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blindguardian thegodmachine
Artist: Blind Guardian
Title: The God Machine
Genre: Power Metal
Release Date: 2nd September 2022
Label: Nuclear Blast


Album Review

After seven years, Power Metal legends BLIND GUARDIAN return with their new release ‘The God Machine’. The band opens this firework of Metal with ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ and the intense drums and blasting guitars at full speed make it clear, that the band did not slow down an inch. BLIND GUARDIAN take us from evil to ‘Damnation’ a song that is almost as fast as the opener but definitely comes with more of the epic elements BLIND GUARDIAN are famous for. ‘Secrets of the American Gods’ is the song that comes with the massive orchestration that only BLIND GUARDIAN are capable of, but no worries there is some excellent and heavy guitarwork to be found on this track, too.

“We’re heading straight into damnation
For an unknown god
It needs a rebel heart
It needs a pure soul
We’re the condemned”
(Blind Guardian, ‘Violent Shadows’)

This quota was the opener of the press release for this album and it says everything about track No. 4. This track that comes with such a massive wall of sound and extremely heavy riffing that the band didn’t use for a very long time, that it will blow the minds of a live audience for sure. If you need some time to breathe and relax your neck muscles from a heavy workout, head straight for the next track, called ‘Life Beyond the Spheres’, that is a bit slower but comes with a wonderful dark aspect. Fans of the bands Speed Metal approach will fall for ‘Architects’ of Doom that comes with the amazing lead guitars the fans are used to from the band’s live shows.

BLIND GUARDIAN already have a wonderful catalogue of ballades, but ‘Let It Be No More’ deserves a spot in the Top Twenty of the band’s ballades. Thematically it doesn’t fit exactly with the album’s lyric wise context, but the vocals and the melodies are delivered with so much emotion, that the band must have had personal reasons to put it on the album, for sure. In the authors books ‘Blood of the Elves’ is one of the fastest and heaviest songs BLIND GUARDIAN ever released and it’s bound for a spot on the long list of fan favourites for sure. The last track on the album called ‘Destiny’ was the most surprising one on ‘The God Machine’. BLIND GUARDIAN build up a wonderful and lavish soundscape, just to mix Progressive Elements into this track and that makes it a quite unique one, definitely one for the headbangers but also one for those who love the bands melodic approach.

‘The God Machine’ is a pure demonstration of the band’s Power (Metal), with this album the band is looking back at their Speed Metal beginnings like never before. By combining the speed with the orchestral elements, that some found to dominating on previous releases, the band released an album that will be loved by fans that discovered the band in the past decades. The amazing lead guitars and the slightly rougher vocals give the album an atmosphere that resembles the band’s live performances, though the production of the album is a very clean sounding one. BLIND GUARDIAN are back and will conquer the world with full power that was inspired by the band’s roots, that were woven into the bands trademark soundscapes that is so much loved by the fans for more than 2 decades and this album screams that its songs must be performed live on stage.


Tracklist

01. Deliver Us from Evil
02. Damnation
03. Secrets of the American Gods
04. Violent Shadows
05. Life Beyond the Spheres
06. Architects of Doom
07. Let It Be No More
08. Blood of the Elves
09. Destiny


Line-up

Hansi Kürsch - Vocals
André Olbrich - Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Rhythm Guitar
Marcus Siepen - Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Frederik Ehmke - Drums


Website

www.blind-guardian.com


Cover Picture

blindguardian thegodmachine


Rating

Music: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 9 / 10




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