538. Blind Guardian / Imaginations From the Other Side. 1995. 3.5/5

The progression of Blind Guardian’s career throughout the 1990’s decade is one that highlighted the difference in how the progression of heavy music in general transited the decade in North America and Europe. While grunge and alternative metal and the other variations as a result made their mark through America, it was power metal that made a significant move on the European continent. Blind Guardian was one of the leaders of this wave, though despite this their own sound through this period also had changes from one album to the next that showed a redefining of their core sound as the decade progressed. To this point in time, there had been a gradual development of Blind Guardian’s sound over the course of their first four albums, and this would continue through their couple as well. The band had begun life closer to a speed metal band than anything else, though gradually that had been infused with power metal tracings into “Tales from the Twilight World”, a course that their contemporaries in Helloween had done, and thus not surprisingly incorporated by the guest appearance of Kai Hansen on three of their albums in that time period. Then came “Somewhere Far Beyond” an album that made a step further in that progression of power metal and a lesser infatuation with speed metal. The success of this moving of the goalposts continued, until such time as they released their album “Nightfall in Middle-Earth", a concept album where almost every trace of their original speed metal had been enveloped in their more maturing and orchestral direction. The album that straddled those two albums, and therefore acting as a bridge from one to the next, was this one, “Imaginations from the Other Side”.
How much of this came from a new producer? The band has admitted in interviews that the writing for this album had some difficulties, more from the fact that the band was looking to lift their game and raise the standard of what they wanted to use, which led to more ideas that they felt were not up to this new standard being cast aside. It was not until the first two songs were laid down as demo’s, containing the song that would become the title track of the album and also “The Script for my Requiem”, that they felt they were heading in the right direction. They also wanted to look for a new producer as they were unsatisfied with how both “Somewhere Far Beyond” and their live album “Tokyo Tales” had sounded. Hansi Kursch and Andre Olbrich, the two main songwriters of the band, apparently toured studios over their summer, and eventually came back to the one they visited first, Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen. The producer involved? Flemming Rasmussen, best known as the producer of Metallica’s most influential albums. He had been impressed with their demo tape, and once they began working together, despite the band feeling that he expected much more of them than their previous producer especially in rhythm guitar and vocal performances, the chemistry seemed to work, and allowed the band to ascend to that higher plane that they had been aiming for.

From the outset, Blind Guardian show that while they are once again maturing their own style into something they can carry forward with, they have not abandoned completely their complex songwriting which has been a hallmark of their work, and that they are not skimping on any of their finest attributes. The title track opens the album in a typically epic way, again showcasing how they are ramping up the operatic storytelling they are famous for and giving their music a bigger and more grandiose sound. “Imaginations from the Other Side” is like the opening of a metal musical, the depth and gravity of the track both musically and vocally is what hits you from the outset. It is a statement from the start. Blistering guitars, harmonising choir vocals and perfectly formatted drumming that brings the whole package together.
Fear not though for those who are already looking back on the past with melancholy, because there is still plenty of ripping sections coming up, none more so than on "I'm Alive", which retains its structure from the earlier albums with that speed metal pace throughout and driven by the drums and guitars. “A Past and Future Secret” is the acoustically middle-earthian tome that Blind Guardian had shown on their previous album with “The Bard’s Song – In the Forest” and would again going forward. Power ballad?Not really, given the acoustic nature of the track, and the fact that there is far more Tolkien feel about these slower acoustic tracks than the desire of crying about love and lost love that power ballads regularly describe. It is a trait of Blind Guardian to include tracks like this, and in doing so here they retain that part of themselves that they quirkily hold onto.
“The Script for my Requiem” bounces back into the traditional Blind Guardian tune, the slightly faster song with great guitars and vocals. While the music here begins to trend towards the power metal side of their music, it is still quintessentially Blind Guardian, and this is what distinguishes it from the majority of the bands in that genre of music. The drumming isn’t all fast double kick, Thomas Stauch retains his own style which is a long step away from what would typically be found in power metal albums from the drummer, and that helps to retain the uniqueness of a track such as “The Script for My Requiem”. This is followed by “Mordred’s Song”, the tale of which comes from Arthurian legend and explores his story from his own eyes, with lines such as “I've gone beyond the truth, It's just another lie, Wash away the blood on my hands, My father's blood, In agony we're unified”. “Mordred’s Song” sits back in a mid-tempo not usual for the band, but ties together many of the traits that will seep forward from this album, the continued telling of tales from novels, mixing in acoustic and electric guitars, almost floating along through the song to give the tale its tragedy within the music. It's a haunting song, which indeed the story itself is as well.
Not time for rest though, as "Born in a Mourning Hall" blasts into its beginning immediately, charging out of the speakers and bound to keep the album forceful and heavy. The faster pace here and the great drumming drives the song. Lyrically it is an unusual one for the band, as Hansi and Andre usually source their material from books and fantasy, whereas this song seems to be referencing modern issues such as television and technology and being trapped within their spell that they cast upon you. Of course, the overreaching story that twists through the album is based on this idea. The album explores the journey of a child who escapes reality through a mirror, entering a fantastical world filled with Arthurian legends, swords, and dragons. It draws inspiration from classic tales like The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and The Chronicles of Narnia and the Arthurian legend, which is why all of these images appear in the songs. “Bright Eyes” follows that trend, combining this merging of Blind Guardian’s two musical convergences to produce a song that musically is caught in the middle of its past and future.
“Another Holy War” ramps us back to a more familiar song speed, and drums and guitars combine on this track to push the album into overdrive. Hansi's vocals, on their own and then their choired masses that support over the top, are wonderful here again, making this one of the best tracks on the album.
And then comes that epic closing track “And the Story Ends”, and it really is an epic conclusion to the album. Steeped in the tones that would come in various forms on the albums that followed this one, Blind Guardian throw the kitchen sink at this song, led from the front by Hansi’s formidable and powerful vocal cries that drive the song into the stratosphere. The marching drums and guitars start off everything, followed by the choir vocals before breaking into the heart of the song. The tempo of this song is the best example of the bridge between the past and future, but the dialling down of tempo loses nothing in intensity and power and sheer energy throughout. Everything combines here in an enthralling six-minute conclusion that stamps its mark on the ascent of this band in an era that they are charging out at the front of.

It seems absolutely ludicrous as I sit here today talking to you about this album that I did not discover Blind Guardian until 2002. Well, that’s partly true. I knew the band existed because every time I walked into Utopia Records in Sydney and passed the ‘B’ section, there were these elaborately designed album covers of a band called Blind Guardian, and I always wondered what they might sound like. You know, I probably could have walked up to the counter and asked if they would play me one of their albums so I could have a listen and decide if I wanted to give them a go. But I never did, and the 1990’s was a strange time to be checking out bands I wasn’t aware of. So it wasn’t until 2002 that I decided to take a punt. And on that day I actually took a punt on two bands that I had heard nothing of and knew nothing of. And I bought Iced Earth’s newest album “Horror Show”, and I bought Blind Guardian’s newest album “A Night at the Opera”. Error. “A Night at the Opera” is, still, my least favourite Blind Guardian album. And based on what I thought of it when I got home, it could have been the LAST Blind Guardian album I ever bought. But it wasn’t. And we’ll get to that story down the trail on another episode.
But back to this album, “Imaginations from the Other Side”. Because my acquirement of the Blind Guardian catalogue was so haphazard, I didn’t hear this album until I had listened to others of other generations. And for this band in particular, that is a difficult thing to do. As I have mentioned here, there is a subtle change and maturing of the band’s key sounds from album to album, such that if you heard them out of order it makes for a difficult listening experience first up. Imagine listening to “Powerslave” and “No Prayer for the Dying” out of sequence, or “Reload” and “Ride the Lightning”. That’s a difficult transition. Much is the same with Blind Guardian.
My immediate love of the band came from their second and third albums, steeped as they are in the German speed metal they came up with. And I had also found “Nightfall in Middle-Earth", a very different styled album. Taking all of that into account, my initial exposure to this album was not as extreme as with “A Night at the Opera” but it was not completely compliant with what I was expecting. It wasn’t as overall blistering as the first albums I loved, nor was it as well crafted and rounded as the album that followed it. In fact, in my blog “Music from a Lifetime” in my review of this album in 2009, I wrote fairly simply “I must admit that I had trouble with this for a long time”. Over time however I stopped trying to look for what was obviously not there and listen to what was being offered instead. And that was my gateway into the album. I actually paid attention to songs such as the title track, “I’m Alive”, “The Script for My Requiem” and espefially the closing of “Another Holy War” and “And the Story Ends”. The power of the guitars, the fabulous drumming throughout, and the way Hansi changes his vocals to suit the mood of the track, and how powerful he was on this album when it was necessary.
Over the past week I have revisited this CD from my collection, and it has been terrific. I know there are albums I probably enjoy more, but this is one that has certainly risen in my estimation from what I thought of it when I first got it. On reflection this week, of Blind Guardian’s 12 studio albums, I rank this at #5... or #6... it’s real close.
Blind Guardian had fought the fight against the changing musical world in 1995 and won. What they came up with next not only put them in esteemed company but rewrote the book when it came to power metal and their place in the world order. It was an album worth waiting for.