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Concert Review – Blind Guardian (Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, ON, 11/29/2025)

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And the bards brought to Toronto another unforgettable night of first-class, undisputed Heavy Metal.

OPENING ACTS: Seven Kingdoms and Ensiferum

What an unforgettable night of first-class, undisputed Heavy Metal this Saturday in Toronto at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, courtesy of the most ass-kicking bards in history, the unstoppable BLIND GUARDIAN, supported by SEVEN KINGDOMS and ENSIFERUM, during their must-see Somewhere Far Beyond North American Tour 2025. I need to personally thank Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment for bringing the bards back to the city less than two years after their phenomenal concert at Rebel in 2024, and I must say this time the entire show was even better, more powerful, and more exciting. Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I were lucky enough the be there to cover such a metallic party, and judging by the reaction of the crowd during the entire night, all metalheads in Toronto will keep talking about the three bands for a long time, wishing they could go back in time to experience everything all over again, and again, and again.

Deland, Florida’s own Power Metal brigade SEVEN KINGDOMS kicked off the festivities around 7:20pm with a highly energetic performance led by frontwoman Sabrina Valentine, properly warming us up for the upcoming attractions of the night. Blending songs from their already solid discography, including their 2022 album Zenith (available on Spotify), the band whose name was taken from The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros in George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire did exactly that during their short but sweet performance, setting fire to the atmosphere with their classic blend of Heavy and Power Metal (although I have no idea why they don’t have a bassist). Camden Cruz was absolutely phenomenal armed with his axe, kudos to Kevin Byrd for sporting a classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt (and if you don’t like the TMNT, you’re not a good person), and as the icing on the cake, or maybe I should say on their cheeseburger, we got the indomitable Krista Shipperbottom, former frontwoman for Canadian melodeath band Lutharo, as the night’s cheeseburger. Yes, we definitely need more Seven Kingsdoms and more cheeseburgers in Toronto soon.

Setlist
Diamond Handed
A Silent Remedy
The Serpent and the Lotus
Valonqar
Wilted Pieces
Through These Waves
In the Walls

Band members
Sabrina Valentine – vocals
Kevin Byrd – guitars
Camden Cruz – guitars
Colton Zietler – drums

After a short break (and certainly not enough to brave the endless line for merch for all bands) it was time for Helsinki, Finland’s Epic Folk Metal warriors ENSIFERUM to bring a true winter storm to the stage with songs from all of their albums, including of course their latest one Winter Storm, released in 2024, all available on BandCamp and on Spotify. Petri Lindroos, Markus Toivonen, Sami Hinkka, Pekka Montin, and Janne Parviainen put on a fantastic show for an already packed venue, yielding their sonic weapons in great fashion for the delight of everyone inside the considerable circle pit that was moving frantically in the middle of the floor section. Their maniacal bassist Sami Hinkka didn’t stop screaming, running around the stage, jumping up and down, headbanging, and of course hammering his bass not even for a single second, and it was beautiful witnessing that extreme energy flowing from him into the hearts of all fans at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. What a great performer, my friends. And of course, with a name like that, which if you don’t know is Latin for “sword bearer,” the top moments of their concert were the fighting songs Guardians of Fate, Into Battle, and the classic In My Sword I Trust, turning the venue into a true battlefield. Please return to Toronto as soon as you can, Ensiferum, because you guys rock.

Setlist
Aurora
Winter Storm Vigilantes
Way of the Warrior
Andromeda
Fatherland
Heathen Horde
Guardians of Fate
Into Battle
In My Sword I Trust

Band members
Petri Lindroos – harsh vocals, guitars
Markus Toivonen – guitars, backing vocals
Sami Hinkka – bass, clean and backing vocals
Pekka Montin – keyboards, clean and backing vocals
Janne Parviainen – drums

BLIND GUARDIAN

I honestly have no idea why Teutonic Power Metal masters BLIND GUARDIAN decided to do this Somewhere Far Beyond North American Tour only in 2025, as they already celebrated 30 years of the album Somewhere Far Beyond back in 2022, having even released in 2024 a live album of that tour recorded at Rock Hard Festival in June 2022, but who am I to complain about that, right? Quite the opposite, it was a dream come true watching the iconic Hansi Kürsch & Co. deliver a flawless live rendition of one of their classic albums, plus of course a bunch of other superb songs. The first part of the set itself was already worth the price of the ticket, as Into the Storm, Blood of the Elves, Nightfall, and Violent Shadows are killer metal tunes, with all fans already losing their voices screaming those songs together with the bards.

Hansi was in an excellent mood, showing once again he’s not just a phenomenal vocalist, but also a great frontman and entertainer, keeping the audience engaged and hypnotized form start to finish. After they started playing Somewhere Far Beyond, with Time What Is Time and Journey Through the Dark sounding incredible, Hansi joked about the fact he was surprised that they said in 2024 they would return soon, and they actually did. The crowd was on cloud 9 with each and every word pronounced by Hansi, but it was of course when they played The Bard’s Song – In the Forest, and The Bard’s Song – The Hobbit, another majestic moment of the show, that the whole venue turned into a true celebration of heavy music and bards. One of those moments in the life of a person that confirms we all made the right choice in becoming metalheads.

And then came the encore. But it wasn’t just an encore. It was THE encore, one of the best I’ve ever experienced in my life. When the crowd started chanting “Majesty! Majesty!” I had on idea the band was actually going to answer our call. Hansi even joked about it saying that we were not allowed to ask for what we wanted to hear, but we were lucky that was exactly what they were going to play anyway. It was beyond orgasmic seeing them playing Majesty live. I pretty much lost my voice screaming. Then came the biggest surprise of the night for me, Lord of the Rings, and then I lost the rest of my voice. Simply incredible. I don’t know how I was still able to scream with the band during the epic Valhalla and Mirror Mirror, and when we all thought the show was over, the band fired upon us the also breathtaking Lost in the Twilight Hall. What an epic conclusion to a concert full of mosh pits, fists and horns in the air, ad the certainty that the bards will return to Toronto again, hopefully sooner than later for the “surprise” of Hansi and his henchmen themselves. Thank you once again, Blind Guardian. I’m a very happy man.

Setlist
War of Wrath
Into the Storm
Blood of the Elves
Nightfall
Violent Shadows

Somewhere Far Beyond
Time What Is Time
Journey Through the Dark
Black Chamber
Theatre of Pain
The Quest for Tanelorn
Ashes to Ashes
The Bard’s Song – In the Forest
The Bard’s Song – The Hobbit
The Piper’s Calling
Somewhere Far Beyond

Encore:
Majesty
Lord of the Rings
Valhalla
Mirror Mirror
Lost in the Twilight Hall
Sacred Worlds (Orchestral outro)

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

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

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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

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Album Review – Blind Guardian / The God Machine (2022)

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Seven years after the release of Beyond The Red Mirror, the most respect German Power Metal bards of all time make a brilliant return with their breathtaking twelfth studio album.

Seven years after the release of Beyond The Red Mirror, the multi-talented German Power Metal bards Blind Guardian make a brilliant return and compensate for the waiting time with their new studio album, entitled The God Machine, the twelfth in their undisputed career. Produced, recorded and engineered by Charlie Bauerfeind and Thomas Geiger, mixed by Joost van den Broek and Jos Driessen, mastered by Jaakko Viitalähde, and displaying a classy artwork by Peter Mohrbacher, The God Machine brings everything we learned to love and more in the music by frontman Hansi Kürsch and his henchmen André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen on the guitars, Frederik Ehmke on drums, and session musicians Barend Courbois on bass and Thomas Geiger on keyboards, with each song having its lyrics based on a specific novel, play, series or milestone in their personal lives, such as The Kingkiller Chronicle, Battlestar Galactica and American Gods. “We didn’t want to rehash our style from 1995, but on the other hand we didn’t want to have to continue on our current path forever. The God Machine is a new beginning for us. We’re putting everything back to square one and return to certain patterns that we neglected a bit on previous releases. Look forward to an album that is straighter, more aggressive, but always blessed with highly infectious melodies and hooks,” commented Hansi about the band’s new opus.

The rhythmic riffs by André and Marcus set the stage for the epic Deliver Us From Evil, with Hansi distilling his trademark, powerful vocals from the very first second in a pure Blind Guardian sound with no shenanigans, or in other words, this will be a fantastic opener for their upcoming concerts. In Damnation we’re treated to cryptic words darkly declaimed by Hansi (“They’re like ghosts / The ancient ones / Burning blue’s their sign / It’s all true / Hush don’t cry / Better hide”) while his bandmates deliver first-class Power and Heavy Metal nonstop in a journey back in time to the band’s early days; followed by Secrets Of The American Gods, which starts in a beyond epic, majestic manner before exploding into another headbanging, symphonic Power Metal aria, being therefore tailored for their live setlists. And it’s then time for another explosion of visceral Power Metal by the bards entitled Violent Shadows, where Barend and Frederik’s kitchen offers the band’s guitar duo the perfect atmosphere for their wicked riffs and solos.

Life Beyond The Spheres displays solid instrumental and vocals, albeit it lacks the same punch as its predecessors. The keys by guest Joost van den Broek are spot-on, though, enhancing the song’s kick. Then speeding things up and delivering a beautiful fusion of heaviness, epicness and violence the band brings forward Architects Of Doom, where Frederik dictates the pace while Hansi continues to stun us all with his unparalleled vocals; and Hansi mesmerizes us once again in Let It Be No More, starting in a serene, pensive manner and evolving into a bold and beautiful sonority where André pierces our souls with his guitar solo. The fantastic Blood Of The Elves brings to us listeners powerful lyrics (“Honor, it’s easy to dispose / In this darkest hour we’re alone / From behind closed doors it aims for her / Magic’s reaching out to draw her in / To the eye of the storm / The storm”) spiced up by a traditional, straightforward sound that will please all fans of the band, whereas just like a sinister, climatic ending of a fantasy movie we’re treated to the hammering Destiny, a great way to conclude another sensational work by Blind Guardian showcasing their characteristic vocals and riffs enfolded by gorgeous background elements.

Blind Guardian The God Machine Nuclear Blast Mailorder Vinyl Boxset

Such masterpiece of German Power and Heavy Metal can be appreciated in all of its glory on YouTube and on Spotify, but if I were you I would certainly click HERE or HERE to purchase the physical edition of the album, including the superb Nuclear Blast Mailorder Vinyl Boxset, limited to 1,700 copies, which comes with a crystal-clear double LP with red inkspot and black splatter in a gatefold with 24-page booklet, a digipack CD, a board game, a slipmat, a signed card, a sticker and a postcard set. Don’t forget to also follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram for news and tour dates, and to stream all of their amazing videos and albums on YouTube and on Spotify. In summary, seven years between two albums feels like an eternity for us fans when the band in question is as amazing as Blind Guardian, but the wait was certainly worth it as The God Machine proves why such German metal machine is so respected and admired in the world of heavy music.

Best moments of the album: Deliver Us From Evil, Damnation, Violent Shadows and Blood Of The Elves.

Worst moments of the album: Life Beyond The Spheres.

Released in 2022 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. Deliver Us From Evil 5:21
2. Damnation 5:20
3. Secrets Of The American Gods 7:28
4. Violent Shadows 4:17
5. Life Beyond The Spheres 6:02
6. Architects Of Doom 6:20
7. Let It Be No More 4:48
8. Blood Of The Elves 4:37
9. Destiny 6:46

Nuclear Blast Mailorder Edition, Vinyl Boxset bonus tracks
10. Life Beyond the Spheres (Cyber Mix) 6:07
11. Destiny (Lead Guitar Version) 6:42
12. Let It Be No More (Heavy Vocals) 4:49

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

Guest musicians
Barend Courbois – bass (session)
Thomas Geiger – keyboards, effects (session)
Joost van den Broek – keyboards on “Life Beyond The Spheres”
Marcela Bovio, Marjan Welman, Olaf Senkbeil, Hacky Hackmann & John “Jaycee” Cuijpers – backing vocals

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

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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

Album Review – Iced Earth / Plagues of Babylon (2014)

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Jon Schaffer & Co. deliver the fans another excellent traditional Heavy Metal album.

Rating4

Iced Earth - Plagues of Babylon (2014)Based on one of the first releases of the year, the album Plagues of Babylon from the American Heavy Metal band Iced Earth, it looks like 2014 will be very promising for the world of heavy music. It’s not a masterpiece, nor even the best album of the band’s solid career, but it sure is a pretty good Heavy Metal album. After the interesting Dystopia (2011), which marked the debut of Stu Block on vocals, Iced Earth suffer a few more lineup changes now (again, and again, and again…) with Luke Appleton and Raphael Saini debuting on bass and drums, respectively. All those changes usually affect the quality of the music of any band, or at least the continuity of the work done, but fortunately the final result in Plagues of Babylon is above average and the changes are barely noticed.

Half of the songs in the album follow the “Something Wicked” concept, according to Jon Schaffer, while the rest have no connection to it (which doesn’t mean they’re not interesting songs). The band sets the bar really high with the opening track, Plagues of Babylon, with its imposing start/intro, awesome chorus (“So if you’re asking yourself, why? / Your eyes are blind to the raging storm / Will they cleanse the Earth of humanity? / Unleash the Plagues of Babylon?”), and almost 8 minutes of pure Iced Earth always led by Jon Schaffer’s unparalleled riffs. And is it Stu or Matt Barlow on vocals? It’s hard to tell sometimes. Democide has another “marching” intro, as if the band was getting “ready for war”, and its fast rhythm full of Thrash Metal elements will surely turn it into a fan favorite.

Plagues of Babylon continues with The Culling, which is a regular song with a nice solo, but nothing compared to the previous tracks, and the great Among the Living Dead with the one and only Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian) also on lead vocals. It’s a powerful song with stunning riffs and variations, making it the best of the album in my opinion. In Resistance, Stu sounds less like Matt, and it’s interesting to see how Jon tried to create an epic song here with a “Babylonian” heavy riff. The End? sounds like some of the old Iced Earth songs; however, it’s too long and becomes boring after a while.

The second half of the album begins with If I Could See You, a beautiful semi-acoustic ballad with a great job done by Stu, despite its extremely mellow cliché lyrics. And here comes Jon Schaffer with one more epic song with over 6 minutes, Cthulhu, but it lacks more creativity and energy. Peacemaker is traditional Iced Earth (so traditional Stu sounds exactly like Matt here): I enjoyed a lot the guitar solos in this track, but again Jon could have added more creativity into it to make the overall result even better.

icedearthpromo2013Parasite offers absolutely nothing new: it’s just filler and probably the worst song of all. On the other hand, Spirit of the Times puts the album back on track, and you must agree with me that Jon not only loves Heavy Metal ballads but also knows how to create some very good ones. Then comes a weird cover for the song Highwayman, from American songwriter Jimmy Webb, with Michael Poulsen (Volbeat) and Russell Allen (Symphony X) on lead and backing vocals together with Jon Schaffer, and finally an outro so stupid that I prefer not to talk about it.

Last but not least, Plagues of Babylon has an astounding front cover, featuring Iced Earth’s unique mascot Set Abominae with his army of living dead. It’s pure art, a brilliant concept, and I just love it. Furthermore, you can stream the full album here on Iced Earth’s official website through the app Spotify, and start getting used to the songs before it’s actually released and you can buy your physical copy of it, and before their 2014 world tour, with many dates across the USA and Canada including a concert in Toronto on Monday, April 14.

To sum up, the partnership between Jon Schaffer and Stu Block seems to be working very well in the past few years, and the powerful music in Plagues of Babylon is a good example of it. As I mentioned before, if most of the releases in 2014 are as good as this album, then we metalheads will have a very happy headbanging year.

Best moments of the album: Plagues of Babylon, Democide and Among the Living Dead.

Worst moments of the album: The Culling, The End? and Parasite.

Released in 2014 Platinum Dragon Germany GmbH/Century Media

Track listing
1. Plagues of Babylon 7:48
2. Democide 5:23
3. The Culling 4:27
4. Among the Living Dead 5:15
5. Resistance 5:00
6. The End? 7:14
7. If I Could See You 3:56
8. Cthulhu 6:05
9. Peacemaker 5:02
10. Parasite 3:30
11. Spirit of the Times 5:06
12. Highwayman 3:13
13. Outro 0:25

Band members
Jon Schaffer – rhythm, acoustic & lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on “Highwayman”
Troy Seele – lead guitar
Stu Block – lead vocals, backing vocals
Luke Appleton – bass guitar
Raphael Saini – drums