Blind Guardian
At The Edge Of Time

But... but how? Are these really the Blind Guardian?

The name of Blind Guardian should be known to every metal lover... their style has become a benchmark for the entire world of power metal, immensely powerful, aggressive, yet never losing sight of the melody and complexity of their tracks. Anyone who has listened to albums like "Somewhere far beyond", "Imaginations from the other side" and "Nightfall in the middle earth" knows what I mean: a granite and unstoppable rhythmic section, sharp riffs, epic arrangements, and medieval reminiscences have crafted unique, intricate, and full of pathos songs. The lyrics are also noteworthy: the intelligence with which they are written is a rare thing in power metal.

Precisely because I hold this group in such high regard, I cannot help but notice that with their latest work, "At the edge of time", Blind Guardian have worryingly lost their edge and style: where are the metallic outbursts, the careful arrangements, the incredible voice of Hansi Kursch (forgive me if I misspelled it...)? Above all, where is the class, the originality, the desire to amaze?

This album, more than a work of Blind, seems recorded by one of those many spineless power metal bands that have made the genre hated by many due to their adherence to clichés... and here come the extremely gaudy orchestral arrangements, tracks of ten minutes or more (and don't you dare call them suites!), fantasy discount store lyrics, and above all, a sense of artifice, of mannerism that makes the work absolutely routine and devoid of charm.

I don't know if Blind have decided to become commercial at all costs... the fact is that this syrupy album doesn't even reach the results of the previous one, that "A twist in the myth" which, although a little understated, turned out to be a really good work.

Buy it only if you are an ultra-fanatic of the band and want to own the entire discography... for others, it's a trivial listen.

Give me back "Imaginations from the other side"!