Dona Eis Requiem... (Follow The Blind - Blind Guardian)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Follow The Blind - Blind Guardian
Date:	07/08/04 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Enjoyable, fast-paced power metal, Talented musicians and vocals, Some excellent, more developed tracks

Disadvantages: Lacks the originality of their later efforts, Vocals and guitars are repetitive, Not a lot of diversity

Any fans of the classic near-epic ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ should immediately recognise the opening chants of this second album by German power metal leaders Blind Guardian. This genre of rock isn’t exactly the most well-known and popular in Great Britain, but Blind Guardian’s talent for diversity and creating truly epic songs based on fantasy themes have led to them developing a loyal fan base and selling plenty of albums in their more progressively-oriented homeland.

‘Follow the Blind’ continues with, and improves upon, the style of their first album, but the band still had a few line-up changes and albums to go before they would develop their truly inspirational sound. Then again, you do sometimes prefer a bit of toast to a full breakfast with fried bread, black pudding and stuff.


I HAVE THE POWER (metal)


The term ‘power metal’ doesn’t exactly leak any real meaning to those unfamiliar with the genre, and the same goes for ‘epic metal,’ ‘fantasy metal’ and (get this), ‘elf metal,’ all of which are often stamped upon the band. The essential qualities of power metal are speedy, mostly upbeat instruments with a basis in more traditional heavy metal (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest) but experimenting with different sounds to enhance the music, especially those of a classical origin. It is very common to hear the occasional lute, jig and choir in albums from all of the reasonably successful power metal bands, including Blind Guardian, Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica, Helloween and Dreamevil. There is always a degree of variation between bands however: some may favour faster, more aggressive tracks, while others may prefer piano-led ballads and instrumentals.

Blind Guardian’s career has seen them move from comparatively simple heavy anthems to full-blown symphonic metal, with a fair number of surprises and interesting decisions in-between. ‘Follow the Blind’ is reasonably straightforward though.


STYLE


The influence of popular thrash band Metallica is a little less present here than on the band’s debut, but this album still shows similarities to ‘Tallica’s classic ‘Ride the Lightning’ album in terms of the guitar riffs and solos. As such, this would likely impress fans of more mainstream metal than some of the band’s later albums, but at the same time it would have a lot less shelf life. In fact, this sounds a lot like the American heavy metal band Manowar, but more developed and less silly – the ensemble choruses and themes are very reminiscent.

The instruments are all excellent, especially the guitars from Andre Olbrich. While longer outings such as the title track and the instrumental allow for more experimentation and subsequently more interesting musicianship, many of the riffs and solo sections are quite quickly forgotten at this stage. The most striking and memorable aspect of the album comes with Hansi Kursch’s heavily accented vocals which, while nowhere near as developed as on the later albums, help to distinguish this band from similar acts and have an excellent range.

They’re certainly not to everyone’s taste though, and it took me a long time to get used to some of his pronunciations, especially his over-the-top high singing in ‘Valhalla’ that pales in comparison to later high-voice classics like ‘Mirror Mirror.’ I do love a good high-voice classic, but this is overdoing it a little – it’s best when he sticks to his raspier voice in the verses at this point which sounds excellent, especially when complimented by backing vocals in the choruses.

The production quality is fairly modest, and as good as can be expected considering this was 1989 and only the second release from a band that had yet to make a name for themselves. The raw sound of the guitars helps the sound rather than acting as a hindrance, and many people prefer this sound to the very polished style of their more modern albums.


FOLLOW THE BLIND


1. Inquisition (0:43)
2. Banish From Sanctuary (5:27)
3. Damned For All Time (5:00)
4. Follow the Blind (7:10)
5. Hall of the King (4:16)
6. Fast to Madness (5:58)
7. Beyond the Ice (3:30)
8. Valhalla (4:57)
9. Don’t Break the Circle (4:20)


There is a fair degree of variation in the track here, but not to the extent I had come to expect after hearing their later albums. The strength of Blind Guardian lies in their talent at trying out different types of music and succeeding spectacularly: although they are principally a metal band, their later acoustic ballad ‘The Bard’s Song’ is perhaps their best known work, not to mention the acceptable (but irritating) cover versions of sixties pop songs that they enjoy secreting into their CDs. There is a bonus track to Follow the Blind which is a cover of the Beach Boys’ ‘Barbara Ann,’ but thankfully I was spared this special edition.

Every song on here is fairly heavy, loud and electric guitar-led, but there is still enough variation to keep some of the tracks memorable. The stand-out difference comes only with the introductory track ‘INQUISITION’, the afore-mentioned Holy Grail flaggelant chant, without the very literal Bible-bashing that accompanied it in the film.

‘BANISH FROM SANCTUARY,’ ‘DAMNED FOR ALL TIME,’ ‘HALL OF THE KING’ and ‘BEYOND THE ICE’ are all fairly straightforward speedy, heavy power metal tracks, more concerned with simplicity and cheap thrills than making any epic statements. The only problem with this is that Hansi’s vocal style remains pretty much the same throughout, which leaves it to the guitar solos to redeem a bit of originality and diversity.

The longer tracks ‘FOLLOW THE BLIND’ and ‘FAST TO MADNESS’ are a lot more rewarding, featuring changes in tempo and more opportunities for the musicians to shine. The ensemble choruses are a nice touch, but the repetitive choruses do get a little too noticeable – this is a staple of the band’s entire discography, but there should be a reasonable limit as to how many times the title of a song can be repeated.

The final three tracks on the album take an interesting turn, which thankfully keeps the album worth listening to. ‘BEYOND THE ICE’ is a fast instrumental that allows the guitars in particular greater flexibility than the tighter structures of the other tracks, but this isn’t something that can’t be found on the band’s first album. ‘VALHALLA’ and ‘DON’T BREAK THE CIRCLE’ both have a larger, more epic sound than what has come before, ‘Valhalla’ in particular remaining a live favourite to this day for its rousing chorus, hard riffs and musical progression.


VERDICT


If you’re a fan of various forms of metal, I would recommend that you try out Blind Guardian and similar bands, although they may take a while to rub off on you. ‘Follow the Blind’ would be an easy place to start as it isn’t anything too complex, but it would fail to leave any sort of lasting impression. 1998’s ‘Nightfall in Middle-Earth’ remains the band’s ultimate achievement, but the Tolkien-inspired metal grandeur may be a little overwhelming to new listeners. 1992’s ‘Somewhere Far Beyond’ and 1996’s ‘Imaginations From the Other Side’ are both diverse and fulfilling albums that deserve to be checked out.

This second release can be excused for its early place in the discography, but doesn’t really add anything new to the power metal sound.

Summary: