Written by:	Fierce Deity
Published:	March 21, 2007
Event:	Blind Guardian: S. American Tour
Location:	Chevrolet Hall, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

It took more than four years but finally this Friday arrived. Since 2002, when Blind Guardian played at the medium-small city of Bauru, the metalheads of Belo Horizonte were waiting for this day to come. And all the energy kept inside for all those tears came out in one night, at the mighty Chevrolet Hall, filled with more than 3000 people.

At 1:00pm, nine hours before the beginning of the show, some friends of mine went to the venue - and there were a lot of people there already! Some people traveled all the way from the state of Rondônia just to see Blind Guardian (this is like going from Oslo to Madrid!). I arrived an hour before the scheduled time and I finally knew what is like to know that you will see your favorite band for the first time. I was shaking while crossing the white floor from the entrance to the front line.

Exactly at 22:00pm the light changed: it was the sign for the "welcome" screams. "War of Wrath" announced the "real" beginning and soon the bards appeared to intensify the screams. "Into the Storm" was the first song of the night, followed by "Born in a Mourning Hall" (one of my favorites). I couldn't see any unhappy face or any shut mouth (especially when the traditional front-line idiots were pulled back).




Hansi started to speak about the next song: "We would like to take to a place called Arda... It seems not to be so far from Belo Horizonte." Of course, it was time for "Nightfall," the first big opportunity for us to prove our volume (not that people weren't already singing every song). "Fly" was another interesting moment ("You are making things easier for me. It seems that you guys can do all the singing"). Right after we "left the hot Brazil and went to the cold 'Valhalla.'" And that's only half of the show.




Some songs were expected and some were surprising (like "Lost in the Twilight Hall" which was a very good surprise), and during then I could see how the bards are nice. Marcus and Hansi were always looking right into our eyes and smiling, as if they were also happy to be there. And they got every drawing, message and even necklaces thrown by the audience. And then someone throws something very special to us, Brazilians, to contribute for one of the very special moments of the show (and no, it wasn't a woman or a football team).

"And Then There Was Silence" was being performed when a Brazilian flag flew onto the stage. Hansi picked it up and finished the song with it, under screams of happiness, pride and pure ecstasy. I'm sure no one will ever forget that moment.




The band left, waiting for us to scream for their return. But we didn't just screamed: we jumped and tried to hit the ground as hard as we could to produce the venue's unique "earthquake effect" (once there's a multi-event space under the arena, it can really make some noise and it really shakes when people do that). Soon they came back for more special moments.

After "Imaginations from the Other Side" it was time for the acoustic guitars. "Do you call yourself bards?" Hansi asked. And after a very loud "yes!" they to played "The Bard's Song" - and, of course, we sang it with all the power of our lungs. According to Hansi himself, it was "the best version so far" (can it be?).




"Mirror Mirror" was the last song of the night, the perfect ending for the best show I've ever attended. And I'm happy to write here that a lot of people said the same when we were leaving the venue, marching back to our miserable routines.
?Miserable, but now a little more happy with the memories of such brilliant show.





Setlist:
War Of Wrath
Into The Storm
Born In A Mourning Hall
Nightfall
Script For My Requiem
Fly
Valhalla
Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill)
Welcome To Dying
Bright Eyes
This Will Never End
Lost In A Twilight Hall
And Then There Was Silence
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Imaginations From The Other Side
Bard's Song (In The Forrest)
Mirror Mirror


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Picture 1 by ®;
Pictures 2, 3 and 4 by Metal Warrior;
Picture 5 by Télio Bernardes.