BLIND GUARDIAN – The God Machine
Nuclear Blast
Alright I kinda figured if their power metal compatriots HELLOWEEN could return with a home-run of an album last year then why not these guys. In all honesty I'm not a big BLIND GUARDIAN fan. I've got a handful of their releases from years ago. I guess you could call those their classic era stuff. I was a late to the party type of BLIND GUARDIAN fan anyways. But what I own I like.
To honest with ya I haven't checked out one of this band's newer releases in a while. 2010's At the Edge of Time was where I left off at. Now I was liking the side project DEMONS & WIZARDS for a long time. If you don't know then that band consisted of BLIND GUARDIAN vocalist Hansi Kursch and ICED EARTH guitarist Jon Schaffer, as well as a few other musicians. So as far as The God Machine goes I'm checking it out with a freshness.
Well for starters this sounds like I was expecting. After all of these years Hansi Kursch still has an amazing voice. The songs are epic in that over the top power / progressive metal production style. The guitar leads are beautiful. The drum work still not as bombastic as it once was but it gets the job done.
I won't say every cut on here, there's nine, is a winner but damm close. I'd say half of em are good o'l power thrashers reminiscent of old. Opener "Deliver Us From Evil" and it's follow-up "Damnation" will send chills up your spine. Add to that "Violent Shadows" and "Blood Of The Elves" will invoke slam pit action.
"Secrets of the American Gods" is a seven plus minute progressive metal epic. It might be my all out favorite cut on here. Another epic yet speed metal era of the band type of cut is “Architects Of Doom”. Andre Olbrich really lets loose with his guitar lead work on here.
The end result is that this is the best thing I've enjoyed from these Germans in decades. If you're a fan of their classic era then you're gonna go apeshit over this. But it's not rehash by any means nor is it perfect in my not so humble opinion. But it's damm good.
https://www.nuclearblast.com/eu/
LISTEN HERE:
https://blindguardian.bandcamp.com/album/the-god-machine
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