Kev Rowland This release is the brainchild of guitarist André Olbrich and singer Hansi Kürsch, who decided to take their music to a logical extreme and release a Blind Guardian album with only Kürsch appearing on it from the band. The other aspect which may be rather concerning for fans of the power metal act is that there are no guitars. Working with German bestselling author Markus Heitz, a storyline was developed, regarding the mercenary Nicolas and his involvement in the Thirty Years' War. Heitz starts the story off in his book ‘Die Dunklen Lande’ and the band followed with the album, ‘Legacy Of The Dark Lands’. Here, André Olbrich and Hansi Kürsch fulfill their long-time wish of emphasizing imposing choral singing and classical orchestral arrangements. But what will fans think of it?

Given the way the band have been developing their sound over the last 20 years or so, in many ways this is a logical step, and without the need to include rock instruments there is far more freedom and space within the music. This feels far more like a musical than a concept album, and there are sound effects and actors taking their parts to drive the story along. Musically the songs are often huge, showstoppers in many ways. One can easily imagine the crowd sat in their best finery sat in the theatre and clapping wildly after the “Dark Cloud’s Rising” which sound like the end of an Act to me. Kürsch has a great voice, and the result is an album which is rapidly becoming one of my favourites from the band. Is it metal? No, of course not, this is orchestral musical cinematic storytelling which one can easily imagine on the big screen.

The question I guess for many fans though, is does this mean that Blind Guardian as they were known have ended and this is a new direction, or is it a one-off? I think it is more likely it is the latter as this has not been released as a Blind Guardian album as such, even though they have kept the logo, and I would rather think of this as a project. Whatever it is, whether it is the future of the band or simply something they had to get out of their system, I have found it infinitely more interesting than some of their other albums.