In 1992, Blind Guardian released “Somewhere Far Beyond”, a legendary milestone of German speed metal. Three decades later, their latest offering, “The God Machine”, shows how to awaken the fury of youth to magical new life. As if they had paid a long overdue visit to the numerous highlights of their career, Blind Guardian appear to be in touch with the ghosts of their own past more than ever.
Seven years after “Beyond The Red Mirror” and almost three after the orchestral opus “Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra: Legacy of the Dark Lands”, Hansi Kürsch (vocals), André Olbrich (lead guitar, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar), Marcus Siepen (rhythm guitar and acoustic guitar) and Frederik Ehmke (drums) invite you to their personal twilight of the gods. In 2022, the opulent arrangements and powerful choirs still exist; yet they are used in a much more selective, focussed and resonant manner.
“The God Machine” fully embraces evolution while honouring the roots of a band that started humbly in Krefeld, Germany as speed metal act Lucifer’s Heritage in 1984. After renaming to Blind Guardian in 1987, they constantly kept honing their craft and released legit metal classics like “Tales From The Twilight World” (1990), “Somewhere Far Beyond” (1992), “Imaginations From The Other Side” (1995), and “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” (1998), albums that formed a strong bond between metal and fantasy literature that is second to none.
Even if Kürsch’s lyrics are inspired by the fantasy works of Patrick Rothfuss or Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods”, Brandon Sanderson’s “Stormlight Archives”, “The Witcher” novels or even “Battlestar Galactica”: The backgrounds are clearly more real, and thus all the more ruthless. “The God Machine” deals with modern witch-hunts, paranoia, war or the death of Kürsch’s mother, and puts these grim themes into some of the fastest and heaviest Blind Guardian songs in years. “Violent Shadows” is an onslaught of thrash riffs and relentless drumming, “Architects Of Doom” pleasantly reminds of “Follow The Blind”, the sublime “Secrets Of The American Gods” is one of the most outstanding epics since “Nightfall In Middle Earth”, and the raging “Blood Of The Elves” is the galloping anthem that is destined to become a live staple.
“The God Machine” marks another pinnacle in Blind Guardian’s impressive discography by not attempting to pretend it is still the nineties yet instead successfully relying on the muscle memory of this period. It is a gripping, addictive and brilliantly arranged album in the tradition of records with which Blind Guardian reached for the stars in the 90’s; yet, by no means, is it a throwback. “The God Machine” represents the heart and soul of Blind Guardian’s timeless metal in the here and now, unifying the bards’ past, present and future secrets in one consistent, well thought out masterpiece.
