Blind Guardian’s “THE GOD MACHINE” Album Review - One Word…GODLIKE
Aside from power metal bands like RHAPSODY OF FIRE, ANGRA, and one of my favorite post-millennial metal bands, POWERWOLF, BLIND GUARDIAN is one of my favorite bands in the history of the metal genre. They are one of the fewest bands that I would describe to be a group that doesn't have a bad album on their catalogue. An assembly that covers lyrical themes such as fairy tales, fantasy in different forms of media from books to movies, religion, mythologies and even historical events. With such excellence in the production, the instrumentation, melodies and lyrical writing, their songs are beautiful, catchy and powerful enough to imagine yourself in certain moments in time or the worlds of Middle Earth, Mid-World (from the "Dark Tower" books) or in other fantastical realms.
And now, after seven years since their previous power metal effort in 2015's 'BEYOND THE RED MIRROR', front-man Hansi Kürsch and company have returned to release their eleventh studio album, the highly anticipated 'THE GOD MACHINE'. Seeing how they are one of the most influential power metal bands the world has ever witnessed, hearing news of a new metal album from the band would make me excited and after hearing their four singles before this album was unleashed, I was bracing myself for something that could be as good as earlier and later works like 1998's 'IMAGINATIONS FROM THE OTHER SIDE' and 2010's 'AT THE EDGE OF TIME'.
Ultimately, one query remains: were those expectations met? The answer? Certainly. 'THE GOD MACHINE' is a genuinely great album that packs in all of the metallic goodness that makes Blind Guardian so iconic in the first place and jams them into one package. Is it an album that stands as one of the Top 5 best in their discography? Unfortunately, no, but saying that doesn't take away from the quality of this majestic final product.
Kürsch, before the release of the album, has stated in an interview that he didn't want to rehash earlier songs and projects nor continue to a path of complex songwriting as heard from their latest albums. With this direction the band considers to be "a new beginning" for them, they manage to capture the breathtaking agelessness of their music without being too complex for its own good or repeating themselves.
The production by Charlie Bauerfiend is punchy and atmospheric, making every powerful drum blast from Frederik Ehmke feel like a mini-gun blasting through your body, André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen's guitars play with intensity in the fast-paced tracks and gracefulness in the power ballads and even in the longest songs of the album. This also goes for the additional touch of orchestra and choir to make certain songs of the album have a sense of euphoria and come across as grandiose than overcompensating.
But the vocalist Hansi Kürsch is what makes this album soar to great heights. His talent behind the mic is indescribable, singing like a golden harp in every track including his vocal harmonies that add so much texture to the music.
Track by track, 'THE GOD MACHINE' has godlike music that will leave you banging your head hard enough to crack concrete.
The opener - and one of the first singles - "Deliver Us From Evil" is a song about Arthur Miller's play 'The Crucible'. A fast-paced melodic tune with a tremendous chorus and unique songwriting about the fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials. And just when you thought the blitzkrieg adrenaline rush reached its peak, the second track "Damnation" hits you like a freight train just as much as the past album's second track "Twilight of the Gods" with invigorating composition, lyrics and stellar riffs that strike the sky.
Based on Neil Gaiman's novel, "Secrets of the American Gods" is the longest song of the album and the second single of the album. The best possible word to describe this song is simply "epic". It is a song that epitomizes every single strength that Blind Guardian is capable of. Strong vocals, powerful lyrics and brilliant music composition of both metal and orchestral elements.
"Violent Shadows" continues the thrash-like pace of the first two tunes, however it may be the weakest one of them all. The song's not bad at all, but the song's execution isn't one that surpasses the tracks mentioned and one more down the road. The song was first showcased in its live version in 2020, and originally hearing it, I thought it was solid, but not something out of the extraordinary. In its studio form, the vocal harmonies improve the album especially in its cool chorus, but as a whole, the song is fairly decent, not one that I’d revisit thoroughly in years to come. Personally, maybe it should’ve just stayed a single so that way the band would replace it with a much more impactful song.
The ambitious "Life Beyond the Spheres" is another sweeping, symphonic 6-minute track about the creation of space and life, and the song that references Battlestar Galactica, “Architects of Doom”, is another interesting and heavy number that boasts great management of fast and mid-paced tempos with the guitar work and drumming displaying it as such.
"Let It Be No More" is the album's power ballad. As a song about the passing of the Kürsch’s mother and the HBO show, The Leftovers, the song has a very slow-paced, bittersweet tone to it which fits the overall approach of the song. On its own, it sadly serves as one of the weaker songs with an uninspired chorus and forgettable music that it kind of wallows there begging for people to be emotionally taken in. While I say that this song could’ve been much better in execution, I give my condolences to Kürsch for his loss.
But without question, the album's best track is none other than the ferocious, melodically perfect beast known as "Blood of the Elves", a song about The Witcher series. A killer, ferocious, punchy, to the point Blind Guardian majesty that is destined to become a fan favorite and one that desperately should be played live in the following months. The drum work is impeccable, Hansi’s growling and scorching singing is second to none, and the chorus is so badass and unbelievably catchy that it’s still stuck in my head as I type this. One of the best fast-paced Blind Guardian songs since “A Voice in the Dark” and “Mirror Mirror”.
In the past, Blind Guardian would have triumphant and at times symphonic titans of closing tracks like "Wheel of Time”, “And The Story Ends,” “And Then There Was Silence” and "Grand Parade". For ‘THE GOD MACHINE’, the closer is a song called "Destiny”, which is based on Hans Christian-Andersen’s tale, The Ice Maiden; a tale about jealousy, fate and tragedy when a man is trying to live a life with the miller’s daughter is actually destined to be one with the sinister Ice Maiden forever if she were to kiss him a third time, ultimately freezing him to death. “Destiny” is probably a song that is going to divide certain people. With its complex structure and pacing, it’s a song that could take a bit of getting used to (and I’ve tried many times as well before I finally got into it). However, the song still packs in a tone of dread and inevitability complimented by the symphony orchestra backing and songwriting by the band. Not the easiest to get into, but it does the job.
‘THE GOD MACHINE’ is a staple reminder as to why Blind Guardian are the barons of Power Metal. An operatic, bombastic album that fuses high-octane fierceness and intricate, lengthy epics that the band has been known for since ‘NIGHTFALL ON MIDDLE EARTH’. Despite its few missteps preventing it from being a full-on masterpiece, Blind Guardian’s 51 minute behemoth is one that won’t disappoint lifelong fans.
RATING: 9/10
