Blind Guardian
Nightfall in Middle-Earth
Century Media
This is a metal opera based entirely on J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Silmarillion . I strongly recommend everyone who’s ever read the Lord of the Rings books (including The Hobbit and The Silmarillion ) to get this album. It’s pretty damned amazing.
German metalheads Blind Guardian, musically, employ a lot of choruses in their anthems to the fallen elves and remind me of Queen crossed with Steeleye Span. You better believe it works. Every tune in this twenty-two song metal tome is precision-crafted, not only matching the stories of bravery and battle with the appropriate riff, or full-orchestra background, but they’ve employed Tolkein scholars as technical assistants to assure a top-notch product. Great vocals, ripping guitars, pounding, unmerciful drums could describe nearly every song.
Bravo, Blind Guardian, for this great work of literary metal! (In truth, I haven’t cracked a LOTR book in years, so I’m too rusty to comment, but judging by how great this album is I’m going to re-read them all, starting with The Silmarillion , as soon as I’m done here.)
Century Media Records, 1453-A 14th Street #324, Santa Monica, CA 90404.
