Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives :: View topic (2024)

Imaginations From the Other Side
It still rips! The title track is a proggy masterpiece and just fucking unparalleled and unmatched....and it just gets intense from thereon, even though not as ambitious perhaps as that first track. All the songs are memorable enough even when some of it feels like retreading ("Born In A Mourning Hall" and "Another Holy War" seem directly cut from the "Journey through the Dark"/"Welcome to Dying" cloth). Another one I can enjoy start to finish easily.

Tales from the Twilight World
The last BG album I can play through entirely; they became unbearably long-winded for me. It is a fun album with a lot of highs even when it feels like a dry run for SFB and IFTOS. All the choruses are just headbanging nonsense fun and are seared into my memory forever.
all last night and the night before, tommyknockers tommyknockers knockin on your door

Nightfall in Middle-Earth
The songs I like on this bloated classic, I REALLY love. "The Curse of Feanor" is underrated but what a gem. "Blood Tears" recalls "Theater of Pain" to some extent for me but with a quiet and more contemplative majesty about it. Unfortunately taken as a whole, this is a chore for me to go through but the highs are career highlights and defining moments for power metal in general.

Follow the Blind/Battalions of Fear
These two go together for me. Speedy but undeniably dry because I'm used to BG just being so adorned. "Damned For All Time" and "Run For The Night" are as essential as anything they released later on. I've heard "Valhalla" millions of times maybe and it still sounds like the very definition of PM. A lot of unrefined and clunkier moments on both though that pales them in comparison to the superior material further down the discography.

A Night at the Opera
It just is not as good as the Queen album but I keep appreciating it more and more as the years go by. The overt orchestral affair that it is does not always go down well with me and as busy as it is, some of it always felt undercooked to me. "And Then There Was Silence" is so effing genius though that I just have to shut my gob and stand in its lengthy awesomeness.

At the Edge of Time
Essentially first-era BG but with all the shiny new bits of their latter days. Lots of hat-tipping to SFB too but nothing truly threatening or groundbreaking. "Road of No Release" is so good and one of my favorite songs from the band and "War of the Thrones" is stirring and atmospheric. They can still amaze you like that, these guys. Overall though, it does not address much I've not experienced better from them...and Hansi sounds forlorn and quite muted on here.

And that's it for me. I'd like to see how everyone else ranks them. The albums I have not mentioned, I really just don't care for but I've heard them all.

1. Imaginations from the Other Side
The perfect halfway-point between the early speed/power metal of BG's first few years and the more ambitious arrangements and epic atmospheres of the next decade or so. The dark mood and emotional depth of some of the lyrics (especially Mordred's Song and Bright Eyes) really set this apart from a lot of power metal. Production-wise, this is probably the best-sounding of their albums, clear but with enough grit to produce an incredible atmosphere. Past and Future Secret is one of their best "non-metal" tracks.

2. A Night at the Opera
This album gets a bit of flak from a segment of BG's fanbase, and I can kind of see why. It is absolutely the poster child for the extremely excessive and indulgent strain of power metal that seemed to be in vogue in the early 2000's. And while I don't really fuck with most of those bands, I do think that this album is easily one of BG's best--at times this has occupied the top slot in my rankings. First and foremost, major points for being the best showcase of Hansi's vocal range and skill--and not just in terms of ability but also expressiveness. While some of the songs can be... dense at first, it's an album that rewards repeated listens, as there's so much going on. But I think why I like this the most is that it was clear the band wrote, recorded, and put out the album they wanted to make-- this was the farthest they'd get from the early speed metal days and is less restrained than the back-to-basics approach of Twist in the Myth or the greatest hits vibe of At the Edge of Time.

3. Somewhere Far Beyond
I love this album for a lot of the same reasons I love Imaginations: dark atmosphere, great non-metal tracks, probably the first album where Hansi sounded amazing--but it comes across as less fully realized than the next album. A track like Theatre of Pain is super-fun foray into more bombastic, symphonic territory, but also stands out a bit... awkwardly in the context of the other tracks. I've also never been a huge fan of Quest for Tanelorn. However, the other tracks on here absolutely rip, especially the opening one-two punch of Time What Is Time/Journey Through The Dark.

4. Tales from the Twilight World
In some respects, this is like SFB, but... not quite as good. There's definitely more filler tracks (Tommyknockers) and interludes that don't really go anywhere (Altair 4, Weird Tales) on this album. However, the high points of Tales... are easily worth the price of admission. Welcome to Dying, Lost in the Twilight Hall, Lord of the Rings, and the Last Candle in particular.

5. Nightfall in Middle-Earth
This was the second BG release I listened to, and to be honest... it took me a while to come around to it. Getting this out of the way, I think the interlude tracks drag the album down IMO. They disrupt the flow a bit more than was probably intended. Disregarding those, most of the tracks are well-done, although the lessened emphasis on interesting and speed metal-influenced rhythms is a bit disappointing.

6. Beyond the Red Mirror
While the production leaves a bit to be desired, I've only appreciated this 2015 release more with time-- in the vein of A Night at the Opera, this feels like an album BG really wanted to make, and one that stylistically defies categorization--sure, there's songs reminiscent of the early speed metal days (The Holy Grail), but also some of the more operatic and symphonic influences tracks the band has put out (The Ninth Wave, Grand Parade). Despite this variety, it all comes together really well.

7. A Twist in the Myth
This is an album I respect more than I like-- I appreciate how rather than trying to up the ante after A Night at the Opera, the band focused on writing simpler songs more influenced by classic metal and 70's hard rock than anything else. There is some really good stuff on here, Turn the Page, Fly, Straight Through the Mirror in particular.

8. At the Edge of Time
Depending on the day, I might prefer this over A Twist... but they have about the same amount of filler (Valkyries is one of my least favorite BG tracks) and AtEoT definitely has the feel of an intentional greatest hits album, as I've heard someone describe it as on this forum. Still, it is an undeniable fact that Wheel of Time is one of the best BG songs, and I have a big stupid smile on my face every time I listen to it.

9. Follow the Blind
Honestly, I am not the biggest fan of the first two albums. I think their songwriting hadn't really come together and Hansi was much less impressive of a vocalist than he'd eventually become. Still, Banish from Sanctuary and Valhalla are easily the best tracks on this album, and understandably classics.

10. Battalions of Fear
Technically the first BG album I heard-- kept me from getting more into the band until a few years later. Majesty is probably the only song here I really dig.

I didn't include the orchestral album they put out in 2019, as 1) technically it's not a BG album, and 2) I honestly haven't given it much of a listen. Overall, easily one of the best, most consistent bands in metal. Excited for their next album (coming out this year?).

Personally, I would rank Imaginations... at #1 with Somewhere Far Beyond at #2, but both are among the best of the genre.
I also think that Follow the Blind is materially better than Battalions of Fear, which is relatively tepid against what would immediately follow - but each are better than ...Opera and everything thereafter.

Also, I don't usually care for live albums but the first two BG live albums are absolute bangers. I particularly enjoy the more aggressive, less orchestral renditions of the songs from ...Opera that are found on Live.

What an incredible band.

lord_ghengis wrote:

Well damn I've got some more listening to do. I was so close to being done with CC. Oh well.

CC?

Rodman wrote:

The Cannibal Corpse version of this thread, I've been hitting an album of theirs every night for two weeks and am due to finish up tomorrow. Now I'll need to back that up with the 5 BG's I don't feel comfortable ranking without a relisten haha.

I jumped ship after Opera because I was getting tired of power metal and I didn't like what I heard from Twist.

FtB: 8/10 (9/10 for this fan)
BoF: 7.5/10 (8 for the fanboy-me) Not the greatest sound and not all songs are great but s/t, Martyr and esp. majesty are real gems.
---- Essential BG imo

A Night at the Opera 7/10 Too bloated sound production (they needed Flemming again), too many Hansis all the time and it's very tiring to go through the entire thing at one sitting. But some amazing songs too.
---- end of the line for me

At the Edge of Time 6/10 Too bloated, too plastic, too pompous, too much everything and no Thomen, which makes the drumming sound inferior. And plastic. Some very good songwriting here and there. But not my cup of tea.

A Twist in the Myth/Beyond the Red Mirror 5/10
Some nice melodies here and there, some nice verses but otherwise this is the BG that I cannot stand anymore. What I said about ...Edge applies here as well but without any songs that I can dig throughout.

Still haven't had the courage to listen to the entire orchestral stuff. One song I kind of liked but the whole vibe was modern BG without the guitars and drums. So...

1. Nightfall in Middle-Earth (no interludes version)
2. Imaginations from the Other Side
3. Somewhere Far Beyond
4. A Night at the Opera

5. Everything else.

Somewhere Far Beyond is #2. The most Blind Guardian Blind Guardian will ever be. Maximum epicness, their most catchy choruses, most enjoyable interludes. Tales of hobbits dwarves and men. 100% BG style BG.

Battalions of Fear is next, same good qualities as FTB just not quite on the same level.

Tales From The Twilight World: my most nostalgic BG album. Same good qualities as SFB just not quite on the same level. Realizing that "Goodbye my Friend" was about ET was the first time I felt smart reading lyrics.

A Night at the Opera, this album set the tone for subsequent BG albums having half really good songs and half mediocre songs. The good ones on here are some of their best tracks of all time, Precious Jerusalem, Battlefield, Sadly Sings Destiny, Wait for an Answer. But also has some of their least interesting: Under the Ice, The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight, Age of False Innocence... Equivalent in this regard to Iron Maiden's Somewhere In Time; best songs, not best album.

At The Edge Of Time. Good tracks include Sacred World, Valkyries (though of all the songs with this title, I'd go with the Grave Digger version), War of the Thrones, Wheel of Time. The rest are not as memorable. You can tell the band were really trying to make this one good after seriously phoning it in on A Twist in the Myth, so they mixed it up with new musical ideas and new source material. War of the Thrones is their best non metal track since The Bard's Song.

Beyond the Red Mirror: ATEOT redux? All the same ideas but more tortured. Good songs are Ninth Wave, Twilight of the Gods, Distant Memories, Holy Grail, Grand Parade... The rest, meh. Also Miracle Machine sounds like Piano Man.

Nightfall In Middle Earth. I actually like the interludes. This one I need to listen to more and will probably rank higher later. Forms a missing bridge between their early and middle style that was missing before.

Imaginations From The Other Side: This album probably also deserves to be higher in the list but I've never gotten around to listening to it seriously. Just not immediately captivating to me like so much other BG material.

A Twist In The Myth: I often forget this album exists. I guess it's notable because almost all their songs since this have been varied reworkings of "Fly".

Twilight Orchestra... Why even bother? Blind Guardian isn't Blind Guardian if it isn't a metal band in addition to being a 10,000 piece orchestra and hundreds of layers of overdubbing.

Logic and Reason wrote:

You should probably revisit. Every other poster has it ranked in the top 2 BG albums. It's an absolute banger.

But I do realise the band does have issues (the main one having a name even), so, if I try to kinda weigh all the pros and cons, - like, what I would recommend a newcomer to start with - I'd end up with these three:

Imaginations, Nightfall and ANATO.

Imaginations and Nightfall don't really need to be talked about anymore, but why ANATO and not, say, BtRM which is my own personal favourite?

Because production.

See, while songwriting-wise I absolutely adore the 21st century BG (yes, Twist very much included; my least favourite out of those albums is Edge), I can't say the same about the sound. Even in this very thread people have already remarked that, say, Edge sounds plastic and Hansi's vocals are kinda buried. I had to make my own personal "remasters" of every Bauerfeind-produced album... and ANATO required the least fiddling. It's quite listenable as-is.

Charlie Bauerfeind encapsulated his mixing "philosophy" in a few sentences in this interview, contrasting Rasmussen's approach with that of his:
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/ ... ch-fanclub

Quote:

"He mixes the important elements way into the foreground... My mixes are normally more equal in importance of elements."

And I'd say that this is the fundamental flaw. You can't have everything compete with everything else. Especially the more complex your arrangements get. You just end up with a lot of sonic "cotton wool".
He then speaks about "little details" in the "main instrument or vocals" - but here's the issue, they are hard to hear as the result. Unless he mixes using extremely non-linear "monitors" or weird room acoustics and so can hear them, idk.

The 2003 Live album is probably the only Bauerfeind-mixed album that sounds good as-is. Live Beyond the Spheres didn't get as lucky. And this 2003 Live could also be a good introduction to the band. LBtS would've been better because it came later and has songs from more albums as a result, but, well, again, that production...

Gravetemplar wrote:

Just in case somebody here didn't know, there's an official Nightfall in Middle-Earth version without interludes that's even better than the original one.

Bah! The interludes are good!

1. Imaginations From the Other Side/Somewhere Far Beyond, tied. That's just god-tier PM right there.
2. Nightfall In Middle-Earth. My intro to the band. Just a SLIGHT dip compared to what came before, but I actually like those interludes, they let the album breathe a bit.
3. Tales From the Twilight World. Solid prototype of what they'd do next. Very very good.
4. A Night at the Opera. Man, when it works, it REALLY works. And Then There Was Silence is particularly phenomenal.
5. Battalions of Fear/Follow the Blind. Another tie. Even before they turned full PM, they were DAMN good, weren't they? Guardian of the Blind, Run For the Night, Damned For All Time and, of course, Valhalla rip.
6. The rest. Some solid songs in there (strangely, I found their softer tunes, such as Curse My Name and Skalds and Shadows, to be the high points of their respective albums), but they didn't hook me nearly as much as the rest.

Gravetemplar wrote:

There is? I’d put on the album more often if it didn’t have those goofy interludes. They break the flow and add little to the album or story. I know it’s based on the Silmarillion, a book I love, and those interludes don’t do it justice. Especially The Minstrel, what is the added value?

So I stand still
In front of the crowd
Excited faces
What will be next?
I still don't have a clue

Lord_Lexy wrote:

https://archive.org/details/BlindGuardi ... ialEdition

Chaosmonger wrote:

I’m with you

1. Imaginations - the right mix of everything, a distinct sound, amazing production, the band writing their most interesting songs.
2. Somewhere Far Beyond - definitely stepping up into a more transcendent style and really delivering the goods writing-wise, whilst retaining the energy.
3. Follow the Blind - probably the one I listen to the most. Not dry, at all.
4. Battalions of Fear - NWOBHM meets Fates Warning in Germany? Can't go wrong.
5. Tales from the Twilight World - in some ways their most straightforward Euro-power album. Still great.
6. Nightfall... - not without its flaws, but it still definitely works for me - their last classic.
7. ANATO - starting to lose the plot here, but still some good moments. Heads starting to disappear up arses, though, really.
8. Anything else beyond that point: who the fuck fucking cares? Disney guitars? Shitty drums? Awful production? A pastiche of what they once were? Orchestral albums? No thanks, sirs.

Due to their evolution in sound over the years, my favourite album really comes down to my current mood, but generally speaking it goes something like this:

1. Tales from the Twilight World
This album for me perfectly encapsulates what I love about Blind Guardian. It combines their earlier speed metal sound with the heavier, more melodic albums that came later. Almost every song is a complete banger.

2. Nightfall in Middle-Earth
A bit of an outlier, perhaps, but to me this is their last truly amazing album. Normally I can't handle overly long albums heavy on concepts, but the soaring melodies, the exceptionally catchy hooks and riffs, those flowing guitar melodies... Just great, progressive and memorable songwriting through and through.

3. Imaginations from the Other Side
To be honest the third place is probably a tie between IFTOS and Somewhere Far Beyond, but this one has just a few more songs that I really truly love. Also it feels a little closer to the NIME sound and style of songwriting that I love so much.

4. Somewhere Far Beyond
SFB felt like a bit of a step beyond what Blind Guardian did with Tales from the Twilight World and moved them closer to their later power metal sound. If I were to say anything negative about this album, I think it sort of meanders a bit around the half-way point. But these four albums are absolutely stellar.

5. Battalions of Fear
Again, 5th place could as easily have been Follow the Blind as BOF. But this is where it all began, and at the time BG had so much energy and excellent riffing! Majesty is a huge album opener, followed by the classic Guardian of the Blind. Something near perfect German power-speed metal in this formula.

6. Follow the Blind
Banish from Sanctuary is one of my favourite BG songs ever, and generally this album is just incredibly strong. Like BOF before it, it's teeming with pent up energy. If anything, I hate that they didn't let the album close with Valhalla by including the Barbara Ann cover.

7. A Twist in the Myth
My top 6 is more or less the only BG albums I ever listen to, and I might be a bit of an outlier by placing ATITM above A Night at the Opera. It is most likely because this album came out when I first started listening to BG, and so it was one of the first albums I owned. It can be argued that it's a bit directionless and lacks bite, and that is totally legit criticism of the album. But I like it all the same.

8. A Night at the Opera
I never truly got into this album. It's got great songs, but I think coming off the huge album Nightfall in Middle-Earth really left ANATO feeling a little unambitious.

9. At the Edge of Time
I wouldn't say ATEOT is a bad album, but it just felt a little overindulgent and unmemorable to me. Tanelorn is the only song from this album I can recall off the top of my head.

10. Beyond the Red Mirror
What I said about At the Edge of Time really also goes for Beyond the Red Mirror. I think by 2015 I probably wasn't that interested in new BG music either because the last few offerings hadn't really captured me all that much. I can see they're rated quite highly here on MA, so maybe I owe myself to check 'em out again.

I never got around to listening to Twilight Orchestra at all. Perhaps someone here could explain the allure of these last three albums?

My top and bottom albums are probably hot takes. ANATO is admittedly a little overproduced and not the first album I'd recommend to a newer listener, but the arrangements are absolutely gorgeous with a lot of memorable vocal lines. TFTTW is still a decent enough album but it's a weird transition album with an awkward grab bag of songs imo.

#1 is a no brainer for me, a pompous overblown masterpiece of a concept record. Same for the last one, A pompous overblown pile of meh.

9. Beyond the Red Mirror
I should probably familiarize myself with this more as it's, by far, my least listened to Blind Guardian album, but honestly, not much about this really pops. "The Holy Grail" is cool as shit, and I do find this more interesting than Twist, although Twist's issue was that of not having many catchy, melodic joints while Red Mirror is kinda that, but better at least, and with more scope and majesty.

8. At the Edge of Time
A safe bet after the underwhelming Twist, and the average song is actually fairly good... in the vaguest sense of the word. It's like a "best-of" collection of Blind Guardian tropes and while it does work at times like with "Tanelorn" and "Ride into Obsession" (plus "Curse My Name" albeit for different reasons), the rest would be filler of the highest order on their classic albums.

7. A Night at the Opera
"Battlefield" is a stone cold classic and "And then There Was Silence" is a truly epic operatic experience. "Precious Jerusalem" is a nifty opener and "The Soulforged" is quite melodious. The rest of the album, though, just seems to be missing something that would make these songs pop.

6. Nightfall in Middle-Earth
This album has four great songs, two of the greatest songs they've ever written ever, and songs that don't quite hit that sweet spot.

5. Battalions of Fear
"Majesty" is a banner fucking great song - what a way for Blind Guardian to really introduce themselves, never mind open an album - and there's some cool shit throughout. Some nifty speed metal that loses out because every song not named "Majesty", "Guardian of the Blind" and "Run for the Night" leans a little closer to "first album" than "strong debut". I'd say that this kinda ties with Nightfall on these rankings, but for different reasons.

4. Follow the Blind
Here's the debut, only better. VALHALLA - DELIVERANCE!

3. Tales from the Twilight World
Whoa, it gets even better! Actually, for the longest time, I'd considered this one of their weaker overall albums, and definitely the weakest of their pre-2000s material, but I don't know man - these riffs, the way that they weave together into these rich, majestic tapestries click so hard, it's like a real speed metal symphony!

2. Imaginations from the Other Side
If every song was as good as the titular song, "I'm Alive" and "And the Story Ends", this would be my number one pick. Those songs are great. I'd say about half this album eclipses its predecessor, and the other half is less good than that enough to where this album, despite its increase in scope and despite its best songs having the richest of rich melodies, ends up second.

1. Somewhere Far Beyond
Yeah this is just the perfect power/speed metal album. The riffs, the melodies created from those riffs, Hansi's undeniably melodious vocals, the catchiest of catchy choruses - so much so, you should wear a mask when listening to this, lest you succumb to them.

This thread has also made me realize how much I hate when people use abbreviations to refer to albums. It makes thinking about this stuff ultra hard in some cases because I have to constantly rethink what the name of the albums are and even open the Metal Archives page in some cases with albums I haven't listened to. I known I've used them in the past too but I try really hard not to do it anymore.

lord_ghengis wrote:

The first six songs on Tales are among their best, but it shits the bed hard on the last three.

lord_ghengis wrote:

The first six songs on Tales are among their best, but it shits the bed hard on the last three.

THE. FUCKING. NERVE!

Tommyknockers is soooo much fun. I'm gonna go listen to it now. That chorus will never leave my head, so nostalgic, so nerdy, so utterly lovable - what is wrong with you? It is based off the Stephen King novel as is Altair 4 which granted, is not special or anything but not offensive either. The Last Candle on the other hand is an obvious highlight of the album and as Zelkiiro pointed out, one of their best songs really.

Acrobat's review of this album gives it the right context as far as general appreciation for it in the BG discog should go. Check it out.

Chaosmonger wrote:

he's right about Tommyknockers and Altair 4 being weak but yeah, The Last Candle is classic

THERE'S HOPE FOR EVERYONE!

Yesss, give me more of those "D&D Session" backing vocals like they had all over "Twilight World.

Imaginations from the other side: Their masterpiece. Not a single bland moment. Production can't get any better than this for the genre. It contains some of the best drumming in all of power metal.

Follow the blind: Best of their early era. Tons or relentless drumming and killer riffs. This is IMO the best speed metal album ever released.

Somewhere far beyond / Tales from the twilight world: These two are equally good so I can't put anyone above the other. They're obviously transitory albums but that doesn't mean they're bad at all, they're still better than anything after imaginations.

A night at the opera: I put this over the previous one because it contains more memorable moments. I like how pompous and ambitious this album is. It really lives up to its cover art. You can't deny the layered vocal work in here is simply genius.

Nightfall on middle earth: My least fav of BG's golden era. This one have less great moments than the rest but it's still one of the best concept albums I've ever heard. I think it's too long for its own good but if you have 1 hour to spare on it it's still a great listening experience.

Battalions of Fear: I don't listen to this one that much but I still like it to some extent. Guardian of the blind's gotta be one of their catchiest choruses. It's real fun to sing along with.

I don't care about the rest. A twist in the myth was a huge let down when it came out and I just lost track on them after it. I honestly haven't heard anything since then.

Chaosmonger wrote:

he's right about Tommyknockers and Altair 4 being weak but yeah, The Last Candle is classic

Haha when I finally get my list up in a couple of days I'll be giving a much worse "oh fuck you" ranking for one album in particular.

Gravetemplar wrote:

Maybe I should revisit Tales From the Twilight World because I don't remember anything about it.

You gotta be kidding. Two tracks from the heart of the core BG setlist are off Tales

Gravetemplar wrote:

This thread has also made me realize how much I hate when people use abbreviations to refer to albums.

Well, using abbreviations is part and parcel of being an obsessed fan of bands with longwinded album names

...I'm actually wondering if there are any other Tales albums in existence outside BG's and Amorphis' ones. There gotta be!

At the Edge of Time is my "favorite" of their latter albums, although it's only 2 or 3 tunes I have in my playlist.

I saw them live on the tour where they played Imaginations... from start to finish. A perfect performance. The whole show really, just on point.