Classical Composer Reacts to And Then There Was Silence (Blind Guardian) | The Daily Doug (Ep. 170) 

"It's almost like Lord of the Rings" said Doug. Funny you should say that.

"It's like making a song about the Lord of the Rings". Funny you should mention that..... (Their album "Nightfall on Middle Earth" is entirely based on the lore of JRRT's Silmarillion.....)

Basically lyrics are about Cassandra's visions of the war of Troy, as you said, but with a bunch of chronologic jumps. The song starts with her violent vision (Turn your head and see the fields of flame) of Troy in flames. She is with Priamo (king of Troy) on the terrace of the palace, waiting for Paride. Priamo is excited, but Cassandra is worried because she feels something is going wrong (He's on his way, he'll bring decay). Paride will come with Elena (the most beautiful woman on earth, "she's like the sunrise, Outshines the moon at night"), wife of Menelao, which will follow with his brother Agamennone to "rescue" her and take revenge (In darkness grows the seed of man's defeat: Jealousy. I can clearly see the end now). The song then shows the visions of Cassandra, Achille chasing Paride around the walls of Troy (Don't you think it's time to stop the chase around the ring? Just stop running around the ring), Ettore's death (The coin has been placed below my tongue), Achille again slaughtering the troyans (As the lion slaughters man, I'm the wolf and you're the lamb), men and babies throwed off the walls (bodies falls). But then something not expected happens: the greeks are gone, a wooden stallion has been placed in the battlefield. Troyans are happy (The nightmare shall be over now, There's nothing more to fear, Come join in our singing) but Cassandra warns (They'll truly believe in the lie, With blossoms they'll welcome the old foe). Then her visions are over, the song come back to the terrace, with Priamo been informed that the troyan ships are coming (Your handsome son is coming home!). Wind is moving the ships (Still the wind blows, Calm and silent, Carries news from a distant shore), the same that Cassadra saw as the "betrayer" at the start of the song (We have been betrayed by the wind), because with the ships is coming Elena and the war. But there is no hope, because "the blind leads the blind", and so the only logical end is "Sorrow and defeat". These are my 2 cents about this gorgeous piece. There is a lot more which I cannot understand, and I could be wrong with some details. Hope it helps.

There's only one choice now - "Nightfall" from "Nightfall in Middle Earth" please :)

Band only repeats chorus three times in a 14-minute song: "I think they've done this to many times." : D Dude, that chorus is amazing -- possibly the most epic one they've ever written, and they've written some EPIC choruses. It's so weird watching somebody listen to this for the first time when I've heard it hundreds and hundreds of times and always know exactly what's coming next. And yep, it's relentless and over-the-top, just like the whole "A Night at the Opera" album, but I personally love it. It took me a while to digest that album when it came out, because as you say there's so much going on the whole time, but it really rewards you on repeated listens, because you're constantly discovering new things. All in all I think it's an amazing album and it's one of my favorites.

The vocalist you hear here in Blind Guardian, Hansi Kürsch, you actually partially reacted to in Ayreon's "The day that the world breaks down" where he had the part as The Astronomer!

Blind Guardian is an impressive band. The most impressive thing is that they manage to always make something different and yet sound clearly Blind Guardian, if you liked this mythological theme, I strongly suggest doing a full album review for Nightfall in Middle Earth, believe me, you are not going to be disappointed. Another one of my favourites in the same category is The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight based on the Arthurian tale, it is absolutely necessary to follow the lyrics on this one.

Blind Guardian's worst problem in their latest albums are indeed mixing. They try to bring many diverse layers, orchestral parts etc to their songs, but in the end some instruments becomes muffled and flat. Their last album is the most glaring one about this unfortunately. This mix is even better compared to some songs in that one. Too many highs problem is present only in this song I think. I think if you want to go on with this band the next song could be Wheel of Time. Other chocies can be The Bard's Song - In the Forest, Mordred's Song, or Nightfall.

- "The newborn child will carry ruin to the hall, the newborn's death will be a blessing to us all." This is clearly the prophecy about Paris, which is not however attributed to Cassandra but fits the theme of the song - "So the judgement's been made, to the fairest the graceful says, badly he fails". A clear reference to the story of Paris presenting the golden apple to Aphrodite (an incident known as the Judgement of Paris). Just before that it was "Power and wisdom, You deny" ---> The gifts offered by Hera and Athena when asking for the apple. - "Fear the heat of passion ...". Cassandra when seeing Paris bringing Helen to Troy. - "I feel that something's wrong, suprise they're gone". When the Greeks appeared to have deserted their camp (just before the whole trojan horse story comes into play) --> "They'll tear down the wall to bring it in, They'll truly believe in the lie", "Mare or Stallion, there's far more inside" - "we'll cheerfully die". The celebrations just before the sack of Troy. I would suggest giving a listen to "Nightfall in Middle-Earth".

Welcome to Blind Guardian ... They always blow me away especially the lead singer and his vocals 👌🏿🤘🏿💪🏿

I saw Blind Guardian perform this song live the first year after the release of the album (A Night at the Opera); they were headliners at the "Summer Day in Hell" festival in Italy in 2003 and... frankly, the general consensus was that this ultra-long and super complex and hyper-produced song was a "studio song" that they wouldn't be able to play live. Not only they did, they performed it FLAWLESSLY. I was blown away. It's not my favorite Blind Guardian song, but it was a very badass. "THOUGHT WE COULDN'T, UH. CHECK THIS OUT"

Personally, I always saw the frenetic nature of the song sort of represented the chaos of battle, like it's fast and relentless with only short moments of reprieve, which is where the quiet moments come in, and then the "celtic" moment towards the end kind of represents the feast/celebration after the battle has been fought. This track is by far one of my favourite ever tracks by Blind Guardian, and the chorus moment always stirs something almost primal within me when it comes around, and I just love it.

Blind Guardian - “Wheel of Time” The most intricate piece of metal/classical music ever

Yes finally some Blind Guardian! Can't wait for the next episode with this truly underrated band!

Listen to "WHEEL OF TIME" and "SACRED WORLDS" from this same band. It was recorded with a real orchestra and a choir.

Your criticism of the mix is very apt. Blind Guardian is one of my all time favorite bands, but their production very often leaves something to be desired. The issues with clarity and preserving dynamics in their studio recordings increased as the became more orchestral and started including many, many tracks. Their last couple records have been an improvement, likely the result of better technology and more experienced engineers. They can remaster their older recordings all they want, but if it wasn't recorded ideally to begin with, that can't really be fixed. Hot recordings with lost dynamics are pretty common with metal, as there must be a balancing act between clarity and still sounding "heavy" and exciting. I think a lot of these issues are incredibly evident on their first really "epic" album, "Nightfall in Middle-earth" (my favorite BG album).

8:40 Oh Doug, you have no idea haha

The vocals are mainly done by Hansi Kürsch alone, even the quire-like parts and synchronized/harmonized vocal parts. Although, sometimes he has an little choire supporting him in his awesomeness. Thank you for this reaction, I've been waitin for this day to come. Greetings from germany. :)

Oh Boy! Blind Guardian is epic! I think their song Sacred Worlds will be sooo much in your alley! Symphonic through and through!

As soon as this video came up on my page I was MINDBLOWN. Doug doing BG!!!!!!

Starting with this album until present day their production was done by Charlie Bauerfeind. And much as i love BG and have loved them since their third album, back when they were much more speed/power metal than anything else. I think his ultra hot production takes away from a lot of the detail. It does tend to reward repeat listens but it is...tiring on the ears? For lack of a better word. I think their best produced albums were the two done by Flemming Rasmussen, Imaginations from the Otherside and Nightfall in Middle Earth. Ultimately the end result is that Nightfall in MIddle Earth is their best album, the perfect marriage of their older speed/power sound with their later progressive more bombastic style. And The Silmarillon is a poor read, but a wealth of incredible story hooks to write good songs about. Two great songs that you would enjoy more are probably Noldor and Thorn which have a slower pace. but for someone unaccustomed to speed/power metal will be easier to wrap your head around. My personal favorite track is the Curse of Feanor but that song is A LOT. Of everything. Into the Storm is a good middle ground where its a pretty fast and heavy song but it does slow things down a tad during the chorus. If I had to pick one song I think it would be Thorn, its one of the best stories from the book and lends it self well to a mid to slower paced power metal song. Ultimately with BG one of the highlights is always Hansi's stellar lyricism. Its one reason why BG has garnered the nickname of "The Bards" so much of what they excel at is telling stories.

Helen: The face that launched 1000 ships. Millihelen: the amount of beauty required to launch a single ship.

You're a classical composer and they have an album completely made out of orchestra and vocals only. You have to react to their song called "The Point of No Return". It will be perfectly up your alley and match your background!

"Unrelenting" is an apt description. I love every note and every second of it!

My personal favorite, musically - from Blind Guardian... is Curse of Feanor. It's a musical masterpiece

This song is goosebumps-inducing. I think you should try Avantasia - The Seven Angels.

Blind Guardian do have a lot of celtic influences. Check out "The Bard's Song" or "Maiden and the Minstrel Knight"

I’ve never heard of this band. But I’m hearing a lot of Queen in their vocal harmony and voice leading, as well as the lead vocalist’s timbre. And in their melodrama! So they have an album called “Night at the Opera,” eh? That’s rather telling! Although what you hear as “celtic,” Doug, I hear as a sea chanty.

It is amazing how Dough gets things... Blind Guardians break to fame basically was Lords of the Rings related. Basically the did a concept album on the Silmarilion (Nightfalls to Middleearth), they had song called Lord of the Rings (which is great bye the Way) and they did the Bard Song (probably their most famous songs). For me they are a sing along band, as I really love their vocal arrangements, which really encourange you to just want to sing it, and that is basically what happens at their concerts... They basically have a really big Choir band and it is really magical. Back to LOTR, they actually wanted to be on the Soundtrack for the Movies, but unfortunately did make it... I think that was really a missed opportunity, as they really are a LOTR band

Yes!! One of my favorite tunes of all time. I'm so happy you enjoyed it :D

I think reacting to Leprous would be really cool, maybe the Sky is Red or Slave

Fourth time listening to this reaction. I love that you thought it was impressive ;)

from germany, krefeld. my hometown. My band (when I was still making music) used the old rehearsal room they had when they were younger. good vibes in these catacombs...

Doug, that switch from the Tralalala to that somber section, is the switch from the perspective of the trojans that just brought in the wooden horse and Cassandra's perspective, her knowing what is coming but powerless to persuade them that they're destroying themselves.

If you're open to reviewing more power metal I would really recommend Gargoyles Angels of Darkness by the band Rhapsody. It's a 19 minute bombastic epic that goes through a few different movements. It's also the conclusion to a five album concept, so I imagine lyrically it'll give you something to talk about too. As to Blind Guardian, I saw them a few years back at the Bloodstock festival here in the UK and it was one of the best shows I've been too. The mixture of energy, crowd participation, and the band's command of the stage/crowd was top tier. There's a lot of great songs by them but I'm just not entirely sure how interesting you'll find their more straight forward stuff. I suppose Nightfall and The Bard's Song (In The Forest) and like the band signature songs, but equally A Script For My Requiem and Noldor are tracks I have a lot of time for.

I've been an audio engineer since the late 70's and I totally agree with you concerning the mixing and mastering of this. Good catch on your part! I own several Blind Guardian albums and although I enjoy their music, they do tend you have issues in this regard.

Basically, the story goes like this. After 10 years of war and the death of their strongest hero, Achilles, the Greeks decide to follow Odysseus' plan and build a huge wooden horse to be left in front of Troy's doors as a gift to the Trojans, then the Greeks dismantle the camp and apparently leave admitting their loss. The Greek army is hidden into the horse so that they can infiltrate the city and win the war. Cassandra, also known as Alexandra, was one of Priamus' daughters and she had the gift of seeing the future, but as she went back from her word to Apollo, he cursed her by having it that she would see the future, but nobody would believe her. She predicted Troy's defeat if the Trojans would bring the horse into the city (the horse was so big that they had to break down the walls) as did Laocoon, a priest, but nobody listened to them. And so the Greeks took Troy.

All right, now that I listened to your reaction: - First of all, I'm really happy that you liked it, given how I recommended it, and that you're not really into the double kick drum that's so prevalent in power metal. - The lyrics of the song, and the dynamics of it, are mostly driven by telling the story. It is, indeed, an epic, as befits the Illiad. Some moments (like the slow chime that you found so interesting) correspond with moments in the Trojan war (in that case, it's the Athenians disappearing overnight, leaving only the wooden horse behind, to the counfoundment of the Trojans. Likewise, the celtic, celebratory part is the Trojans bringing the horse into the city and celebrating their victory, a bit prematurely as we all know). - Blind Guardian went through a lot of style changes, but they always had big pretensions. Their early stuff is very rough, almost thrash metal, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like it much. Their latter stuff has been way more operatic, and I can't recommend "Wheel of Time" enough. It's another big epic, and compositively speaking, I also think will be interesting to look at. - Blind Guardian have a side project called "Blind Guardian's Twilight Orchestra", which came out with a fully symphonic album (no guitars, bass guitars or metal drums, just Hansi singing with the Hungarian Philharmonic orchestra). That may also be worth taking a look at. - The mix is very compressed, as it's typical in metal these days, which creates that "wall of sound" that you hear. I will say that many of the choir lines in this song are almost inaudible, but I think that's in no small part by design, as they're meant to give texture more than anything. Finally, thanks a lot of the reaction, Doug. I've always found this song to be a masterful piece of songwriting, and I, barely knowing any music theory, have really appreciated the view of an expert on harmony and composition.

Oh I love this song! :) Edit: Funny that you mentioned lord of the rings, many of their songs and even albums are themed around tolkiens works.

One of the few power metal bands who never sounds cheesy

One day we'll get a Pain of Salvation reaction, and it'll be epic. I'm rooting for Beyond the Pale, People Passing By, Water, or Iter Impius.

Hey man thanks for doing blind guardian! Super exciting to see your reaction. Really awesome.

One of the best Metal bands of all time

Haven't even watched it yet, and I'm already going "yaaaaaaaaaaaay!". :D

Great to hear a perspective of someone who has not been a fan of the band on one of the most complex songs in BLIND GUARDIAN's history! They are essentially a Power metal band (with roots in Thrash-Speed metal) who has gone their very own way. I cannot think of another band that would be a dead-ringer for (or even a pale copy of) them. The guitar sound and Hansi Kursch's powerful wails have become trademark (even though they overdub his voice a lot in studio, he can carry a song just as well live by himself - recorded examples abound. Now you are right about the commonly acknowledged weakness of precisely "A Night at the Opera" album - they went for such a "big" sound their engineering team at the time could not keep up, and the mix came up muddy at best. That really detracts from the listening experience, as more transparency would work miracles for a song like this one. I used not to like the album much, but under all the layers, the story and the realization is just overwhelming, and - to the end, where the Trojan crowd blissfully dances around the legendary Horse - even emotional. When Hansi's vocals add that almost hysterical/fatalistic quality on "blind lead the blind" (a nod to the band's history, they have, besides the name, an album called "Follow the Blind"), and you just feel the tragedy brewing - and it all resolves one final time into the powerhouse chorus and that BEAUTIFUL poignant play out ("Still the wind blows, calm and silent...")... that's where the song redeems its any flaws. Btw, I am not fully behind the suggestion that 3 times to revisit the chorus in a 14 minute song is too many. It can SEEM that way because the impact is positively humongous, like all dams bursting in the listener's brain. :)) AND, it must be among the longest choruses in existence, with its 3 sections beginning with "Misty tales and poems lost...", through "Will my weary soul find release for a while", and - when you think they are done - pouring on to "Raise my hands and praise the day The Flame of Troy will shine bright"... That can seem like a lot. But I would not be without that second iteration, beginning, as it does, with a dramatic interjection of "We live... (Misty tales and Poems Lost) We die... (All the bliss and beauty shall be gone)" just piling tension! And, gotta give it to them, this song has some of the most poetic lyrics BLIND GUARDIAN have penned. Please investigate more of their songs for better grasp of the many-sided style!

Best band in human history!!!

If you find time for more Blind Guardian stuff, I'm going to join the others here and recommend "Wheel of Time" and "Sacred Worlds". Also, "The Bard's Song - in the Forest" and "Nightfall" would be pretty cool, they're short enough to be in one video.

Wheel of Time for sure! Really enjoyed this Doug

YES! TY Doug, looking forward to this! Hansi has a unique voice, and clearly some of these parts he recorded first thing in the morning after some lemon tea, because by 10am there's no way he'd be hitting some of those high notes. ;-) The lyrics jump around in time and in voice, though mainly it's from Cassandra's point of view. Song Genius has pretty good annotated lyrics. I hope you'll give it another listen while going through that page, as there's some important story elements that I think you missed while explaining things to us (thank you). "War is the only answer, when love will conquer fear" is Paris throwing caution to the wind, as he and Helen decide to run away together despite knowing how Menalaus (her husband, the king of Sparta) would react. Cassandra's experience - knowing the future, terrified of the future, utterly helpless to prevent the carnage of a foolish yet inevitable war - drives this song, the relentless pacing, the at times hopeless lyrics. Hah, there it is! The "double kick drums make me make this face" face! Ok, this band started in the late 80s as a VERY straight forward speed power metal band, and got very popular in Europe. Funny thing, though, they didn't stagnate and stick with the style that brought them to prominence. They kept evolving. Over time they started adding big choral parts to their songs - it was a clear evolution, not a sudden change. "Nightfall in Middle Earth" is a concept album based on the Silmarillion, and the song "Nightfall" is (at least in my mind) where they fully gave over to the big, sweeping choral assemblies. The later you get in their career, the more accomplished the song writing (as you'd hope I guess). They've even done a "nothing but orchestra" album called Blind Guardian's Twilight Orchestra. As a suggestion, I think "Wheel of Time" (inspired, oddly enough, by Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time fantasy series) would be a great next step.

Yes! So happy you did a Blind Guardian song. They are my all time favorite. This song is amazing. Please, consider reacting to "Sacred words". I'm sure you will like it.

THANK YOU! I was hoping you'd do this!

If by all the singers in Blind Guardian, you mean Hansi recording himself doing 11 different vocals and then putting them all together then... yes... singers. He's a mad lad.

I really enjoy your chanel, thanks for your work!! Welcome to Blind Guardian, one of my favorite bands of all time, i hope you react to more Blind Guardian pieces in the future. Greetings from Catalonia!

Can't wait to check this one out. Been waiting for some blind guardian!

I would suggest to also check songs like Nightfall, Imaginations from the Other Side, Bright Eyes, Mirror Mirror...too many amazing songs from this band really! ^_^

Doug is dropping A LOT of content, thanks so much for a lot of reactions and ture opinions on all songs

Love this reaction a lot, thanks

Love that you discovered Blind Guardian... they're amazing! =) *edit - "Don't give us too many climaxes" - Doug Helvering 2021 ;-) =) *

This was a great reaction, more please :D

Yes, definitely need to check out more guardian, even going from the bards song to valhalla just to see there range, awesome reaction doug!

I really dig your take on this song. I appreciate your objective and thought out perspective. Definitely subscribing.

I love this band!

Great one Doug! Blind Guardian is such an interesting band. They were classic power on their first albums, but through the years they turned to a little more prog sound. Lately they released a full orchestral album, "Legacy of the Dark Lands", wich is based on the novel The Dark Lands, by Markus Heitz. They have "Nighftall in Middle-Earth", a whole album based on J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Silmarillion", and a pack of songs based on Lord of the Rings and other writers work, like Stephen King. I suggest the songs "Nightfall" or "Sacred Worlds".

Oh! Yes! BG is my favourite band! Ty for reacting to it!

LOVE how you did this. My favourite band (avatar shows that) and just such an epic amazing song. Loved it too all the comments being so true to Blind Guardian. "Almost a celtic vibe" yup, that's them! Great breakdown and analysis too (as always) and, also as always, gives me a better appreciation of the song. Ne Obliviscaris next! (don't think you've done them)

BTW, Doug, IMO, you did a great job navigating the meaning of the song. I actually think there's something of a twist to this song, in a sense; I don't think any part of it is in the "present"; I think the song is almost entirely from the perspective of Cassandra, predicting the events of The Iliad, The Aeneid, etc.. I think the chase around the ring is a premonition of Achilles' pursuit of Hector around the walls of Troy. The line "don't you know fate has been decided by the gods" is, I think, talking about how Zeus weighed two dooms on his golden scales before the final confrontation between Achilles and Hector, with Hector's doom sinking, foretelling his death. The "bad choice" is Priam's choice to not kill Paris, even though it is foretold that he will bring ruin to Troy. The judgment being referred to, where a graceful one chooses love over wisdom and power is the judgment of Paris, where he deems Aphrodite, the goddess of love, more beautiful than Hera (power) and Athena (wisdom), earning their enmity and Aphrodite's loyalty. I think it is definitely Helen who "outshines the moon at night" and who Cassandra is being warned to keep her out. The "lion who slaughters man" and one who states "I am the wolf and you are the lamb" is probably again Achilles, who coldly tells Hector, after being asked to return his body to his people should he slay him, that there are "no covenants between men and lions, wolves and lambs can never be of one mind..." The battle cry of Achilles also sends the Trojans fleeing and even kills some of them, so I think that may be the roar that is referenced. The flame of Troy shining bright is of course, a reference to the city being burned, as well as perhaps the moments of glory enjoyed by the likes of Hector, Sarpedon, Aeneas and others. "That they've gone away and won't come back" is speaking to the false belief of the Trojans that the Argives have truly left when they fake a retreat and leave the Trojan Horse in their wake. "They'll tear down the wall to bring it in, they truly believe in the lie" i.e., they'll tear down the walls which have been holding back the Argive forces in order to let in the Trojan Horse, truly believing Sinon, the Argive who claims that it was left behind as a parting gift. That's followed by the false celebration, as they declare the nightmare over as they celebrate the retreat of the Argives and the seeming end to the war. The false celebration and the mistake of letting in the Trojan Horse;"the blind leads the blind." "Mare or stallion there's far more inside"; Cassandra sees that, in the midst of this false celebration, the Trojan Horse has "far more inside", namely Argive warriors who are going to emerge while Troy is sleeping to signal to their waiting ships and slaughter the unguarded Trojans. I think when they talk about cheerfully dying, they're speaking of the fact that the Trojans are in a state of celebration when the Argives sweep over them. Seeing all this, Cassandra wonders if she will ever be released from what promises to become a torturous existence. "The holy light shines on" must refer to Aeneas guiding his small group of survivors across treacherous waters to finally found Rome, through which Troy's glory will survive, albeit under a new name. "The crack of doom father, your handsome son is heading home"; Paris is headed home, no doubt with Helen and stolen treasures from Menalus's Spartan Kingdom in hand. The distant shore he carries news from is probably the kingdom of the Argives. After all she's seen, she knows the doom that Paris is bringing with him and cannot get it out of her head. So, basically, I think the entire song is essentially Cassandra's premonition of events to come, ending with Paris's return from his trip to the Argives, which she knows is essentially the death knell of her people. My two cents.

Yay Blind Guardian!

Thank you so much for reacting to Blind Guardian! They are an amazing band and have a lot to offer, but could I recommend the song Point of No Return to you? It's by Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra, which means it's just Hansi (the singer) and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and I would love to hear your take on it!

17:32 Where you notice the changing perspectives, what I see/hear in that is the cheerful crowd of Troy dragging the horse into the city versus Kassandra who knows what that horse really is. All the contrasts and sarcastic wordings right after this point make perfect sense that way.

Grand Parade, The nith wave and nearly everything they do live is also awesome as hell.

I've already liked the video, and the ads weren't even over!

Since we're getting into power metal, I can't help myself than suggesting Virgin Steele, like "Kingdom of the Fearless", "The Wine of Violence", "A Token of My Hatred", "Voice as a Weapon", "Invictus", "Immortal I Stand", "Flames of Thy Power" and a load more :)

I love to hear do more Blind Guardian, I would recommend the song "Wheel of Time". They are a Power Metal band, so bombastic over the top drive force in the music is part of genre.

I was one of the folks who suggested this song, so it's really cool to see you react to it! I agree with your criticisms, but love the song nonetheless. I'm a sound guy and my issue with the mix is that they went for the "wall of sound" production, where everything is doubled, tripled, quadrupled, quintupled! The whole album is like that. It's a very deliberate choice, but in my opinion, an unfortunate one. For another Blind Guardian song to check out, I would recommend Mordred's Song, which looks at Arthurian legend from Mordred's perspective, or The Script for My Requiem, which is about the Crusades from the perspective of a soldier. Both are from the excellent album Imaginations from the Other Side, and I think you'll appreciate the production more on that one.

Awesome! Thanks.

Please, try Their Orchestral Project. It's called Legacy of The Dark lands and this is their climax till now. You can try songs like War Feeds War, Beyond The Wall, In The Underworld or Point of No Return, for example. This project was firstly written for the Lord Of The Rings soundtrack and in 2019 it was finally released.

How did I mis this episode !? What a legend...

Yes, If you have ever read any Tolkein, you really should give NightFall in Middle Earth a listen. No 15min over the top Epicness like ATTWS, just great story telling through music and spoken word throughout. A note on the mixing, I read in interview from the vocalist Hansi at the time this song was released, saying it was the most ambitious and overwhelming mixing they ever attempted. I can't remember the exact number but it was around 250 tracks total that had to be mixed for this song. That is insane.

check out 'Valkyries', it has great dynamics and is a very underrated blind guardian song which i think you will appreciate, there are so many great blind guardian songs but some do suffer from overly epic production lol

Avanatsia -The Seven Angels. 14 min epic masterpiece

Hey Doug, first of all, Thank you! I've seen your videos (your reviews) since the "Fear of the dark" video (maybe It was the very first...) And I really like them! I check your channel almost every day to see what song you have uploaded!! So Thank you because they're all extremely interesting and you are such an amazing theacher!! (I have always wanted to know something more of Harmony and your channel is a very good place for it). I am a metal music fan since 1992 when it came out "Fear of the dark" and since the Iron Maiden were my favourite band. Then I've discovered Dream Theater (at the time of "Scenes from a Memory") and I fell in love with them and later I began to listen to Blind Guardian. So I am very happy that you reviewed many songs of them and now even of BG. This song (And then there was silence) Is a very beautiful song to me but I agree with you completely about the mix (I have always tought that Is a bit messy...) and about the repeated climax! But they are a very good band and I love how the singer (and the writer of all the lyrics) Is capable of make remarkable lyrics even from very long and complex subjects and stories like this one (they're Bards, storytellers, and most of all their songs are about poems, novels, mythology...) And One of they're most preferred subject Is "Lord of the Rings" and "Silmarillion" (The mythology behind LOTR). So, since you've said that you want to listen more of them, you HAVE to listen to "Nightfall in Middle Earth" because it's their masterpiece, and you can begin with the eponimous Song "Nightfall". Two other songs are noteworthy: "Wheel of time" and "Sacred worlds" most of all because they've been recorded with the Symphonic Orchestra of Prague. I want to introduce you to another band (I don't know of you know them or not): Angra from Brazil, they're amazing and I suggest to you the song: "The Shadow Hunter". For Iron Maiden you could explore the years between 1995 and 1999 when Bruce left the band. They did two album with another singer (those years are quite forgotten by IM fans but there are some good songs: "Sign of the Cross", "The Edge of darkness"...) So there are my two cents, Sorry for the long post and keep on rock!

A great song. Love your reaction.

Great one Doug. I am really enjoying your reactions. Blind Guardian's Nightfall on middle earth is my favourite album and I propose the title-track as one of the best example of orchestral-progressive-epic-power-narrative metal out there ever.

André Olbrich just doing a constant ultra melodic solo in the background. How impressive is that, and it goes unnoticed 🤘

This is my favorite song of theirs. I have been listening to BG for 17 years now. :) I consider them to be their own individual genre of metal. First time I saw them was the first time they came to Belgrade. I could not believe it. During the Nightfall, I randomly raised my right hand towards Hansi (just to follow the music) but he gave me his hand. For a couple of second we sang chorus of Nighfall "together" holding hands but for me it felt like a lifetime. Then everybody jumped on me to take his hand. Came back home with bruises but was worth it. I adore them but in a normal way - just to be clear because people, who do not know who they are, usually assume something else. :/ That gesture of his made me so happy. Of course, they have no idea it happened and what it meant for me just to see them, not to mention to be noticed in a crowd by Hansi. \m/

Would love you to check out Wintersun - Time, a great melodic metal piece with lots of layered synths and choral sections. The drummer has now moved to Nightwish who you are very familiar with of course!

This is such a good song!! Thanks for doibg this reaction. If you ever do another Blind Guardian video reaction, would you please consider Mirror Mirror, Noldor, or Ride into Obsession for that? Awesome reaction btw

Greetings from Brazil, you may someday react to a band from here, named Angra and the song called The Shadow Hunter. It's an amazing song. Please give it a chance. thanks.

Great reactions Doug! Next, go with: Avantasia - The Seven Angels Gamma Ray - Rebellion in dreamland Angra - Carolina the IV (Brazilian power metal band) Liquid Tension Experiment (Dream Theater members mostly, 100% instrumental) - When the water breaks Enjoy!!

Another great one, thanks for this. Wheel of Time is another fantastic song by them I would recommend.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. My favorite band, got me into music with "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" in 1998. I hope you'll listen to (the longer album version of) "Sacred Worlds"!!

I liked the outro 🤣🤣🤣 Anyway, Blind Guardian are known as Bards of Metal, that's why you hear something Celtic. A legend says that they have been contacted for the "lord of the Rings Trilogy" , but they couldn't join because they were working on "a night at the opera"

Wait a sec ... there actually is someone reacting to this? I am SO into this ... thank you very much

Boom! Thanks a ton for doing this. There are a handful of us blind guardian fans and i have been waiting for your input on the Guardian for a while. Your comments on the recording are not far off the mark...i belive this song took almost a year to mix and there its way over the top on track count etc. Blind guardian is a special band metal or otherwise.

I'd love to watch your reaction to "Storm" by Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It's 20 minutes long, but it's broken down into movements. The first and second movements in particular have some spectacular buildup that would be fun to hear your analysis of.

Great Video as always! Such great insights form a pro! Have you ever thought about Spocks Beard - The Light? That would be a special treat!

You are always impressive at summing up a meaning, while seemingly only casually paying attention to it.

I love hansi. I saw him with Demons and Wizards and it was totally awesome.

Aww yes!

I grew up listening to this song and for me it feels really nostalgic... but what I'm really excited is for today's reaction. Curious to see what Doug thinks about GG.