Blind Guardian - Live Beyond The Spheres

Published July -- 2017

*=Staff's pick

CD 1:
The Ninth Wave
Banish From Sanctuary*
Nightfall
Prophecies*
Tanelorn (Into The Void)
The Last Candle
And Then There Was Silence

CD 3:
Sacred Worlds
The Bard's Song - In The Forest*
Valhalla
Wheel Of Time
Majesty*
Mirror Mirror

CD 2:
Lord Of The Rings
Fly
Bright Eyes
Lost In The Twilight Hall
Imaginations From The Other Side*
Into The Storm*
Twilight Of The Gods
A Past And Future Secret
And The Story Ends

Genre	Symphonic Heavy/Power Metal	Hansi Kürsch	Vocals
Tracks	22	André Olbrich	Guitar
Running time	159 Min.	Marcus Siepen	Guitar
Label	Nuclear Blast	Barend Courbois	Bass
Release	July 7, 2017	Frederik Ehmke	Drums
Country	Germany	Michael Schüren	Keyboard
Producer	-
Similar artists	---

It feels quite odd to type it, but in some way Blind Guardian feels stronger and more energized on a live album than what they do in reality on a stage somewhere. On this triple-CD recording they definitely feel revitalized and they are also able to put a huge atmosphere on most songs, but maybe that isn't so difficult in the end for an experienced band like this when you take into account that the album's content is put together from a selection of 30 different shows recorded in Europe during 2015 where the band has picked what they believe is the greatest version of each song.

It's not totally untouched material that we're getting here, but when looking at the songs individually, Live Beyond The Spheres at least feels close to an authentic creation, because it has its different nuances and the level of the instruments isn't constant and Hansi's voice had surely been a subject for changes if this was a full-scale studio product. Some fans on the other hand prefer live albums that are recorded on one specific date, even though the majority of those shows are getting enhanced to the point of absurdity in the studio afterwards. The sound quality is generally quite good on those products of course and perhaps is a fake live album that has nearly flawless audio at the end of the day something that a lot of people want.

So what does Blind Guardian have besides authenticity on this one? I'll tell you what! Fucking awesome songs! It's a cavalcade of finest stuff that covers the record and still there are so many great songs in their discography that there's simply no room for here. 22 songs and pretty much everyone could be considered a classic, a top-single or just a song that beats the crap out of you on any given day. Even the new songs are for the most part in a high-energy state and actually do bring something valid to this effort and if that doesn't say it all, then what would?

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
8	7	6	6	9

Summary
8 chalices of 10 - Tobbe