Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 05:04 PM by Giorgos Tsekas
Genre: Power
Country: Germany
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Year: 2022
Truth be told I was terrified by the idea of another orchestral album by Blind Guardian. I was almost sure that they would release another weak album, as I’m very harsh when I speak about beloved bands, that would be placed next to the last 5 ones that would mark a 20 years of not so great discography by the pioneers of Power Metal. BUT things turned to be far from that, as The God Machine is almost perfect! It has everything you ever loved on these Germans and without playing the card of nostalgia or being pretentious old-school they offer us a new look on something we adore to hear. Great riffs, excellent melodies, catchy choruses, brilliant bridges and hooks, awesome performance and marvellous songs. First things first thankfully the final result isn’t boring, as for the first time since 2006’s A Twist in the Myth they’ve kept the album length to under an hour. Personally speaking I hate preludes or interludes so when I heard Hansi talking about “less orchestration, more punch.” I was thrilled! So imagine how pleased I was when I heard that the whole album in its entirety is 100% straightforward heavy/power attack with some smart addition of choirs as it was delivered back in the 90’s. Inspired thrashy power metal that bangs your head with guitar tone bringing in mind 1998’s Nightfall in Middle-Earth and after several (or better saying over 100!) hearings I can say that The God Machine is the album that the band and we all needed not only after Twilight Orchestra but after Nightfall…Even though it came 20 years late still I can place it in band’s finest efforts of their rich discography. We needed hymns like Violent Shadows, Secrets of the American Gods, Deliver us From Evil and Architects of Doom. History will probably mark this release with a nickname as Blind Guardian’s “white album” and definetely as an instant classic !!!
P.S. I see many die-hards (especially over 45 years old) feeling that I’m overracting but damn I was waiting for too long for an album like this, as I’m also a die-hard of the Bards guys!!!
