REVIEW: BLIND GUARDIAN - "The God Machine" (2024)

A power metal institution and a German national treasure, Blind Guardian needs no introduction from me. Combining the epicness and atmosphere of the magical, fantasy-esque approach in metal with their characteristic early Teutonic power/thrash songwriting style and even throwing some sprinkles of Queen to their sound, Hansi Kürsch, André Olbrich, Marcus Siepen and company have always managed to remain somewhat relevant in the always cruel and ever-changing power metal scene.

When it comes to long-running bands, the question is usually the same: will they go back to what they used to sound like or will they continue to “progress” and move away from their original sound? By choosing the latter throughout their post ‘Nightfall in Middle Earth’ era, the band turned a few noses along the way but still managed to stand the test of time (what is time?) and survive the odds. While there’s nothing egregiously wrong with recent albums, fans do tend to favor their earlier material so ‘The God Machine’ had the arduous job of reuniting the Germans with their most aggressive critics and keeping the loyal squires happy, much like every other record released by them in the 21^st century.

Relying once again on several sources of pop culture and literature like The Kingkiller Chronicle, The Witcher, American Gods, Stormlight Archives, and, hell, even Battlestar Galactica, this is one of the most diverse albums Blind Guardian has ever released lyric-wise. Opening on a good note with “Deliver Us from Evil”, it’s easy enough to see that there was a desire to mix modern with classic. The song is mainly constructed as another testament to the band’s current approach to power metal, but it clearly features old-school elements that we would see more prominently throughout the course of the album. These elements, in fact, are the main ingredients to the most successful material here, when the stripped-down and old-school Blind Guardian is in the spotlight.

Everyone knows that they spend an absurd amount of time on arrangements and choirs, but it’s incredibly undeniable how the most successful and interesting parts of this record are the ones that harken back to a time before they became addicted to multitracking; if I may, to a simpler and less pompous time. Cases in point are the good “Damnation”, the extremely catchy and awesome “Violent Shadows” and the brutal “Blood of the Elves”, the best track of the record for me. All contain familiar components that will take you back to the 90’s golden days like ‘Somewhere Far Beyond’ and ‘Imaginations from the Other Side’.

Other decent outputs like “Life Beyond the Spheres” and “Destiny” serve the purpose of carrying the torch of modern-day Blind Guardian by being somewhat experimental and having orchestrated tempo breaks; ‘At the Edge of Time’ and ‘Beyond the Red Mirror’ enthusiasts will have a lot of fun with these. Some lackluster passages are also present in the form of exaggerations and pretentiousness such as “Secrets of the American Gods”. The need for being larger than life has always plagued the Germans and this time around is no different. It’s possible – and bear in mind, this has been happening for more than 15 years now – that due to a fixation with being complex, intelligent, and epic, the anthems and melodies that are so intrinsic to their sound aren’t fully developed at times. You won’t find a “Banished From Sanctuary” or a “Time What is Time” here even though the record as a whole is very well-constructed, so the songwriting department suffers from those bloated characteristics.

I was ready to dislike ‘The God Machine’ based on Blind Guardian’s last endeavors. Instead, I was extremely surprised to see how well they managed to balance old and new, past and present, and wrap it all into a good effort. On the other hand, I wanted to be awed like I was so many years ago, and I’m not. With that in mind, records like this put the miserably unjust truth that are rating systems to the test. This is yet another epic, intense, and decent artistic achievement has given the scope and vision that has been invested by Hansi, André, Marcus, Frederik, and Johan, albeit not even close to being one of their best efforts to date.

As so, I can safely say that ‘The God Machine’ is Blind Guardian’s strongest album since ‘Nightfall in Middle Earth’ and is a monumental improvement to their recent history music-wise. It will bring old-school sour critics like myself and blind (Guardian) fanboys together in unison because it really is that good of an album and will definitely be placed tall in the second-tier works of such a legendary band, which is not an easy feat to achieve after 35+ years of making music.

Related Topics

• Blind Guardian