Blind Guardian's Reviews

A Night at the Opera

Constant inclusion of their signature sound hurts cd

Imagine if such a sound was used and highlighted on practically all of the above artists's songs.

If such was the case, such an innovative signature sound would get boring, cliched and become an irritant upon hearing it over and over again, thus damaging the qualities of the song.

Well, Blind Guardian have a signature sound in the form of a rotating speaker/vocal chorus sound made by the guitar(s).

Unfortunately, this sound seems to be used and highlighted in the vast majority of the songs on this cd, which creates a situation mentioned above.

This is a shame, as the songs are top notch and often more progressive in structure and varied than the songs in their previous CD.

The vocalist is unique alone, so almost everyone who has heard BG in the past, would know a BG song when played without the need to almost always include and highlight this signature sound in every song.

The power/speed metal 16th note drumming is still present, but it is not in all of the songs, and where it is, it is often sucessfully blended into the mix.

With each subsequent recording, BG is slowing moving away from their power/thrash metal beginnings into a more progressive metal/rock group

I wish they would re-mix this recording and take this sound out on the most of the songs as it is not needed.

If such a sound was taken out, this recording would get a 9/10. However, with the constant inclusion and highlight of it every song, this recording gets a 7/10

Buy this album on Amazon at $14.99