Long, long time ago, when I was so young… Why am I suddenly beginning a report in a manner so uncharacteristic of myself, talking about my own past? The fact is that the band whose concert I attended means far too much to me personally, having influenced my musical tastes in nothing short of a fantastic way. Just starting to explore Western material and fixating on IRON MAIDEN, I one day heard a song — a song I played at least fifty times the following day. It was "Lord Of The Rings" by BLIND GUARDIAN. The song still means an enormous amount to me. I fell in love with the band, and it was precisely after that moment that I diversified my listening diet with power metal and speed metal. I should note that I had already been listening to BLIND GUARDIAN before this, intermittently and deriving absolutely no pleasure from it, entirely unimpressed. The lesson I took from this: one must always listen to and really absorb new and unfamiliar things, even those that seem uninteresting at first glance — so that even my subsequent broadening of taste toward extreme styles owes an indirect debt to BLIND GUARDIAN.
Why am I writing this — perhaps to set aside any pretence of absolute objectivity. For me this was the first concert by the famous Germans, and I knew perfectly well they would play their hits. But enough of the narcissism. News that a new album would arrive in 2006 had been out for some time. The website carried a detailed schedule of single releases, the album, warm-up concerts, and the main tour. Later, specific information appeared in the tour schedule: among the four countries slated for pre-album concerts, russia was one of them. The date of 19 May had been known for many months, and the anticipation of the quartet — or sextet — was agonising. Let me explain that last word. Some years ago someone asked Hansi why bassist Oliver Holzwarth didn't appear among the band's official members, despite already being the permanent bassist for both live shows and studio work — at which point Hansi had concentrated solely on vocals. Hansi replied that BLIND GUARDIAN was four people and no more: guitarists André and Marcus, drummer Thomen, and himself. In 2005, the departure of Thomen came as a shock to fans worldwide. A few months later, Frederik Ehmke was installed as permanent drummer. Mi Schüren is the sixth member of the collective, handling keyboard parts at live shows.
There is no need to recount the band's discography — it is too well known. Two albums brilliantly illustrating melodic speed metal of the late 1980s. A transitional album from 1991 and two legendary, landmark collections of hits released in succession: Somewhere Far Beyond (1992) and Imaginations From The Other Side (1995). The conceptual Nightfall in Middle Earth, entirely devoted to Tolkien's Silmarillion. Four years later came the most divisive and commercially underappreciated album, A Night At The Opera — it had none of the legendary impact of its namesake released in 1975 by QUEEN (which featured such hits as "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Love of My Life," "You're My Best Friend") — fans simply didn't take to the progressive elements. The most recent release before the album was the single "Fly."
One more thing worth noting: the band had visited moscow twice, just half a year apart, back in 2002. Four years is no small gap for a band so beloved by the public; needless to say, the Gorbunov Palace of Culture was entirely sold out (presumably all 2,500 the hall holds), especially given that tickets had been on sale since February.
Around nine o'clock the lights in the hall went out and the intro began — War Of Wrath from the 1998 album, in absolute darkness. Less than two minutes passed, the stage turned a murky shade of blue, and all performers were already in position. In the centre of the stage, a stocky figure in black jeans, T-shirt, and open shirt; to his right André, the band's invariable lead guitarist; to his left Marcus, equally invariably in command of rhythm guitar; in the background to the right of the drummer — the almost imperceptible keyboardist; and to the left, Oliver. A noteworthy detail: microphones were positioned in front of every musician. And the central figure was, naturally, Hansi himself, opening with "Into The Storm."
A brief welcome, and the first song from Imaginations… of the evening: the magnificent "Born In A Mourning Hall." Unfortunately, by this point it was already clear that the sound was not ideal — the bass guitar too loud, the rhythm guitar not particularly audible; as for Hansi, one of the less welcome aspects of the band's live performances was confirmed — he conserves his voice and deliberately does not take many of the upper notes. If in the first song he took everything as on the album, here the entire song was delivered "lower"; on the other hand, here one could already feel the brilliant effect of those microphones in front of the musicians — on the chorus everyone sang.
Yet the sheer quality of what was being performed that day compensated for these less pleasant factors. The extraordinarily beautiful ballad "Nightfall" continued the concert, lighters throughout the hall, the majority singing along. The ballad gave way to another fast-paced track, again from 1995 — "The Script For My Requiem" — and that in turn yielded to perhaps the band's most tragic ballad: "Mordred's Song," the "confession" of one of the most villainous figures in English legend.
Then Hansi announced one of the most iconic pieces — a composition from as far back as 1989 — after which "Valhalla" was performed: performed by the entire hall. The sound had improved somewhat by this point. But a little more equipment wouldn't have hurt. The very grand and uplifting "Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill)" continued the concert, concluding with a natural communal singing of the key phrase with the audience.
In a mysterious voice Hansi announced the next song; I recall its performance poorly, as along with most of the hall I sang my favourite BLIND GUARDIAN song from beginning to end — "Lord Of The Rings."
A few words about the behaviour of Mr Kürsch. He is, as is well known, one of the calmest and most static vocalists among those who do not play guitar or bass during performances. Yet one cannot fail to note his astonishing facial expressions and unique acting abilities during the songs. Periodically Hansi would leave the stage, then begin singing the next song from the wings.
The time came to present a new song — the already-familiar title track "Fly" from the single. What can one say — a superb composition; what was particularly pleasing was that Hansi showed the full range of his voice throughout it. "Time What Is Time" from Somewhere Far Beyond (1992) followed immediately; the sound improved once more, and the guitar solos were now audible and clear.
Again from 1995 — "Bright Eyes." At this point one began to feel that Imaginations… would be performed in its entirety. Three more compositions remained in the main set: the fast "Lost In The Twilight Hall" — originally co-performed by Hansi and Kai Hansen (GAMMA RAY fans know that Hansi returned the favour four years later, recording "Farewell" on Kai's Land Of The Free in 1995); the new ballad "Skalds And Shadows," very warmly received; and the closing piece of the main set was… simply epoch-making. Dark, epic, at times chilling, and simultaneously extraordinarily beautiful — "Imaginations From The Other Side." After its performance the band left the stage.
The encore was relatively brief. What opened the first encore was truly a huge surprise for fans of the 2002 album: the band performed their longest composition live — "And Then There Was Silence," a vast epic — but without the subdivision into parts used by progressive metal bands; it is a single continuous piece, moreover one in which the lyrical content is of fundamental importance, with purely instrumental passages practically absent (the complete lyrics fill five pages). This song, it should be recalled, tells of the end of the Trojan War; the band's appeal to the legends of various peoples is characteristic, though many mistakenly assume their lyrics are built exclusively on fantasy and Tolkien in particular. The first encore concluded with "And The Story Ends" — the sixth and final composition from Imaginations From The Other Side (1995) performed that day.
But could a BLIND GUARDIAN concert possibly end without the entire hall singing "The Bard's Song — In The Forest"? Absolutely not. The second encore began with precisely that song; in keeping with tradition, the instrumental portion was minimal, and Hansi himself joined in only periodically, leaving the audience room to shine.
And then — the final song. There was never any doubt which one it would be — this song has reliably closed the band's concerts for many years. "Mirror Mirror" — and the nearly two-hour concert was over.
A wonderful concert, truly magical… A setlist one could only have dreamed of, incorporating practically every hit in the band's catalogue — missing only "Banish From Sanctuary," "Past And Future Secret," and "Somewhere Far Beyond." The choral singing on the choruses was a particular joy; the performance of "And Then There Was Silence" was an absolute surprise. One very much hopes that on the band's next visit the sound problems will be resolved and Hansi will reach every high note so that his vocals ring out as brilliantly as on the albums.
Report by Alan
Setlist: War Of Wrath (intro) Into The Storm Born In A Mourning Hall Nightfall The Script For My Requiem Mordred's Song Valhalla Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill) Lord Of The Rings Fly Time What Is Time Bright Eyes Lost In The Twilight Hall Skalds And Shadows Imaginations From The Other Side —encore— And Then There Was Silence And The Story Ends —encore— The Bard's Song — In The Forest Mirror Mirror