Tag Archives: bright eyes

Concert Review – Blind Guardian (Rebel, Toronto, ON, 05/09/2024)

Posted on by
1

The most talented bards and demons in the world took the city of Toronto by storm on a more than beautiful night in celebration of pure heavy music.

OPENING ACT: Night Demon

What a fantastic night together with the bards in Toronto, my friends! And all started when we decided NOT to park at the parking lot in front of the venue, the revamped Rebel, which looks amazing from the inside and with a really cozy and ample patio, but which is also a nightmare when it comes to leaving the parking lot after the show is over. The best option is parking at the Distillery District, which is cheaper and just a 15-20min walk from the venue, plus the fact there are countless good options to eat and drink there before heading to the show. And as we’re always all about the music, let’s cut to the chase and talk a little about the unique experience of watching live NIGHT DEMON and BLIND GUARDIAN during their breathtaking The God Machine Tour 2024, another striking event brought to the city by  Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I wouldn’t miss it for the world, and my excitement for seeing the bards after almost 20 years was beyond visible to anyone who knows me.

The doors at Rebel opened at 7pm, giving all concert goers enough time to have some drinks, chat outdoors (as it was a gorgeous night in Toronto, with a beautiful sunset), and buy some quality merch before Ventura, California’s own Heavy Metal trio NIGHT DEMON began their thrilling performance precisely at 8pm. Still promoting their 2023 album Outsider, the band formed of Jarvis Leatherby on vocals and bass, Armand John Anthony on the guitars, and Brian Wilson on drums put on a very energetic and fun warmup for Blind Guardian, impressing anyone who was already at the venue with their charisma and dexterity onstage. Keith said those guys sounded much more powerful live than in the studio, and I fully agree with him as the live versions of their songs do sound a lot better, which is an amazing thing because live music is what we truly love, right? And if you know nothing about those guys, go check their music on BandCamp and on Spotify, because they live and breathe Rock N’ Roll and you’ll certainly have a blast whenever they invade your city with their awesome creations.

Setlist
Prelude
Outsider
Screams in the Night
Escape From Beyond
Dawn Rider
The Howling Man
Beyond the Grave
The Wrath
Welcome to the Night
The Chalice
Night Demon

Band members
Jarvis Leatherby – vocals, bass
Armand John Anthony – guitars
Brian Wilson – drums

BLIND GUARDIAN

The excitement started to grow stronger and stronger inside Rebel until all hell broke loose when it was around 9:30pm, as German Power Metal bards BLIND GUARDIAN ignited their unforgettable performance in the city, already blasting our faces mercilessly with the all-time classic Imaginations From the Other Side. You know, when a band kicks off a show with such a deep, bold song like that, the night will be beyond amazing, of course. I bet all fans at the venue felt the exact same when André Olbrich, Marcus Siepen, Johan van Stratum, Frederik Ehmke, and obviously the band’s iconic frontman Hansi Kürsch hit the stage with their fantasy-fueled Power Metal almost nine years after their last show in Toronto.

Speaking of Hansi, I honestly don’t know how he has managed to sound the exact same for almost 40 years, stunning us all with his unique, deep vocals from start to finish. Seriously, that guy is a beast on vocals, never sounding tired or out of tune. His vocals are so impressive to the point you can play to me any live version of any of their songs, and I wouldn’t be able to say the year that was recorded. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what makes him one of the best vocalists and frontmen of the entire metal realm, and if you’ve never had a chance to see Hansi singing live, you don’t know what you’re missing. Let’s say it’s like a mandatory experience for anyone who enjoys good music, not only metal.

Back to the concert itself, the band blended some of their best, most majestic classics including Nightfall, Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill) and Lost in the Twilight Hall, and the biggest surprise of the night (at least for me, the thrilling Into the Storm, with newer songs from their 2022 album The God Machine, those being Blood of the Elves, Violent Shadows and Secrets of the American Gods, and don’t think that because those are new songs that they sounded out of place during their set; quite the contrary, the new songs had the same impact and energy of their classic, which goes in line with what I was saying about Hansi, as his vocals turn every Blind Guardian song into a timeless sonic voyage. The reaction of the fans to all songs, including the new ones, was fantastic, with endless fists in the air, horns raised high, lots of screaming, and even some mosh pits were generated during the concert’s faster songs and moments. The sync between the band and their fans was a thing of beauty the entire night, I must say.

Any Blind Guardian concert is not complete without The Bard’s Song – In the Forest, and of course Toronto also had the pleasure of singing it along with our beloved German bards. It was simply epic, with every single person at the venue putting their hearts and souls into singing, proving why that is one of the best metal ballads of all time. And what about the encore? I was honestly getting worried they didn’t play Bright Eyes during the “regular” set, but when Hansi and his henchmen began playing it during the encore I really felt it in my heart. Right after that, let’s say it was pure metal madness with the Power Metal hymn Valhalla, with it’s iconic chorus being sung in full force by everyone at the venue, making Hansi truly proud and excited with the more-than-warm reaction of the band’s Torontonian fans. When they started playing another undisputed classic, Mirror Mirror, closing their concert on a high note, I was just a tiny bit disappointed that Majesty was left out of the setlist in Toronto, but let’s say we can’t win it all, and that their setlist was 99.9% perfect, alright? Maybe next time they visit Toronto we’ll have the pleasure of seeing them playing that classic live, because based on their successful concert in the city, the bards will be back really, really soon, no doubt about that.

Setlist
Imaginations From the Other Side
Blood of the Elves
Nightfall
The Script for My Requiem
Violent Shadows
Skalds and Shadows
Into the Storm
Secrets of the American Gods
The Bard’s Song – In the Forest
Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)
Lost in the Twilight Hall

Encore:
Sacred Worlds
Bright Eyes
Valhalla
Mirror Mirror

Band members
Hansi Kürsch – vocals
André Olbrich – lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
Marcus Siepen – rhythm and acoustic guitars
Johan van Stratum – bass, backing vocals
Frederik Ehmke – drums

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Album Review – Blind Guardian / Beyond The Red Mirror (2015)

Posted on by
1

Are you ready to explore what’s beyond “The Red Mirror” with one of the most influential Power Metal bands of all time?

Rating4

blind guardian_btrmBeyond The Red Mirror, the tenth studio album by German Power Metal pioneers Blind Guardian, their first since 2010’s At the Edge of Time (the longest gap between two studio albums in their career) and the first without bassist Oliver Holzwarth since their finest work to date, 1995’s Imaginations from the Other Side, might not be a true masterpiece, but it’s good enough to keep those Teutonic veterans going and also a perfect example of how to effectively combine metal music with a great concept, creating what some people like to call a “Metal Opera”.

Blind Guardian’s iconic lead singer Hansi Kürsch has already explained himself this album is a sequel to Imaginations from the Other Side: the two worlds have changed dramatically for the worse since then with only one gate left now between them, The Red Mirror, with the storyline revolving around the young protagonist we first met in the 1995’s classics “Bright Eyes” and “And the Story Ends”. Add to that the fact that three different classical choirs (from Czech Republic, Hungary and the United States) and two grand orchestras, each featuring 90 musicians, are part of the album, and you can imagine how grandiose the musicality contained in Beyond The Red Mirror is.

blind guardianThe almost 10-minute epic track The Ninth Wave, with its choir intro, kicks off the album proving once again Hansi’s voice is not only unique but also so powerful it’s impossible not to follow his vocal lines in their entirety. Although I loved its harmony and storyline, it lacks a little heaviness, making it more Metal Opera than Power Metal per se. Twilight Of The Gods sounds a lot more traditional than the opening track, especially its fast drums and guitar riffs and solos. Moreover, Hansi guides the rhythm here thanks in part to the song’s awesome straightforward lyrics (“Witness the twilight of the gods / Will they ever return / A storm will take us / And then wipe us out / There’s no retreat”).

The most interesting aspect in Prophecies, which despite not being outstanding at least maintains the album at a decent level, is how well we can understand each and every word Hansi pronounces, even when he does his stronger/harsher vocals; while At The Edge Of Time, with its eerie intro and a more melancholic atmosphere, doesn’t really decide if it’s a metallic or a symphonic song, hurting the final result. On the other hand, Ashes Of Eternity is the true Blind Guardian we all have learned to love, with its exciting vocal lines and beautiful guitar solos by André Olbrich making it one of the top moments of the album. Keeping up with this awesomeness we have The Holy Grail, the perfect soundtrack in the quest for the Holy Grail itself where not even a single second is boring or out of place. Moreover, the top-notch Power Metal drumming by Frederik Ehmke will definitely sound amazing live.

blind guardian_btrm deluxe

Beyond The Red Mirror Limited Edition Digipak/Earbook Deluxe

The Throne is another symphonic-centered tune with lots of elements from traditional Blind Guardian, with highlights to the great job done by André Olbrich with his inspired solos once again. The following track, the dark Sacred Mind, showcases solid instrumental lines despite not being very creative, albeit it gets a little tiring after a while; and the piano ballad Miracle Machine focuses on a superb vocal performance by Hansi. Closing the regular version of the album we have another imposing progressive 9-minute song, Grand Parade, which in my opinion gets too symphonic sometimes, even knowing it was meant to be this way. In other words, it’s not a bad song, but it won’t probably work really well live nor become a classic or anything like that. Furthermore, the special versions of Beyond The Red Mirror come with an amazing bonus track, Distant Memories, a melodic and symphonic old school semi-ballad curiously inserted in the middle of the album (as track number 6) instead of at the end; and if you purchase the earbook there’s another Power Metal bonus track for you entitled Doom.

In summary, although some moments in Beyond The Red Mirror lack more intensity and power, there are lots of excellent songs, with a couple of them deserving a 5 out of 5 so amazing they are, augmented by all the majestic orchestral passages perfectly inserted amidst the band’s unmatched Power Metal. Some fans will end up comparing it to Imaginations from the Other Side due to the existing connection between the two albums, but I prefer to keep them separate and enjoy their own elements and musicality one at a time. Although we all know there’s never going to be another Imaginations from the Other Side, we can rest assured Blind Guardian is still capable of delivering Power Metal at its finest like in Beyond The Red Mirror, and that’s the bottom line. With that said, are you ready to explore what’s beyond “The Red Mirror”?

Best moments of the album: Twilight Of The Gods, Ashes Of Eternity, The Holy Grail and the bonus track Distant Memories.

Worst moments of the album: At The Edge Of Time, Sacred Mind and Grand Parade.

Released in 2015 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. The Ninth Wave 9:27
2. Twilight of the Gods 4:49
3. Prophecies 5:24
4. At the Edge of Time 6:53
5. Ashes of Eternity 5:38
7. The Holy Grail 6:02
8. The Throne 7:53
9. Sacred Mind 6:21
10. Miracle Machine 3:02
11. Grand Parade 9:27

Limited Edition Digipak Bonus Track
6. Distant Memories 5:51

Earbook Bonus Track
12. Doom 5:51

Band members
Hansi Kürsch – lead and backing vocals
André Olbrich – lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
Marcus Siepen – rhythm guitar
Frederik Ehmke – drums, percussion

Additional musician
Barend Courbois – bass guitar