Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle Earth (1999) 1/27/2009

Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle Earth

What is power metal? Well, just think soft-metal: falsettos, fairies, and ridiculous solos and you've got the right idea. Some fans would argue against this depiction, but you can ignore them. They play D&D, they own several swords, they have never know the touch of a woman: POWER METAL.

Now, this here is the only power metal album you should bother checking out, ever. "Nightfall In Middle Earth" tells the entire story of the Silmillarion by J. R. R. Tolkien. Here Blind Guardian tones things down a bit, turning out an hour's worth of mid-tempo power-metal epics, with surprisingly professional spoken-word passages throughout.

When I first started listening to this album, I thought it was funny. I also thought it was corny, slow, overblown, meandering... but.... Then I listened again, and again, and again, and then I started to love it in a completely un-humorous way.

Maybe it's the amazing choruses in "Nightfall" and "Blood Tears," maybe it's the guitar harmonies in "When Sorrow Sang", I don't know. I can't say enough good about this. Check it out if you're feeling virginal.

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