More often than not, when I learn of a new band or musician, the first album I complete becomes my favorite or go-to for that particular artist (e.g. Symphony X’s Paradise Lost or Reverend Horton Heat’s Revival).
There’s something to be said about the simple pleasure of nostalgia associated with recollecting the memories of an impactful “first listen.” This is very much the case with Blind Guardian’s A Twist in the Myth. The album was released during an integral transition in the metal sonisphere – September 5th, 2006, just after Iron Maiden’s A Matter of Life and Death.
The days of Nirvana-inspired, “pop” metal were dying and the old guard from the NWOBHM and their analogues were showing their contemporaries how it’s done. The duration of recording has kept relatively in pace with the old school process, but modern equipment and digital recording were finally catching up to the analog-style of production.
The sound is bigger and richer than the late-90’s early-aughts albums, and although they showed promise, the digitization of recordings was no longer compressed as heavily (although some were, by choice – see: Metallica’s Death Magnetic).
When I experience an album for the first time I like to sit and listen to the recording in its entirety, sans interruption. Although I often use metal and other genres for motivation in the gym, where I prefer to select individual songs for particular activities, listening to ATITM in the order dictated by the band is truly a unique experience.
I view it as akin to reading literature of any kind – there are touching moments that I would love to recall individually at any given time in the future, but I much prefer to reread the selection in its entirety. ATITM is no different as it, like every other Blind Guardian album, tells an epic tale of great distances travelled over many miles in a place and time much different than the here and now.
The record rockets into existence with a heavy, crunchy riff and a classic scream from vocalist Hansi Kürsch on This Will Never End and does not relent until Cary the Blessed Home, a solid ballad. The album is meant to be performed live as chant-heavy tracks like Turn the Page beg for a massive crowd at Wacken.
Overall, ATITM is one of my favorites for introducing people to the power metal genre. The band is still going strong with Through the Red Mirror and is dominating audiences on a global scale.
Favorites:
-This Will Never End
-Otherland
-Turn the Page
-Another Strange Me
-Skalds and Shadows
