Blind Guardian | BEYOND THE RED MIRROR MEDIABOOK | CD

Lyricist: Hansi K?rsch.
Personnel: Hansi K?rsch (vocals); Andr? Olbrich (guitar); Matthias Ulmer (piano, keyboards); Michael Schuren (piano); Frederik Ehmke (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Charlie Bauerfeind.
Recording information: Funkhaus Studio, Berlin (01/2014); Futura Productions, Boston, MA, USA (01/2014); MAZ Tonstudio, Stuttgart, Germany (01/2014); Rudolfinum, Dvorak Hall, Prague, Czech Republic (01/2014); TomTom Studio D, Budapest, Hungary (01/2014); Twilight Hall Studios, Grefath-Oedt, Germany (01/2014); Funkhaus Studio, Berlin (05/2014); Futura Productions, Boston, MA, USA (05/2014); MAZ Tonstudio, Stuttgart, Germany (05/2014); Rudolfinum, Dvorak Hall, Prague, Czech Republic (05/2014); TomTom Studio D, Budapest, Hungary (05/2014); Twilight Hall Studios, Grefath-Oedt, Germany (05/2014); Funkhaus Studio, Berlin (06/2014-08/2014); Futura Productions, Boston, MA, USA (06/2014-08/2014); MAZ Tonstudio, Stuttgart, Germany (06/2014-08/2014); Rudolfinum, Dvorak Hall, Prague, Czech Republic (06/2014-08/2014); TomTom Studio D, Budapest, Hungary (06/2014-08/2014); Twilight Hall Studios, Grefath-Oedt, Germany (06/2014-08/2014); Funkhaus Studio, Berlin (08/2014); Futura Productions, Boston, MA, USA (08/2014); MAZ Tonstudio, Stuttgart, Germany (08/2014); Rudolfinum, Dvorak Hall, Prague, Czech Republic (08/2014); TomTom Studio D, Budapest, Hungary (08/2014); Twilight Hall Studios, Grefath-Oedt, Germany (08/2014); Funkhaus Studio, Berlin (10/2012-10/2014); Futura Productions, Boston, MA, USA (10/2012-10/2014); MAZ Tonstudio, Stuttgart, Germany (10/2012-10/2014); Rudolfinum, Dvorak Hall, Prague, Czech Republic (10/2012-10/2014); TomTom Studio D, Budapest, Hungary (10/2012-10/2014); Twilight Hall Studios, Grefath-Oedt, Germany (10/2012-10/2014).
Director: Noel Smith.
Photographer: Hans Martin Issler.
Translator: Dr. Carolin Caliendo.
The German power metal unit's tenth studio album and first since 2010's At the Edge of Time, Beyond the Red Mirror is being billed as a sequel to 1995's much-loved Imaginations from the Other Side, but listeners need not be versed in that sci-fi/fantasy narrative to enjoy the ride, as per usual, Blind Guardian lets the music do most of the talking. Sparing no expense, the band enlisted two full 90-piece orchestras and three international choirs (Prague, Budapest, and Boston), but unlike some of their symphony-loving peers, the window dressing is integrated tastefully, allowing the veteran band's well-established technical skill set to shine through. Nearly three decades into their career, Blind Guardian still sound like a spinning top at the edge of a very high (and very ornate) table, firing ideas into the ether with the subtlety of a Gatling Gun, while miraculously maintaining their footing. Nowhere is this penchant for frantic, progressive metal fanfare more apparent than on the nearly ten-minute opener "The Ninth Wave, a lavish, electro-tinged, pseudo-Wagnerian epic that feels like a highlight reel of the band's entire career thus far. Like the majority of the ten-track set, it's bold, immediate, and relentlessly melodic, due in large part to frontman Hansi Kursch's robust vocals, whose stacked Dee Snider-meets-Queen harmonies and commanding presence form the basis of nearly all of the group's best offerings. That equation is put to its best use on the rollicking follow-up, "Twilight of the Gods," the closest Beyond the Red Mirror gets to a single, and a prime example of how deft the band is at fusing pop melodies to a backbone of pure metal might. The rest of the album follows suit, making stops at vintage thrash ("The Holy Grail"), Iron Maiden-inspired, guitarmony-laden NWOBHM ("Prophecies"), and opera metal ("The Throne"), before tying things up with the aptly named "Grand Parade," another just-under-ten-minute, neo-classical metal stunner that's as unapologetically ostentatious as it is genuinely goose bump-inducing. ~ James Christopher Monger

• Format: CD
• Genre: Pop
• Released: 02/03/2015