A Dark Seed of Evil is Grown (Night Fall In Middle Earth +2 - Blind Guardian)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Night Fall In Middle Earth +2 - Blind Guardian
Date:	10/06/04 (183 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent and consistent power metal tracks, Amazing musical and vocal skill, Should please Tolkein fans

Disadvantages: The interludes detract a little from the album, but add to the atmosphere, Vocals may take a while to get used to, but are really good

“The field is lost
Everything is lost
The black one has fallen from the sky
And the towers in ruins lie”


The 1998 concept album from German power metal band Blind Guardian is based heavily on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Silmarillion. Featuring spoken word segues and incredibly detailed song textures, this is more epic than any previous record released by the band, or many other bands for that matter.

Metal fans unfamiliar with modern European metal (which can be classed as anything from progressive and speed metal to elf metal. Honestly.) may find this an excellent introduction to one of the most prominent and successful bands, however the things that make this album so impressive and original could also act as major deterrents to music fans.


STYLE


Musically, this is similar to the rest of Blind Guardian’s catalogue, but a little more polished and varied. Their heavy rhythms are still present, as are their more reflective ballads, however the keyboards and orchestration create a deeper sound on this album that may put off fans of simpler heavy metal bands. The most noticeable thing about this album is that it features a very large number of tracks, and that half of these tracks seem incredibly short; this is due to them being brief interludes between the songs featuring the voices of actors. The band have clearly gone to great lengths in adapting Tolkien’s work into the song lyrics, aided by these interludes, and include even more background information in the accompanying lyric booklet.

Fans of bands such as Dream Theater, Symphony X and even, to a degree, Iron Maiden, should enjoy the music on this album. The guitars have a very distinctive sound throughout, as does Hansi Kürsch’s very noticeable accent. There is a great mix of styles on this album, and many of the tracks flow together to create a huge musical experience.


THE MUSIC


Blind Guardian is:

Hansi Kürsch – vocals
Andre Olbrich – lead and acoustic guitars
Marcus Siepen – rhythm guitar
Thomas Stauch – drums

Guest musicians:

Oliver Holzwarth – bass
Mathias Wiesner – keyboards and orchestral effects


INTO THE STORM

A fast, upbeat start, this is one of the most enjoyable tracks and features a very rousing ensemble chorus and some of the best guitar work of the album. A memorable guitar solo and excellent drums speeding the song along, this is the band at their fastest and most enjoyable, and it even features a brief slow section.

“Give it to me, I must have it
Precious treasure, I deserve it
Where can I run? How can I hide? The Silmarils
Gems of treelight, their lives belong to me”

NIGHTFALL

A slower and more emotional track, this has one of the most memorable choruses I’ve ever heard as well as great use of vocals from different audio channels. Quite calm and relaxed, the guitars and drums are still present to prevent this becoming a real ballad. Very progressive and varied, this is one of the best tracks on the album.

“Nightfall
Slowly it crept in and changed us all,
Nightfall
Immortal land lies down in agony”

THE CURSE OF FEANOR

One of the heaviest songs on the album, this song is full of surprises; it begins very angry and a little bleak before the verses become calm and soft, and by the time it reaches the chorus it’s clear that this album has been worth the money even by this point. After a couple of rounds of the chorus the guitars kick in with a catchy and heavy riff upon which Hansi’s soft vocals are hung expertly. This tracks needs to be heard to be appreciated, and is even more impressive in context of the album. Another example of great drumming in the chorus.

“Don’t fear the eyes of the dark lord
Morgoth I cried, all hope is gone
But I swear revenge, hear my oath,
Don’t fear the eyes of the dark lord.”

BLOOD TEARS

The finest ballad on the album, Hansi’s vocals are at their highest and most emotional in the chorus, but there is still plenty of room for the guitarists to experiment with riffs and solos. This is one of those songs that takes an instrumental break towards the end and build anticipation for the return of the chorus, which is the highlight of the song. Many peoples’ favourite Blind Guardian song, this certainly shows their talent more than some others and ensures that the quality of music is consistently high on this disc.

“In frozen dreams,
The rotten flesh
Of bitter lies.
Welcome to where time stands still,
No one leaves and no one ever will”

MIRROR MIRROR

An instantly likeable, fast-paced metal track with high guitars and vocals throughout, this is my favourite track on the album. The vocals may seem over the top to some people, and are certainly at their most extreme in the anthemic chorus, however this only makes it more endearing to me: the spirit of metal lives on. Despite this more traditional approach there is still plenty of depth and variety within this track. I’ve caught myself accidentally singing along to this one on more than a few occasions, and it even has a fantastic guitar section in the latter half, as well as a brief melody that sounds like the definition of the afore-mentioned elf metal style, despite the fact that I haven’t got a clue what that entails. It’s silly and happy though.

“Mirror mirror on the wall
True hope lies beyond the coast
You’re a damned kind can’t you see
That the winds will change”

NOLDOR

Another slow, reflective track, this is also the longest on the album at just under seven minutes, however there is enough musical diversity to keep listeners entertained throughout. Harmonious, slow verses permeate the quite experimental-sounding guitars and more fast-paced bridge and chorus sections, almost becoming a completely different song after five minutes before returning to familiar verses.

“Guilty spoke the one,
This deed can’t be undone.
Hear my words,
Fear my curse”

TIME STANDS STILL AT THE IRON HILL

More reminiscent of the band’s earlier albums in terms of its structure and verses, the rousing chorus makes it clear that it belongs on here. Great use of chugging guitars and solos as well as changes in vocal and drum tempos throughout, this probably isn’t a good track to use as an introduction to the band due to the less impressive sound of Hansi Kürsch in some of the verses and a rather strange spoken word section, but it’s still really good and a cheap thrill after ‘Noldor.’ Hansi’s English teacher obviously didn’t teach him about silent ‘R’s though.

“Lord of all Noldor
A star in the night
And a bearer of hope
He rides into this glorious battle alone
Farewell to the valiant warlord”

THORN

A very cool dark and atmospheric intro leads into an unexpected keyboard melody and soft verse, but this song is far from light once it hits its stride. Very effective use of backing ‘ahhs’ in the chorus, this song is a slow but heavy monster that manages to be atmospheric, contemplative and hard. Another high point of the album and another of my favourites, even if I do say that far too often. This is certainly one of the best tracks in terms of the impressive guitar work and sound.

“A black swan
Is born that night
The misty pond
Has got a new king”

THE ELDAR

The only track I dislike as it isn’t my kind of music, this is solely a piano and vocal outing. Not inherently bad, and as long as I skip it I don’t have a problem; at least it’s not one of their covers of a fifties track, and I still listen to this when the album’s got me in full swing. Very sombre and bleak.

“For the Eldar
I’m trapped inside this dream
Of the Eldar’s
Song of doom”

WHEN SORROW SANG

After a brief intro, the album kicks right back into its full swing with fast rhythms and one of the best and most memorable choruses on the album, this may not be the best track but is incredibly welcome at this point. There are some very interesting tempo changes that build expectation and… what the hell, I’ll say this one of my favourites anyway. The same essential high points as the other tracks, it’s ace – how can it not be with that harmonious chorus backed with an amazing guitar whine?

“Caught in the afterlife
I’ve gone too far
When sorrow sang softly and sweet
The air filled with tears
Full of sadness and grief
When sorrow sang softly and sweet”

A DARK PASSAGE

A perfect ending to the album, this combines the best elements of all the tracks so far: a great chorus, a mix of high vocals, ensemble vocals and great guitar melodies. Not quite as impressive as the other tracks, and it does take far too long to finish, but it still makes for a really interesting and atmospheric track, and a very satisfying ending. A little sad, but then again it’s only music. And that land is very far away and fictional anyway, unless you are mad.

“The field was lost
Hope had passed away
The sun went down
Beyond the sea
Dark was the hour
But day shall come again”


VERDICT


Two major points:

- The music is consistently excellent and the incredibly high quality never slips
- I really hate the interludes.

Many people will doubtless feel that the spoken sections between songs add to the experience, but personally I find them distracting, unnecessary, far too frequent and even a little badly acted. Like many people, my experience of Tolkien’s works only extends to the film version of the Lord of the Rings, and I haven’t even seen the third on yet, so the fact that this is based on the Silmarillion isn’t of great importance to me, although it does allow for a more concise album that at least knows what it’s talking about, rather than some of the astonishingly well-planned fantasy world that some of their contemporaries have developed for their own music (such as the band Rhapsody who base most of their tracks on events taking place in their own little land).

Having got that out of the way, the music is excellent: talented, emotional and exciting, just as it should be, and never overlong. Blind Guardian are incredibly skilled musicians and even though it took me a while to get used to the distinctive sound of this album, I can always tell when I feel like listening to it rather than something else in my collection. Hansi’s vocals are something of an issue, and I don’t consider him to be one of the best metal vocalists as many people do, although they are very standable and not even distracting once the listener becomes accustomed to them. It’s only his soft singing and energetic voice in the verses that presents a problem however, as I love his high-pitched screaming voice when it’s allowed to surface: part of the reason that ‘Mirror, Mirror’ is my favourite track.

When I listen to this album I always skip the brief passages between tracks, or simply listen to them on the computer where I have only uploaded the actual music, so although this tarnishes the album in my opinion a little bit I still don’t feel it can be seen as a disadvantage. And the band were very honest in noting the song lengths on the back of the album case, pointing out that although there are twenty two tracks listed, the quantity of music on the disc is fairly average. But it’s bloody good.

Blind Guardian are one of the most well-known European metal bands and this is arguably their finest effort to date, containing excellent songs that work flawlessly together even without the dodgy acting of the segues.

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