Blind Guardian - A Voice In The Dark (CD Single)
Nuclear Blast
Epic Power Metal
3 songs (15'49)
Release year: 2010
Blind Guardian, Nuclear Blast
Reviewed by Marty
Major event
Wow....just wow! Those were the very first words out of my mouth as the last remaining sounds faded away to conclude the first real headphone/extreme volume listening experience for this new Blind Guardian 3-track CD single. A Voice In The Dark is the very first single to be released from their forthcoming album At The Edge Of Time due later this summer. I've been following the studio clips that had been posted by the band during the recording process and I was really excited about what I have heard so far.

I was one of those that wasn't all that thrilled with A Night At The Opera. I like some of it but overall, the ferocity of Blind Guardian was lost amidst way too many studio "layers" and resulted in the guitar being buried in the mix. There were some great songs and classic Blind Guardian style melodies but 8 years after the release of A Night At The Opera, it very seldom finds its way into my CD player. The follow-up, A Twist In The Myth was a bit of a paradox. Although it harkens back to a more classic Imaginations/Nightfall type of sound on a few tracks, there were also some experimental tracks that saw the band trying to broaden their sound which just didn't work for me.

Judging by what I hear on this new CD single and combined with the clips of some of the tracks that are posted on the band's homepage, I think we have another album along the lines of Imaginations From The Other Side/Nightfall In Middle Earth on our hands. A Voice In the Dark begins with a Last Candle type of in your face metal guitar riff; the likes we haven't heard from this band in quite a while. This track slots right in with the Imaginations/Nightfall material with huge choruses, Marcus' typical harmonized leads and the type of fierce speed and aggression that made me fall in love with this band in the first place. This track alone is heavier than anything from A Night At The Opera or A Twist In The Myth. Up next is a cover of the John Farnham track You're the Voice. I've always loved the chorus of this song. It ranks right up there with Harry Nilsson's Without You in boasting some of the best gut-wrenching and soaring emotional choruses ever written in pop music. It might seem like an odd choice but with Blind Guardian's big bombastic choruses and emotionally powerful sound, I can see similarities in this song with their own material and for me, it was a perfect fit. Heart also did a version of it in the early 90's but this version, complete with the huge choir-fuelled choruses, Hansi's ripping emotional rasp, slicing power chords and the wild double kick drumming of Frederik Ehmke is easily the best version of this song ever recorded. It's a shame that this track won't be included on the new album as Blind Guardian fans really need to hear this. The last of the three tracks, War Of The Thrones sees a return to the acoustic/folk leanings of A Past And Future Secret and The Bard's Song. This track too has "future classic" written all over it with a rollicking chorus section and a great overall feel. This is an alternate version of the same track that will also appear on At The Edge Of Time.

So far, these three songs have gotten more plays in the last week or so than either A Night At The Opera or A Twist In The Myth did when they were first released and for me, that's a very good sign. For the fans longing for a return to the classic Imaginations/Nightfall sound for their new album, I think we may have just gotten our wish. In the meantime, grab this CD single. It's more than a quick fix until the new album comes out. You get three very excellent and high quality Blind Guardian songs to tide you over until the new album comes out.

Killing Songs :
All 3 tracks...A Voice In The Dark, You're The Voice and War Of The Thrones
Marty quoted no quote
Other albums by Blind Guardian that we have reviewed:
Blind Guardian - The God Machine reviewed by Ben and quoted 90 / 100
Blind Guardian - Beyond the Red Mirror reviewed by Goat and quoted 90 / 100
Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond reviewed by Goat and quoted CLASSIC
Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time reviewed by Kyle and quoted 86 / 100
Blind Guardian - Follow The Blind reviewed by Goat and quoted 86 / 100
To see all 17 reviews click here
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