Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle Earth

Phenomenal.

That's it, that's all I would need to say in regard to this album and it would be enough. However, I absolutely love to yap about things I like so I find it fitting to describe exactly WHY this album is so phenomenal and why is it considered one of watershed power metal records and oft considered Blind Guardian's best work, albeit with a caveat that I am one of those who champions "Imaginations From The Other Side" as the band's best record. Still, "Nightfall In Middle Earth" deserves all the kudos it gets and some more.

It's a concept album that recounts the story of War Of The Jewels from Silmarillion, with tons of references in both interludes and actual songs. "War Of Wrath" the intro track shows Morgoth and Sauron talking just before forces of light breach the fortress, right after Ancalagon's fall, "Nightfall" is about the flight of the Noldor, "When Sorrow Sang" is about Beren and Luthien, so if you're a big Tolkien nerd, you can check it out purely for these reasons alone.

But that's just tip of the iceberg. Now we move onto the actual meat of the (music) album, which is shockingly music itself. The album can be considered a logical progression of "Imaginations From The Other Side" which introduced symphonic elements, higher focus on melodies and more infectious chord progression with band trying their hand for the first time on proper power ballads. Now all those elements are even more pronounced. Gigantic choruses are unleashed with tons of overdubs like on "Nightfall" or "Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill)", symphonic more experimental elements are even more pronounced like on intro on "Thorn" or the entirety of "The Dark Passage" and of course, what would a power metal record without insane shredfest on solo sections, with true standouts on "Mirror Mirror", well okay every single song has an insanely memorable one.

Hansi kills through the entire album, going from mid-range soft timbre to ripping apart those vocal lines harder than Halford. Live versions of these songs often sound even better, even now when guy is something like 58, on the porch of the age of 60. Remember this whenever someone says that voice inevitably will become super weak with age. Categorical fucking disproving.

A lot of these songs cleverly incorporate elements from other genres too. Beginning of "Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)" incorporates classic rock and pseudo-jazz guitar sound on the verse before it kicks into full on power metal rampage on the chorus. "The Eldar" is a dark, bleak piano piece with only Hansi on vocals. "The Thorn" progresses almost like a prog song, and there's a ton of smaller surprises here and there that makes the runtime of 1 hour and 9 minutes breeze through like you played a swift game of UNO.

Overall, all the praise and accolades are well deserved and I'd go so far as to say that it deserves more. Whenever someone says that power metal is an inherently happy genre, just point them towards this (or really any 90s Blind Guardian album) which sinks into despair quite often, storms through excitement without ever having to resort to goofy lyrics or self-deprecating irony. I can go on prolonged rants about the state of modern power metal, but thankfully just listening to stuff like this is enough of a remedy. If you haven't listened to it yet, do it now. If you have, revisit it again because it's one of the most timeless albums in the genre.