Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Blind Guardian
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: 2006
Length: 12:38
Rating: 3.5/5
If flying is just a wish for Helloween (the EP “If I Could Fly”, 2000), Blind Guardian, unlike them, don’t spend much time wondering whether they can fly or not. They just fly! “Fly” is remarkably short for the band, and that short song title is a hint that the new title track of this EP is, once again, a little bit different. The guys are putting out a lead-in EP and sparing their loyal “metal diehards” the wait for the long-awaited new studio album.
Damn, Fly is a killer track, and the effect is the opposite. Waiting for the new record is going to be even harder, sadly. The song has all the band’s trademarks. At the start, the sharpness and rawness of a classic metal “riff” catches you off guard, in contrast to the pumped-up, pompous symphonics you’d expect, the kind Blind Guardian have practically always and everywhere stuck to in recent years. Then that sharpness masterfully melts into exactly that element of the band. Symphonic power metal that only Blind Guardian can pull off. So, a flawless flow of neatly stacked motifs building an accomplished masterpiece just under six minutes long, with all the classic tricks we’re used to from the band. Excellent “multi-harmonic” vocal “layers”, that unmistakable voice, those distinctive soaring tercet harmonies laid over the basic motifs. Blind Guardian masterfully added an East Asian “folk sample”, seamlessly woven into the classic “power metal” form, and it somehow signals that the band’s exploration is moving on. And that’s where you can latch on to the lyrics. In short, the world isn’t just what surrounds us. It’s so much more, and whoever believes in that (“believes in more”) can fly. An Eastern motif and Eastern philosophy. It works, and it’s cool. Again and again, even in a genre as rigidly staked out as “heavy metal”. Hats off, guys. Blind Guardian are exactly what they are, but their path of development is clearly moving forward once more. It’s too early to say much based on one song, but it definitely makes your mouth water.
There are two more songs on the EP that we absolutely can’t forget. The first is an acoustic version of Skalds And Shadows. The Bard Song – In The Forest and Harvest Of Sorrow spring to mind right away. So, “folk” elements brilliantly “crossed” together into one nice whole. As expected. The flute on the track is played by the band’s new member, drummer Frederik Ehmke. We’ll compare his drumming to Thomen Stauch’s legacy another time, though. Say, when the band’s new studio album comes out. The guy sounds very promising on “Fly”. The third song is a heavily shortened version of the steel-plated classic by Iron Butterfly, In A Gadda Da Vida. The track is Blind Guardian from head to toe, and you never get the feeling you’re actually listening to a cover, even if you know the original. It’s incredible how this cover shows off both the band’s grandeur and their recognizability. A band that knows exactly what it wants and does exactly what it wants. After just the first new Blind Guardian track, you can fly really high without any trouble! Flawless this time, too!
Lineup
Hansi Kürsch – vocals
André Olbrich – guitar
Marcus Siepen – guitar
Frederik Ehmke – drums, percussion, flute
guest musician:
Oliver Holzwarth (SIEGES EVEN) – bass guitar
Production
Charlie Bauerfeind
Tracklist
1. Fly (5:45)
2. Skalds And Shadows (acoustic version) (3:13)
3. In A Gadda Da Vida (3:38)
