A Twist in the Myth in Bloomington, MN

Blind Guardian
fans have grown accustomed to waiting long periods between the band's studio albums, which these masters of German
progressive
power metal
tend to deliver only every four years or so -- much like World Cups, curiously enough. That was precisely the gap separating 2002's
A Night at the Opera
, which dismayed some longtime fans with its nearly
symphonic
, unusually complicated compositions, and 2006's
A Twist in the Myth
, which establishes something of a middle ground between that trend and the group's slightly more approachable earlier material. Of course
, by any era or definition, can still be counted on to inject enough pretentious pomp into high-flying
metal
anthems such as
"This Will Never End,"
"Straight Through the Mirror,"
and especially album standout
"Turn the Page,"
to make
Ronnie James Dio
pull out his fantasy almanac, get
Freddie Mercury
nodding in posthumous approval. Speaking of ol'
Mercury
,
"Carry the Blessed Home"
marries
Queen
-sized guitar and vocal orchestrations to
BG
singer
Hansi Kuersch
's recurring extrapolations on
Stephen King
's
Dark Tower
novels; and his reading habits are given even further disclosure on the likes of
"Otherland"
(inspired by
Tad Williams
' novels by the same name) and the Celtic myth-inspired
"Skalds and Shadows."
In fact, it's hardly surprising to find just one song -- the psycho-analytical
"Another Stranger Me"
-- that might actually be (emphasis on "might") entirely based on real-world experience, not that the band's fans would have it any other way. And whether fans want to nitpick and argue over minor changes in direction, the fact is that
is tailor made for the everyman
supporter. Now if they can only hang in there until the next World Cup rolls around. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia