Blind Guardian
Imaginations From the Other Side

THE REVIEW

Immersing ourselves in a parallel universe, this is, in street terms, the basis of the extraordinary work that has definitively launched the now glorious Blind Guardian. The dark melodies that open up everything, accompanied by echoing tolls of bells, envelop and paralyze us, thrusting us boldly into this "Other Side" that gives the album its title; from nowhere, however, a first guitar riff drives away every fog, illuminating us and transmitting an unheard-of power; Thomen Stauch's thundering double pedal starts at a destructive speed, increasing our heart rate; enters the wonderful voice of Hansi Kursch, extraordinarily melodic, but with that strength due to that touch of excess ethanol which makes him perfect for this genre of music; it's not over, at the chorus an angelic choir joins in, seemingly elevating the song directly to the heavens: here is Imagination From The Other Side. 

The first true work of the German band that goes beyond trivial classifications: it outlines a genre that cannot be subordinated to another, but a true "Blind Guardian" current, defined by many as a crossover of medieval music and power metal brought to dizzying speeds. 

After "Imaginations From The Otherside", the song described above that opens and gives the album its name, we come face to face with one of the most powerful tracks of the entire album, namely "I'm Alive," where the distortion of Olbrich and Siepen's guitars stands out along with Stauch's mighty double bass, one of the few constants (sometimes trivial) that we find in several songs. Then follows the beautiful ballad "A Past And A Future Secret," which lends more fluidity to the work, relaxing our ear: there is no distortion and the drums are replaced by typically medieval-sounding percussion, while Kursch’s voice suddenly becomes warmer and more enveloping; however, there’s no time to relax as the course of the album resumes more impetuously than ever with "The Script For My Requiem," in which a fundamental role is played by the mixed choir, which intervenes very frequently highlighting the key riffs of the song and giving it incredible originality. The following "Mordred's Song" opens with a medieval-style intro, where once again the voice becomes deceptively sweet, and even if after a few seconds we almost feel like returning to "evil" tones, in reality, the two main currents of the album coexist perfectly, with a change in tones only during Olbrich's splendid solo. "Born In A Mourning Hall" highlights the almost epic vein of the Blinds with fast and rhapsodic riffs that follow one another without ever, however, sounding banal. "Bright Eyes" resumes the initial dark yet fascinating melodies, while the now famous "And The Story Ends" closes everything with a fabulous intro that takes on the guise of a little march that is then softened by the choirs that re-immerse us into the dimension of a dream destined to last only a few more minutes, when Imagination From The Otherside then gives way to silence....

A great album for one of the most authoritative bands in the so-called dark age of metal; guided by a great producer, who goes by the name of Flemming Rasmussen, who a few years before this had directed another great work called Master Of Puppets. A new style now sacred to many metalheads, who in the face of such originality could only say "Follow The Blind!"