Blind Guardian - Nightfall On Middle Earth [5/19]

Artist:

Blind Guardian

UPC:

727701855929

See Also:

Demons & Wizards

Description:

Blind Guardian: Hansi Kursch (vocals, bass); Andre Olbrich, "Magnus" Armin Siepen (guitar); Thomen Stauch (drums).
Additional personnel includes: Piet Sielck.
Complete with anthemic choruses, spoken word story lines, and plenty of bombastic power metal punctuating every dramatic turn, Nightfall in Middle-Earth is perhaps Blind Guardian`s most triumphant effort. After spending ten years and numerous releases building a large following in Europe and Japan, Blind Guardian took on the task of creating this progressive concept record based on J.R.R. Tolkien`s fantasy novel The Silmarillion. The story recounts events from the first age of Middle-Earth, Tolkien`s parallel world that serves as the mythological backdrop for his classic Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Blind Guardian interpretation features bassist/vocalist Hansi K?rsch`s first-person character portrayals and narrations of the medieval quest for truth and glory. It`s really quite grandiose. Except for a couple of quick-paced numbers, Blind Guardian favors an operatic prog rock approach on Nightfall in Middle-Earth, suggesting comparisons to Queen, with dense choir-like vocal harmonies set against swirling multi-part guitar lines. K?rsch lacks the technical abilities of metal`s most theatrical frontmen, but his conviction and craftiness make up for these limitations as the vocalist stretches and twists his voice to create that rarest of metal attributes, a genuine sonic signature. Plainly, this music is not for everyone. Listeners who can`t take the theatricality of Manowar, Hammerfall, or Helloween probably won`t be able to stomach Nightfall in Middle-Earth either. However, power metal aficionados and prog fans with a taste for Celtic minstrel counterpoint, shredding guitar solos, thousand-voice marching choruses, and just about everything in between should have more than a passing interest is this hyper-ambitious release. ~ Vincent Jeffries

Album Information

Release Date:

05/19/2009

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Heavy Metal

Label:

Century Media (USA)

Original Release Year:

1998

# of Discs:

1

SPARS Coding:

DDD

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

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