BLIND GUARDIAN — Battalions of Fear (review)

BLIND GUARDIAN — Battalions of Fear album cover Album · 1988 · Speed Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
"Battalions of Fear" is the debut full-length studio album by Germam speed/power metal act Blind Guardian. The album was released through No Remorse Records in May 1988. Blind Guardian formed in 1984 under the Lucifer's Heritage monicker, but after being signed by No Remorse Records in 1988 they changed their name to the current one. The early years of the band saw several lineup changes and produced two demos.

Stylistically the material on "Battalions of Fear" is speed metal with melodic power metal leanings and even the occasional nod towards thrash metal. It´s strongly influenced by the early recordings of fellow countrymen Helloween and also contemporary releases by an artist like Running Wild, and you´ll find very little here to seperate Blind Guardian from other German speed/power artists of the era. The material on "Battalions of Fear" are however well written, relatively memorable, and very well performed. Already this early on Blind Guardian were an incredibly tight playing and skilled unit. They have considerable compositional skills too, and incorporate neo-classical elements and intriguing lead guitar work with ease. Lead vocalist/bassist Hansi Kürsch has a powerful and relatively raw voice, although he isn´t quite as rough sounding here as he would be on subsequent releases by Blind Guardian. Quite a few lyrics on the album are based on J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" (something they would of course explore much further on subsequent releases), but the band also touch other subjects, which are typically fantasy themed.

"Battalions of Fear" was recorded at Karo Studios, Münster, Germany in October–November 1987, with producer Kalle Trap. Considering the time of release and the fact that "Battalions of Fear" is a debut album, it´s relatively well produced. The album lacks a bit of bottom end and is a little thin sounding, but all details and instruments are clearly audible.

Upon conclusion "Battalions of Fear" is a pretty time typical German speed metal album and while the foundation of Blind Guardian´s great career was laid here, it´s not exactly obvious from listening to this album, how great that career would turn out to be. This is a decent but not excellent quality release and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Opus Ferox II - Mark Of The Beast Progressive Metal
LOCH VOSTOK
Buy this album from MMA partners
Rankarumpu Folk Metal
KORPIKLAANI
Buy this album from MMA partners
… And the Universe Keeps Silent Death Metal
MAERE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Le bannissement Atmospheric Black Metal
CANTIQUE LÉPREUX
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tarantula Heart Sludge Metal
MELVINS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Fallen Ashes - Wage War (Official Lyric Video)
FALLEN ASHES
Bosh66· 9 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Unreality (Single) 2024
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 9 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Cold Hands
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 9 days ago
IRON MONKEY - Misanthropizer (Official Music Video)
IRON MONKEY
Bosh66· 11 days ago
??? (Losing ART) - "????" (Official Music Video) [HD]
漂浮者樂團
Bosh66· 12 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed