Oh, Blind Guardian. Their brand of power metal is like an incredibly complex cheese. If all you've eaten is sharp cheddar, you probably won't like it: the dozens of layered vocal tracks on top of the dual guitar attack on top of drums mixed with an electronic drum machine on top of bass on top of two 90-person choirs on top of three international symphonies is akin to eating all the French cheese varieties whose names you can't pronounce and having them paired with fine wine. However, if you're like me, and have listened to so much music that you demand complexity or uniqueness in your music, it is a delicacy that cannot be passed up. Thus is the newest Blind Guardian offering.

Naturally, it's concept album, and, in fact, a sequel to their highly regarded 1995 album Imaginations from the Other Side. I honestly don't know what the fuck the story is, and I've even gone to listening to each album back to back to try and immerse myself in it more thoroughly! Something about the realm of gods... and another realm via a red mirror... and a holy war... In any case, the story is secondary to the music, which is just impossibly dense and mostly incredibly catchy and brilliant. No one does epic like Blind Guardian. Unfortunately, because there is SO MUCH going on, the mix is peculiar in a few ways (vocals, choirs and orchestras are pretty high in the mix, leaving other aspects a bit muddy). It is an album that can only be enjoyed via headphones, the higher fidelity the better. Otherwise the intricacies just get lost.

4.0/5 - Great album. All in all, this album took me a while to get into, but after a few listens, I think it's a winner. It's overlong, a bit overblow, and probably too dense with a mix that doesn't help (but may have been necessary, given the complexities). Probably their best since A Nightfall in Middle-Earth, and on par with Imaginations from the Other Side.