Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

Demos and independent releases get some slack since the bands are often spent broke supporting themselves and trying to improve. Major releases usually have big financial backing, so they may be judged by a heavier hand. All scores can be eventually adjusted up or down by comparison of subsequent releases by the same band. We attempt to keep biases out of reviews and be advocates of the consumer without the undo influence of any band, label, management, promoter, etc.

The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.
Band
Blind Guardian
Title
A Twist in the Myth
Type
LP/EP
Company
Nuclear Blast
YOR
2006
Style
Power
1/1/2015 - Review by: Eric Compton
Progressive-power aficionados
Charlie Bauerfeind once again produces these progressive-power aficionados. ‘A Twist in the Myth’ is the first album to feature new skinsman Frederik Ehmke. Original drummer Thomen “The Omen” Stauch departed after the band’s last record, ‘A Night at the Opera’. It’s debatable on Stauch’s ratio of music/personal reasons for departing his long-time gig, but I’m guessing he really didn’t like the symphonic elements that have slowly eroded the original Blind Guardian sound. ‘A Night at the Opera’ never worked into heavy rotation for me and ‘A Twist in the Myth’ continues to disassociate itself from the speed picking that the band was built on. I like evolution, and Blind Guardian surely embrace it, but I think a lot of it is lost in translation here. The album was prefaced with single “Fly”, an average song at best with some abstract tribal elements and a loose presentation. The good--“This Will Never End”, “Otherland”, “Another Stranger Me”. These songs make my robust ‘Guardian playlist due partly because of the factory crisp of the strings. That higher treble and buzz is hard to reproduce and Ehmke does well to allow it plenty of room. The bad is when the orchestra and organic sounds turn on each other. I’m not sure tracks like “The Edge” are really that brilliant. Dimmer spark bogs down songs like “Straight Through the Mirror” and even the “bards” can’t find success with forest tunes like “Skalds & Shadows”. Hopefully at some point in the future this one will just sit side-ways on the shelf instead of falling off.
10/27/2006 - Review by: Frank Hill
Blind Guardian - A Twist in the Myth - 2006 - Nuclear Blast

Track Listing
1. This Will Never End
2. Otherland
3. Turn the Page
4. Fly
5. Carry the Blessed Home
6. Another Stranger Me
7. Straight Through the Mirror
8. Lionheart
9. Skalds and Shadows
10. The Edge
11. The New Order
12. All the King's Horses
13. Dead Sound of Misery
14. Interview
It's fair to assume that a band that has spent 20 years together is bound to have all the rough edges of youth smoothed off for the polished lines of maturity. There's no surprise in sound here--layer upon layer of twin guitar work, unique medieval-sounding lead melodies and the top vocals of Hansi Kürsch soaring over the polished bombastic metal. He does seem to have adopted more of a singing approach with less of the aggression often utilized on past CDs and so far, my ears don't hear quite as much of the sturm und drang, over-the-top harmony vocals. All the fantasy, fairy and folklore characteristic of a BG record are here with less of the experimentation of A Night at the Opera (2002) and less of the crazed speed metal approach; try Savage Circus which was formed when long time drummer Thomen Stauch departed if that's all you want. "This Will Never End" is a fiery start to A Twist in the Myth with the next few songs carrying the torch of epic glory that have been their confident hallmark. "Another Stranger Me" and "Lionheart" are more limpid by comparison and hopefully not a sign of future albums to come. "Carry the Blessed Home" and "Skalds and Shadows" are welcome touches with the structure and sound of battlement folklore. "Dead Sound of Misery" darkens the guise set up earlier on "Fly". I wouldn't say that Blind Guardian is on the front lines and the trenches anymore and certainly they don't need to be; they've put in the years and are more than any band the commanding generals fit to lead the masses of the worldwide power metal scene.

Bottom Line: Blind Guardian is still a relevant metal band and A Twist in the Myth would be a good starting point for any newcomer to get into the band.

Score: 8 of 10


--Nailer 10.26.06
  • 2 :REVIEW COUNT
    N/A :AVE RATING

ALL REVIEWS FOR: BLIND GUARDIAN
TITLE
DOR
COMPANY
REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
A Twist in the Myth
2006
Nuclear Blast
Eric Compton1/1/2015
3
A Twist in the Myth
2006
Nuclear Blast
Frank Hill10/27/2006
-
At the Edge of the World
2010
Metal Blade
Eric Compton1/1/2015
3.5
At the Edge of Time
2010
Nuclear Blast
Frank Hill9/29/2010
4
Beyond the Red Mirror
2015
Nuclear Blast
Eric Compton2/22/2017
2.5
Beyond the Red Mirror
2015
Nuclear Blast
Anthony Burke3/9/2015
3.5
Fly
2006
Nuclear Blast
Etiam4/21/2006
2.5
Imaginations Through the Looking Glass
2004
Century Media
Frank Hill12/25/2004
5

ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: BLIND GUARDIAN
INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE


<< back >>