Short Reviews [Blind Guardian - 2015 - "Beyond the Red Mirror"]

This 2015 album was the tenth studio release from Blind Guardian, and the first since ‘At The Edge of Time’ some five years earlier and is a concept and sequel to 1995’s ‘Imaginations From The Other Side’. Although Blind Guardian made their name initially in the same speed metal area as fellow countrymen Helloween, over the years they had moved both into power metal and in producing bombastic albums with a series of guests. This is no different, in that outside the core quartet of Hansi Kursch (vocals), Andre Olbrich (guitars), Marcus Siepen (guitars) and Frederik Ehmke (drums) they not only have a new session bassist in Barend Courbois but also have two orchestras, three choirs and more. The result is something which is massively over the top, bombastic, but also for some reason feels quite compressed. There is a lot going on at times, but one does not really get the epic feel that Blind Guardian are looking for as instead there is the feeling of everything being squashed together. It can be quite smothering at times as there is just no space for movement. I have heard quite a lot of Blind Guardian over the years and while never being a huge fan have never really disliked their music either, and that is the case again with this one. It is interesting, but there just is not enough freedom in the music for it ever to be anything special as it has been produced to within an inch of its life. Some people have stylised this as symphonic metal, but it certainly isn’t that, it is bombastic power metal which is attempting to become ever more so. That it does not reach the heights it is reaching for is another matter altogether. Possibly looking at it from five years on as opposed to reviewing it after there had been such a long gap between albums had some impact on my feelings, but there again maybe not.