BLIND GUARDIAN The God Machine | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Nuclear Blast Records on September 2nd, 2022

Quick Background

After taking a detour in 2019 with the orchestra and vocal album, Legacy of the Dark Lands under the name Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra, the German power metal icons are back with new music. In case you don't know, Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres. The band's line-up has consisted of singer Hansi Kürsch, guitarists André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen, then drummer Frederik Ehmke since 2005. They are currently using bassists as session musicians. They released their first album, Battalions of Fear, in 1988. Most of Blind Guardian's albums were well received by fans and critics alike: Somewhere Far Beyond (1992), Imaginations from the Other Side (1995), and Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998), are especially seen as influential works and also my favorites.  They have released eight other studio albums.

The God Machine

This makes The God Machine their twelfth studio album. It is the band's first 'regular' studio album in seven years, following Beyond the Red Mirror, marking the longest gap between two Blind Guardian studio albums (although the Orchestral album was released three years earlier). The new effort clocks in at 51 minutes and features 9 songs. All between 4 and 7 minutes. 

This is a heavy, direct and back to the roots kind of album. After releasing the most orchestral metal album in history, they hit the limit and there was nowhere else to go. Even Beyond the Red Mirror was already a complex album (albeit not as much as A Night at the Opera (2002)). So The God Machine is on the same veins as Tales from the Twilight World (1990) and Somewhere Far Beyond (1992), but still sounding fresh and modern. 

“Deliver Us from Evil” is the opening-single released back in December 2021. The song is inspired by Aurther Miller’s play The Crucible (a dramatic and partially fictionalized take on the Salem witch trials). It's a fantastic album opener with a big chorus, full of hooks and backing vocals, variations, and 190 bpm speed metal instant classic. Most of the album follow the same template. "Violent Shadows" is the 4th and last single and it's about Kaladin Stormblessedfrom the fantasy novel series The Stormlight Archives. The shortest song on the album is heavy and straightforward, if it would be on  Follow the Blind, we would not be surprised. "Architects of Doom"

Released in March 2022 as second single, "Secrets of the American Gods" references Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel American Gods. It's the longest song on the album with 7:30. It slows down a little bit compared to the opening track and "Damnation". I's clear from the moody intro that we have some orchestration and choir in this one. But it's still a heavy song, as the song builds amazingly from there, to a trademark mid-tempo Blind Guardian song with some great hooks. And I love the song outro, kind of Stargazer's ending. "Life Beyond the Spheres" is about the creation of the universe and as such it's an epic tune with more groove and also slower tempo. Talking about slower tempo, we also get a sort of ballad, "Let It Be No More", a very personal song to Hansi Kürsch as it deals with the death of the frontman's mother. 

The third single "Blood of the Elves" references the video game The Witcher and to me sounds a lot like a song out of the Nightfall in Middle-Earth album. So needless to say it's a very good song, straightforward and heavy. With almost 7 minutes, "Destiny" closes the album dialing down a bit the heaviness of the album but remaining faithful to their very early work.

The Picky Guy

While I praise the band for going back to a raw and early sound, I also miss something. It all sound very familiar so while most songs are good, they also don't stand out compared to the classic albums. It's still a very fun album, don't get me wrong. Again, just being picky. 

Wrap Up Opinion 

Blind Guardian revisits their early heavy and raw sound with The God Machine. A straightforward, mostly fast tempo and heavy album with minimal orchestrations but as expected great hooks, melodies and big choruses. If you know the early work of the band, there's nothing new here, it's a natural reaction to previous albums and sets the scene for maybe taking some more risks in the next album. For now, this is a good album, 81/100 and a certain success among long time fans.

SCORE: 83/100

Genre: Power Metal

Released by Nuclear Blast Records on September 2nd, 2022

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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