Blind Guardian - London Review

As much I love live music, I do have to concede that being away for four weekends in a row is not as easy as it used to be. I will continue to get to as many gigs as my budget allows, but I may need to start being even cleverer about how my trips away are structured - and I am quite looking forward to a couple of much-needed quieter weekends coming up! That being said, though, it was great to be back in London this weekend - particularly as it meant that I got to see the German power metal legends Blind Guardian live again for the first time since 2016. I saw the band in both 2015 and 2016, in what seemed to be a particularly busy period for a band known for downtime and lengthy gaps between albums, but save for the 2017 iteration of Bloodstock Open Air which I did not attend the band had not returned to the UK since. Given that there was no new album to tour in that time the lack of shows was not a surprise, but it was somewhat surprising how long it took the band to return following the release of 2022's The God Machine (which I reviewed here). In fairness, I think that the band's touring had been disrupted by the pandemic - meaning that shows around the time of the album's release and after were already dedicated to the 30th anniversary of 1992's Somewhere Far Beyond. This meant that the shows specifically for The God Machine got pushed back to allow for the Somewhere Far Beyond anniversary cycle to be finished off - so when a handful of UK shows were announced last year I picked up a ticket immediately. Whilst Blind Guardian are not one of my very favourite bands, they are a band that I have liked a lot for a long time. They are also one of the few power metal bands that are capable of playing more than one UK show on any given tour - and are also capable of filling a venue larger than The Underworld in Camden. Both of the previous Blind Guardian shows I had been to had taken place at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town - and this was where the band returned to this time. Both of the previous shows had been busy, too, and this one was no exception. I do not know if the show was sold out or not, but the venue was certainly packed - and when I turned up around half an hour before the advertised door times the queue was already snaking around the local area. I arrived at the venue following a fairly busy day travelling up from Plymouth and taking in some walks around central London - something which I do not often do. I tend to stick to less busy (and less expensive) areas, but there were a couple of places I wanted to visit - so I had a wander around Oxford Street and the surrounding area before heading up to Finchley to check into my hotel, have a bit of a rest, and then head back down to Kentish Town. The O2 Forum is a long-standing venue and it is one that I have grown to like quite a bit. I remember feeling somewhat ill there during the first of the two Blind Guardian shows previously mentioned, which coloured my view of the place for a while, but I have been there often enough over the years to make me a fan of it.

There was only one support act to warm up the large crowd, but I think that it is fair to say that the German five-piece The Night Eternal did their job well. Sound-wise, they had little in common with Blind Guardian - but the spooky vibe of the relatively traditional heavy metal act helped them to stand out and they did not immediately remind me of anyone else. In an attempt to describe their sound, though, they reminded me a little of the creepier end of the NWOBHM, with bands like Satan and Angel Witch coming to mind, mixed with some of the heavier end of bands like Fields of the Nephilim. There was certainly a strong gothic tinge to the band's music, and frontman Ricardo Baum's voice fitted that mould, but there was plenty of traditional heavy metal, too, and the mix generally worked well. The band did suffer somewhat from typical support band sound mixing in my opinion, which probably meant that some of the nuances of their music were lost, but they did seem to generate quite a decent reaction from the gathering crowd. There were a few around me who seemed to already be familiar with the band, but a few numbers in there was generally a warmth going the band's way from the crowd. This is probably, in part, due to the band's pretty original sound. I liked how they managed to have a creepy atmosphere without resorting to extreme metal trappings. There were a couple of brief moments where Baum did sing in a slightly harsher manner - but these were rare. The atmosphere instead came from a good mix of melodic guitar playing, retro tones, and Baum's off-kilter vocal performance. Not all of the band's songs hit home, but they seem like a band that would really come alive after living with their albums for a while. A few of the songs had pretty strong choruses, but overall they were more of a 'vibes' band - and I would like to give their two albums a go going forward. They seem quite hard to get, though, especially on CD. I had hoped to pick one up from the merch desk - but they were only selling vinyl. I will have to keep an eye out and try and pick up a CD in due course - as they seem like the sort of band that I could really get into given my enjoyment of the bands namechecked earlier in this paragraph.

It was only around 20 or so minutes later that Blind Guardian took to the stage. I had forgotten just how fanatical about the band that some of their fans are - so the next two hours were filled with great music and a rather intense crowd, some of whom I felt went a little over-the-top with their adoration and screaming. I am not sure how any of those doing so could actually hear the band, especially as the gig overall felt pretty quiet. I ended up taking my earplugs out after a couple of songs as I did not need them - and I wish that the band had been turned up a bit to drown out some of the strange, Beatle-esque reactions that were coming from portions of the crowd. It is always great to see people getting into a concert, but I do like to be able to hear the band over the fans! I did my best to block all this out, though, and settled into a 16-song set filled with some of the best power metal ever put to tape. The band's setlist pulled from throughout their career, with three songs from the latest album, but things kicked off with an old classic in the form of Imaginations from the Other Side. Given the song's status in the band's catalogue, it worked well as an opener. The chorus was the first of many which was sung back at the band loudly by the crowd - with frontman Hansi Kürsch sounding as gritty and powerful as ever. The sound levels did balance out somewhat, but I do wish everything had been a tad louder. I was right in front of André Olbrich (guitar/vocals), so his leads and solos rang clear, but I was missing some of the heft and riffing from Marcus Siepen (guitar/vocals). I was fairly close to the front, though, and sometimes being so close is not ideal sound-wise, but I still enjoyed the show - and it was great to be able to hear all of Olbrich's great melodic additions to the songs. Apart from the newer songs, the setlist largely stuck to live regulars. It was great to hear the thrashy Blood of the Elves from the latest album, though, and the energy levels were kept high early on thanks to Banish from Sanctuary being wheeled out for the 35th anniversary of 1989's Follow the Blind.

The set focused on the heavier end of the band's sound and given how much singing along was happening this seemed to be wise. Kürsch even acknowledged that they were going to focus on a more anthemic set due to the amount of crowd participation - and I think that, at times, the band were shocked by just how much love they were getting. There were slower moments, though. The acoustic guitars came out for the folky Skalds and Shadows and the later, ever-present, rendition of The Bards Song - In the Forest. These slower moments saw just as much singing as the faster, more anthemic parts of the set - and it seemed that whatever was chosen the crowd would lap up. A particular highlight for me was the more symphonic Secrets of the American Gods from the latest album. It is one of my favourite pieces from The God Machine and it allowed touring keyboard player Kenneth Berger a bit more of a chance to shine thanks to the song's dense arrangement. The newer songs still received huge reactions, though, as the heavier Violent Shadows later proved, but, of course, the classics really got the die-hards going - and the main set soon came to an end with the rollocking Lost in the Twilight Hall after everything else had essentially flown by. There was plenty more to come, though, and a five-song encore followed. It kicked off with the lengthy Sacred Words, with its symphonic heft and huge chorus, before the heaviness returned with the folky melodies of Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill). The ever-present Valhalla then really whipped the crowd into raptures - and I think it was the endless singing of the song's chorus after it had ended which prompted the band to play an additional song. Looking at other setlists, Mirror Mirror has always closed the show, and drummer Frederik Ehmke had come to the front of the stage following it assuming the show was done, but Kürsch decided to play one more - and the crowd was treated to a bonus rendition of Majesty, which saw plenty more singing during the fast-paced chorus. It ended the night on a real high and the real die-hards around me likely thought they had died and gone to heaven. The setlist was:

Imaginations from the Other Side

Blood of the Elves

Nightfall

Banish from Sanctuary

The Script for My Requiem

Skalds and Shadows

This Will Never End

Secrets of the American Gods

The Bard's Song - In the Forest

Violent Shadows

Lost in the Twilight Hall

-

Sacred Worlds

Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)

Valhalla

Mirror Mirror

Majesty

Despite the rather intense crowd, I really enjoyed catching up with Blind Guardian after eight years. Each time I have seen the band they have delivered and they are considered one of the best power metal bands going for a reason. It was great to see them in a decent venue, too, as so many of their peers are reduced to the small clubs around London. Blind Guardian's grand music befits a larger room, though, and the fact that the O2 Forum was packed out is testament to the band's efforts. I imagine that it will be a while before they return to the UK again - but I will likely be in attendance again next time, too.