BLIND GUARDIAN live at The Metro/ Sydney 30th September 2011

This is a gig that most Sydney metal fans have been waiting for, to quote Hansi(Kürsch, lead vocals), “twenty five years.”  BLIND GUARDIAN is one of the stalwarts of power meta. They have released some of the most iconic metal albums of all time and have created a sound that is untouchable and impossible to imitate.

To set the scene of this show I must really describe the ambience of the gig and the crowd:  never have I been a part of an audience at The Metro, having been to countless shows there, that was so vocal, and in to the vibe of the music. There was no time for the drunken escapades of specific punters which permeates the venue at times, nor was there room for obnoxious banter or interjections, people had come to this show to worship at the altar of BLIND GUARDIAN.

I- as I am sure many other New South Welsh people- were very saddened when BLIND GUARDIAN didn’t tour Sydney when they came to Australia just a couple of years ago, so this was our turn. The venue originally was the The Factory, but this sold out too quickly and so The Metro was secured.

EYEFEAR started off the evening and they went down very well. EYEFEAR boast a line-up of very competent musicians, some of them with a successful history. However, I wish they would spend more time creating songs rather than compositions. I have all their albums but have really struggled with the progressive nature of their material a lot of the time. I would love to hear a straight structured song with a memorable, and dare I say, repetitive vocal melody, something that you can follow. I think that this band is extremely underrated because of the songs they produce. Having said all of this, I can’t not acknowledge, that most of the audience would disagree with my reflections here, because they went down extremely well.

Next were BLACK MAJESTY, a band that I have followed really since their inception. I saw them at their first ever Sydney gig and nearly every show since. Tonight they were electric, and they delivered a set, that was by far the best that I have ever witnessed. The new material stood out really well and their back catalogue fitted in brilliantly. All band members were at the top of their game and they sounded great.

I was watching this set and thinking to myself "what is so different about this gig", as opposed to all of the other times that I have seen this band, and for a long time I couldn’t put my finger on it. However, on reflection twenty four hours later, I think that it is their new drummer. He was pushing the songs, playing quite fast with regard to the album tracks, and he also had a real sincere feel. BLACK MAJESTY, like EYEFEAR, went down extremely well and they were brilliant. This band is building a solid reputation in the metal scene world- wide, and I am hoping that this gig was an ominous sign for the future.

BLIND GUARDIAN took to the stage with an amazing amount of noise, and I am not talking about the intro tape! The crowd went ballistic and the band seemed sincerely flattered to be playing in Sydney Australia. You couldn’t take the smiles off of Hansi Kürsch's and Marcus Siepen's faces for most of the gig. The band had an amazingly clear and even sound, though the guitars were quite low in the mix. BLIND GUARDIAN have a real and sincere stage presence with no sign of arrogance or over-confidence. 

The band also interact well on stage, however the bass player and keyboardist, even though they are hired guns, are really in the background. Hansi’s interaction with the audience is full of dry wit and humour, and even though he doesn’t command the stage like a lot of metal vocalists, it is his and again it is without arrogance or over confidence.

The set list was rich and I felt a great representation of the band. This must be a difficult task for the band considering their back catalogue; incidentally I have read that they have over forty songs ready to play and they interchange them within their nightly set list. The highlights for me though, and quite predictably, were Nighfall, Valhalla, The Bard Song, and the real surprise of the night, their ending of the set with …And Then There Was Silence, so not only do they end “A Night At The Opera” with it, but their set list as well; the song coming in at fourteen minutes and five seconds.

As I have mentioned earlier, the audience was very vocal, so intense BLIND GUARDIAN sing-alongs were on. Valhalla went on for an extra five minutes; the crowd just wouldn’t let this song go! I also obviously need to mention The Bard Song as this is an amazing live song that is so atmospheric, you can’t help but want to sing this one.

Now to the only disappointment of the night, the band had to actually cut their set list short by one song; and I am sure that it would have been Mirror Mirror; one that I was hanging out for. The venue had made the band stop right on twelve midnight, not allowing them to finish the set. What I don’t understand here is why The Metro makes acts finish dead on twelve as the venue is placed in the centre of the city and walking down George Street after the show pubs within the immediate vicinity were having dance music blaring out of its windows; something that really should be an offence in itself.

So we were robbed of our last song, but this could not dampen the evening. I had high expectations for this gig and I walked away with them all fulfilled. I have seen live footage of this band before, but obviously never “live”, and what this did for me is just send home how important BLIND GUARDIAN are to the metal scene. They proved tonight that they have written some of the most memorable songs and that they can deliver them with poise and class. Bring in the next album and the next Australian tour! 

www.blind-guardian.com