Band:	Blind Guardian
Album:	At The Edge Of Time
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	July 2010

Disc I
01. Sacred Worlds
02. Tanelorn (Into The Void)
03. Road Of No Release
04. Ride Into Obsession
05. Curse My Name
06. Valkyries
07. Control The Divine
08. War Of The Thrones
09. A Voice In The Dark
10. Wheel Of Time

Disc II [bonus digipack CD]
01. Sacred Worlds [pre-production version]
02. Wheel Of Time [orchestral version]
03. You're The Voice [radio edit]
04. Tanelorn (Into The Void) [demo]
05. Curse My Name [demo]
06. A Voice In The Dark [demo]
+ Sacred Worlds [video]
+ A Journey To The Edge Of Time (Studio Documentary) [video]

The bards have come out of the forest. Yes, the Blind Guardians are back baby! And did they ever do it in style. Surely one of the year's most anticipated albums, At The Edge Of Time is sure to rank high on personal lists for a while.

Hit in the face with the 9+ minute long opening masterpiece "Sacred World", I had to replay it for half an hour before being able to continue on with the rest of the album. Majestic orchestral intro, grand entrance killer riffs, and vocals to die for. The first thought that went through my head at that exact time "This is already better than the entire previous album". Hell, this is Blind Guardian with a renewed energy and a hint of progressive influences I only dreamt about in the past.

I really don't want to go into a song by song review here but if I were to cover the highlights of this album, this is exactly were this would be heading right now. So, much to my chagrin, I will evoke some key moments such as the unusually complex and progressive structure of a tempo changing jewel of a track called "Road Of No Release", the more trademark yet surprising and catchy as hell "Ride Into Obsession", the new standard of bard ballad in "Curse My Name", the extremely fast-paced while mesmerizing "Voice In The Dark", and finally the usual killer operatic of an ending song with "Wheel Of Time".

The duo of guitarists André Olbrich / Marcus Siepen is cracking some of their most achieved work to date, and I am not referring to the solos alone. Between the orchestral arrangements and the newly found progressive musical direction, their hand in making this an incredible album is undeniable. Master vocalist Hansi Kürsch delivers once again an impressive body of work, using his many registers with seemingly disconcerting ease. Drummer Frederik Ehmke is clearly fully integrated now. As a matter of fact, I highly suspect he is a huge reason behind the more progressive sound on this album. The supporting cast, including the orchestra is equally of top-notch quality.

Artwork and production, you may ask? People, this is a Blind Guardian album. This statement should by itself should answer that. This is German savoir-faire at its paramount. The limited edition includes a second CD that features an orchestral version of "Wheel Of Time" that could have made the main album, demo versions of other tracks and a cool cover of John Farnham's "Your're The Voice". It is absolutely worth it.

So? Still reading this? I could not make myself clearer; At The Edge Of Time is up there with Blind Guardian's best efforts. The band managed to achieve this while adding innovative elements to their established sound. And the best part is that it is actually still growing on me after 4 weeks of intense listening sessions. I am off to adding this album to my 2012 survival gear.