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Imaginations from the Other Side

Blind Guardian - Imaginations from the Other Side Audio CD

A fair review of the Blind Guardian "Imaginations from the Other Side" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Blind Guardian reviews here, or go back to the Blind Guardian tabs.

Band: Blind Guardian
Title: Imaginations from the Other Side
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-05-11
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Imaginations from the Other Side 2: I'm Alive 3: Past and Future Secret 4: Script for My Requiem 5: Mordred's Song 6: Born in a Mourning Hall 7: Bright Eyes 8: Another Holy War 9: And the Story Ends

Minstrel Metal
I had only heard clips before buying this album. . . this is second only to "Nightfall In Middle Earth" which came out shortly after. These guys have been a mainstay in the thrash/speed metal genre for many years now. They have truly risen the bar with acoustic/orchestral arrangements along with operatic vocal harmonies that compliment the higher energy sections (piercing melodic dual guitar harmonies and strumming patterns) which inspire the listener to envision adventures in times long past, and fierce devotion to something other than themselves. Anyone who is into speed/thrash metal should own this album along with nightfall. According to its genre, this is a five star album for sure.

Imaginations
I don't find a single track in this record bad, all of it its an awsome musics! I really recommend this along with all the other BG CDs the most though! . This is my favorite Blind Guardian CD of all time as well as one of the all time favorite power metal albums.

Buy this album now! Why are you still reading!
It's impressive that they were even able to follow up the classic "Somewhere Far Beyond" without a hitch! Buy this album, and let yourself float in the melodies, swim in the solos, bask in the grand vocals, and just enjoy yourself. The vocals are powerful and the production is rich on this TRULY amazing album! Any fan of grandiose, powerful, melodic power metal owes it to themselves to purchase this work of art. You deserve this album.

Power Metal Perfection
I know that's a bold statement, but I did say "arguably". Just when we thought Blind Guardian couldn't possibly get any better, they hit us with 1995's Imaginations From the Other Side, which is arguably the best power metal album ever released. I know there are more important power metal albums out there, and that Nightfall in Middle-Earth is widely considered the best Blind Guardian album, but Imaginations is just so. . . powerful. No other power metal album has hit me quite like it, and I doubt any ever will.

Coming on the heels of the excellent Somewhere Far Beyond, Imaginations From the Other Side shows Blind Guardian perfecting their power metal style. All of the elements are in place - the fantasy-themed lyrics, epic song arrangements, blistering guitar riffs, and of course Hansi's unique and intensely powerful vocal delivery. Songs like I'm Alive, the Script for My Requiem, Born in a Mourning Hall, Bright Eyes, and the epic title track hit you like a heart attack, while ballad A Past and Future Secret leaves you amazed at the band's talent and versatility. There is not a weak moment on the entire album. Every song, and indeed the entire album, is power metal perfection.

Imaginations From the Other Side is nothing short of a must-have power metal album. Once you hear it, it will no doubt become the standard by which you judge all other power metal albums.

NOTE: This is the first Blind Guardian album since their debut not to feature a Kai Hansen guest appearance, but Pretty Maids vocalist Ronnie Atkins was on board providing background vocals.

it took me years to appreciate this band...
it's not like they are particularly esoteric or anything. I'm not sure why. I think it has something to do with the overall mindset I had in approaching Blind Guardian previously. my theory is that their rather unique style was not something I was able to appreciate without a paradigm shift. Realistically, one would have to call them power metal--their emphasis on vocals, melody, and speed is not uncommon to the genre. Yet, in being a metal band, it doesn't follow that they are a big riff, big guitar band - their music is unusually focused on vocal arrangement and melodic devices. The music, sure, is really chunky, pretty heavy, and very fast, but the guitars dominantly play a lead role. Guitar lines themselves are often charged with renaissance-flavored modalities that lends atmosphere and credibility to their fantasy-influenced sound more than they make wannabe metal-geeks (like me) want to suddenly learn how to play guitar. Recently, things changed - I can't get enough Blind Guardian, and I think this is their best album overall. Rather than trudge through obligatory review prose, I will catalogue the things that make Blind Guardian and this album awesome.

> First and foremost, Hansi Kursch is the best voice in metal, bar none. He is completely different from any other singer out there - rather than a high-pitched power metal tenor or brutish growling, Hansi's voice is raspy and sounds strained almost all the time. Few singers have either his range or power - his hair-raising screams are unmatched and his softer minstrel-like singing is honestly beautiful. _Imaginations from the Other Side_ is probably the last album where Hansi's raspiness is full on - his vocals started to sound a little more polished and `mature' after this album. Overall, this is Hansi's best performance. His scratchy, desperate tone delivers the most poignant metal lines ever: "What can I do on this road to nowhere at the edge of time (heart of dragon lies)" he implores with perfect viciousness on "And the Story Ends. . . "; "he's the one who took the sword out of the stone," he sings on "A Past and Future Secret" with a stirring, lilting bardic quality; "Agony's the script for my requiem" he snarls as the chorus of "The Script for My Requiem" kicks into high gear. Hansi is the Patrick Stewart of metal - he has a unique power to make any line sound amazing.

> Also vocal-related, the CHORUSES!!! Blind Guardian is the best in the business when it comes to the huge, multi-tracked vocal choruses. Every album Blind Guardian releases cranks the choruses up a few levels, but _Imaginations_ is the first album where those vocals were really, like, HUGE n' stuff. HAHAHA

> Blind Guardian would be nothing more than what they are without a few special qualities. One of the reasons they command so much drama in their music is that their sense of arrangement and structure is meticulous so as to really drive home the intensity and emotion in different tracks as the passage unfold. Sometimes it is as simple as throwing in a new bridge before the chorus. For example, the way every chorus gets more and more intense each time it appears in the song or the subtle addition of tubular bells to the blazing metalness - like on "Script for My Requiem" where bells chime alongside racing metal speed just before the final chorus kicks in (hang on to your chair). The complexity of the vocal arrangements, particularly on "Past and Future Secret", creates a lush effect alongside reeds and flutes and orchestral percussion with a modally-based acoustic guitar figure. In the solo section of "And the Story Ends", a brief shakti-like acoustic widdle appears with great effect (even if only for a matter of seconds - it's the little touches that often makes songs great).

> for any good album experience the first and last tracks are essential - the best albums often have both a killer opening and a killer finale. Here, the title track and "And the Story Ends. . . " are two of the best metal songs. . . EVER!!!

> _Imaginations from the Other Side_ straddles the line between Blind Guardian's earlier, thrashy fantasy-power metal and their later albums of bombastic fantasy melodrama with hundreds of vocal tracks on each song. The mix is awesome and makes for their tightest album all together. There is good variety on the album - breathless power metal at top speed, like "I'm Alive", "Script", "Born in a Mourning Hall", and "Another Holy War"; a gorgeous, GORGEOUS ballad "Past and Future Secret", two epic progressive metal tracks opening and closing the album, and atmospheric mid-tempo rockers "Mordred's Song" and "Bright Eyes".

I have gone from actually disliking this band to owning almost all their albums, and I think I could write a book about how good they are. Highest recommendation for anyone who likes metal!
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You can see a complete list of all Blind Guardian discography, or go back to the Blind Guardian tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.