlists, and skipped like A Night at the Opera), while on the other hand At the Edge of Time was fantastic, the perfect blend between orchestral stuff and the good ol' aggressive music of old.

I'd welcome too a more metal and speedy album, I'm confident they have enough talent to make it good and strong and not make their own version of Death Magnetic, AKA "so.... how it was this thing that we used to do back in the day? anyone remembers?"

[cramx3]

I think the new song can put to rest the idea they may have forgotten how to do the heavy fast stuff

I didn't even listen to the orchestral album and have no desire to.

I'd love them to do something similar to At The Edge of Time, that's one of their best albums IMO and definitely favorite in the last 25 years.

[The Walrus]

Legacy of the Dark Lands is worth visiting at least once if you're a Blind Guardian fan. Even I'm not very crazy about it, but BTRM is my #2 Blind Guardian record, so I do love that side of the band.

[Evermind]

I love the orchestral album and I still listen to it from time to time. I think that album has been almost killed by the interludes - having literally ever song broke up by an interlude slows down the momentum so much, and it doesn't help that only two people voice different characters. The no interludes version is almost a different album, more tight and more coherent.

I agree that Beyond the Red Mirror went overboard with the orchestral complexity (wouldn't surprise me if the album will be "dead" for future setlists, and skipped like A Night at the Opera), while on the other hand At the Edge of Time was fantastic, the perfect blend between orchestral stuff and the good ol' aggressive music of old.

I should try that. I was definitely annoyed by the spoken interludes.

I think they were supposed to add The Throne on BTRM tour to their later setlists but it never happened, so I wouldn't be surprised if that song made the setlist on the next tour. I also think either Prophecies or Twilight will stay in the set maybe. For ANATO they were alternating And Then There Was Silence with IFTOS / And the Story Ends for the past two tours, and honestly it's a perfect representation of that album, so I'm fine with that.

[Ben_Jamin]

 

I was listening to this, and also doing other stuff. When I heard Violent Shadows, I thought it was an older Blind Guardian song.

it's really good though. And Hansi hits the high note again.

[cramx3]

I wish they'd play more ANATO songs, I don't think Ive seen any of those songs live yet.  And while I didn't didn't love BTRM, those songs were pretty solid live.

[Ben_Jamin]

A Night At The Opera is my favorite Blind Guardian album. The one song that I would like to see live is Battlefield. I do see why they don't play it either.

[Evermind]

I'd love to see pretty much everything from ANATO, it's a fantastic album. Unfortunately unless I'm misremembering I've only seen ATTWS from it. Which was great.

What I really hope to see on the next tour is Imaginations from the Other Side (the song). They were rotating it last two tours, and first time I've got ATTWS, then, five years later, I've got And the Story Ends. Both times I went in knowing the setlists and hoping for Imaginations.

In fact, if they once again come to Moscow and St. Petersburg, this time I may go and see them two times. They seem pretty good about rotating songs.

[ErHaO]

To me it seems that another reason why they chose this setlist was that this concert had no crowd, so the band had to deliver the energy themselves. A series of dense speedmetal songs delivers on that front. Furthermore, all of these songs flow well with just Hansi and some minor background vocals by the band and they don't need background tracks to enhance them (like they do with Sacred Worlds, Ninth Wave, Wheel of Time).

One thing I wish for them to do live in general though: turn up those backing vocals a bit. They have four (!!!) other members singing and on some of the latest pro live releases (streams and the recent live album) you can barely hear them. Especially for the modern songs I feel this adds much, because there are many parts Hansi does not sing. You can hear from bootlegs/youtube vids the band sounds fine and in tune. Take the pro-shot Hellfest 2016, for example, you hear the backing vocals fairly well here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nTTgbb0I4E. And, again, they sound fine, nothing that warrants drowning it in the mix to my ears.

I love the orchestral album and I still listen to it from time to time. I think that album has been almost killed by the interludes - having literally ever song broke up by an interlude slows down the momentum so much, and it doesn't help that only two people voice different characters. The no interludes version is almost a different album, more tight and more coherent.

It's not something worth 20 years of waiting, but it's good. Heck, probably not even Scenes from a Memory or The Dark Side of the Moon were worth a two decades wait. I had unrealistic expectations about this but overall I liked it.

I agree that Beyond the Red Mirror went overboard with the orchestral complexity (wouldn't surprise me if the album will be "dead" for future setlists, and skipped like A Night at the Opera), while on the other hand At the Edge of Time was fantastic, the perfect blend between orchestral stuff and the good ol' aggressive music of old.

I'd welcome too a more metal and speedy album, I'm confident they have enough talent to make it good and strong and not make their own version of Death Magnetic, AKA "so.... how it was this thing that we used to do back in the day? anyone remembers?"

I love the orchestral album as well. Also, that album seems to be labelled as Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra, rather than Blind Guardian. Even on streaming services the album is listed under a seperate artist's page.

New as yet unrecorded song, sounds pretty good too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBieoMlzOEg&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0LxD89iSDVQZPRPfks21gML4aHE3w_cjfnPFUWaarRNhvD5b2F8OUjf34

I really like it. I also enjoy that it seems to be a chorus where it is just Hansi singing and it flows really well (that applies to the whole song). I would actually enjoy them not taking the overdub/choir route here in the studio.

[gazinwales]

Seeing how they have taken the orchestral thing as far as they can, I am almost expecting a return to the fast and raw sound of the earlier albums.
Red Mirror is actually a good album with great songs, it's spoilt by CB terrible mix that sucks the life out of the energy and dynamic's of the music.
I hope that band look for someone else to produce/mix/master their next release and that Charlie doesn't butcher the new Helloween record that he is working on.

[ProfessorPeart]

Paging Firewings/Walrus/Kattlelox/whatever your name is today:

Today, metal masters Blind Guardian kick off the pre-order for the special 25th anniversary edition of their Imaginations From The Other Side album. This edition will contain live recordings and other special versions of the Blind Guardian classics featured on the album.

Hansi Kürsch comments: "What can I say? A brilliant album celebrates its 25th anniversary. It is great to celebrate this in such a bombastic manner. Luckily we filmed our 2016 show in Oberhausen when we performed the entire album live. This is the perfect moment for us to present this master piece in so many different facets. An ideal resurrection of precious memories long gone by, but not, yet, forgotten. This album is made for eternity... I hope. Enjoy."

Imaginations From The Other Side 25th anniversary edition will be available in the following formats:

- CD
- Earbook (40p Earbook LiveCD, RemixedCD, original instrumental/demos CD, Blu-ray - limited to 2000)
- CD-Boxset (Box incl. 40p Earbook (LiveCD, RemixedCD, original instrumental/demos CD, Blu-ray) + puzzle - limited to 1000)
- 2LP Black Vinyl
- 2LP Picture Vinyl (limited to 1000)
- 2LP Burgundy Vinyl (limited to 500)
- 2LP Pearl White Vinyl (limited to 500)
- 2LP Bronze Vinyl - Band Exclusive (limited to 300)

https://shop.nuclearblast.com/en/shop/item/groups/51000.1.html?article_group_sort_type_handle=rank&custom_keywords=blind%20guardian

[The Walrus]

BRUH YES SOLD

[Grappler]

I love this...but I don't want to pay $70 for a box set, just to get the live blu ray.  Hopefully that's included with the regular cd. 

[Ben_Jamin]

That puzzle looks really intriguing...

But I'll have to go with the earbook.

Good thing I put off buying this album for as long as I have.

[ErHaO]

Pre-ordered the entire box, Blind Guardian is one of those bands where I am fine ordering the full package. And in case of this album I know it is a masterpiece.

[gazinwales]

I decided to get the $70 box, plus $30 shipping to Australia, ended up cost me close to AU$150, which is a lot, but I thought why not?

[ErHaO]

Also ordered the bronze vinyl edition on their own merch site, which will be signed by the band.

For the vinyl guys like me, this version consists of the live tracks and the demo's, so it is not just a reissue of the recent vinyl reissues.

Thankfully, for me shipping only costs a couple of euros because I live next to Germany.

[cramx3]

Oh shit, I didn't realize there was a live blu-ray available with this under certain editions... ugh hate how this gets bundled to make you spend the money but I want it. 

[cramx3]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLVh18LYxbg

New live video from the upcoming release of Bright Eyes

 

[wolfking]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLVh18LYxbg

New live video from the upcoming release of Bright Eyes

 

Jesus, that was pretty disappointing. 

[Evermind]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLVh18LYxbg

New live video from the upcoming release of Bright Eyes

 

Jesus, that was pretty disappointing.

Here's the new live video for Born in the Mourning Hall, bet you'll like this one more Kade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USSvuIyhzrU

[cramx3]

  

[wolfking]

 

No seriously, did we not find the performance in that vid pretty underwhelming?

[cramx3]

No seriously, did we not find the performance in that vid pretty underwhelming?

Hansi's first scream isn't that good, otherwise, I find it pretty solid.  He's a bit low in the mix, but I think his vocals are much better as the song goes on.  Band seems fine.  The lighting is SHIT though.  Way too dark. 

[wolfking]

No seriously, did we not find the performance in that vid pretty underwhelming?

Hansi's first scream isn't that good, otherwise, I find it pretty solid.  He's a bit low in the mix, but I think his vocals are much better as the song goes on.  Band seems fine.  The lighting is SHIT though.  Way too dark.

I thought his vocals were awful.  Seems to sing too much in a lower octave and seems a bit shaky.  Lead guitar sounds a bit out of tune too.

[cramx3]

No seriously, did we not find the performance in that vid pretty underwhelming?

Hansi's first scream isn't that good, otherwise, I find it pretty solid.  He's a bit low in the mix, but I think his vocals are much better as the song goes on.  Band seems fine.  The lighting is SHIT though.  Way too dark.

I thought his vocals were awful.  Seems to sing too much in a lower octave and seems a bit shaky.  Lead guitar sounds a bit out of tune too.

As one of the comments say "I appreciate when a band isn't fear to show how they sound in live. Respect! \m/" It's not perfect, but it actually feels and sounds live which I can enjoy more than say DT's current live release that sounds completely fake.  I think Hansi's vocals aren't the best.  Certainly not awful though, but I think that's why he's a little lower than I'd hope in the mix. 

Also, I don't know this, but I wonder if this was a rushed live release to include on the remaster and hence it's not the best live album.  More like an "official bootleg" type quality.  It definitely looks and sounds more raw.  I can dig it.  I already preordered the bundle that included the blu-ray so I'm looking forward to it.  Personally, Bright Eyes isn't a top song from the album for me so I'm curious how my favorites sound.

[wolfking]

Bright Eyes I suppose was always one of those special studio songs for me that always was difficult to replicate live.  I'll give more songs a chance though when they are released.

[cramx3]

Bright Eyes I suppose was always one of those special studio songs for me that always was difficult to replicate live.  I'll give more songs a chance though when they are released.

I feel like a lot of BG's songs are

[wolfking]

Bright Eyes I suppose was always one of those special studio songs for me that always was difficult to replicate live.  I'll give more songs a chance though when they are released.

I feel like a lot of BG's songs are

That's true.

[Ben_Jamin]

Bright Eyes I suppose was always one of those special studio songs for me that always was difficult to replicate live.  I'll give more songs a chance though when they are released.

I feel like a lot of BG's songs are

That's true.

Yup...It would be so fun to hear Battlefield live, but that is one that would be hard for them too, with all those layers.

[ErHaO]

Christmast song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug2lRwdqubE Sounds like something they'd do in the early 90's, even has Hansi playing the bass (edit: only holding the bass). I unironically like it a lot. Fun little retrostyle clip as well.

Furthermore, a fairly recent studio report from Hansi: https://metal-sound.net/2020/10/22/blind-guardian-studio-report/. Seems like we can expect a heavier/faster album less focused on orchestra's this time around.

A quote from the interview:

These songs are quite heavy, very fast and I would say this is the direction we have taken. Very early during the song-writing we decided not to go into more orchestral direction and it turned out very obvious for us that we do not want to go into a more progressive direction and that it would not do any good for us at the moment. So, we kept ourselves focused on intense song-writing, very melodic as well and still its new song-writing.

They are also currently reacting to the fanmade covers for the recent contest, which they upload as reaction videos on youtube.





And the boxset/earbook looks really nice, received it a couple of days ago. I like the type of (new) art they went with. See the unboxing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StpYCs-AaKc
And I ordered tickets for the Somewhere Far Beyond show in the Netherlands, which is the start of their 2021 tour. I am feeling positive about the end of june.