Blind Guardian - Follow The Blind 1989 (Ger)
Rating: 85
This is the second release of Blind Guardian. I usualy divide Blind Guardians history in to three aeras. The first - Speed/Trash metal. The second - melodical speed/power metal and the last - progressive, symphonic German metal. Follow The Blind falls into the first area. The record starts with the dark man-choir intro "Inquisition" followed by "Banish From Sanctuary" which is an Blind Guardian classic. Fast verses and more melodical almost sing-a-long choruses which is the trademark of early German Speed Metal. "Damned For All Time" is an fast, furious trash metal song. Its a good song but not as good as Blind Guardian can be. "Hall of The King" and "Beyond The Ice" continues in the same vein. The best song on Follow The Blind is to me "Valhalla". This is also the song who sounds more like the songs on "Tales From A Twilight World". Kai Hansen also does some guest singing on this song. They have also done a cover of "Barbara Ann" which is quite funny and their producer Kalle Trapp does some singing on that one. All in all this is an good record but better things were to come...

Blind Guardian - Tales From The Twillight World 1990 (Ger)
Rating: 96
This is my absolute favorite records from Blind Guardian but also one of the best melodical german power metal records. A mixture of trash and melodical power metal is the best way to describe this record. "Traveler In Time" has got a lot of great harmonic guitar leads an a cool solo. Extreme fast verses but it also got an accoustic outro. "Welcome To Dying" got an similar verse and got an great "sing-a-long" chorus. The keywords are fast guitar riffs, great melodies and extremely good music! It's actually quite hard to express how good this record is, you have to listen to it on your own. "Wierd Dreams" is an wierd instrumental with great harmonic riffs and it's clearly that they have listen to Wishbone Ash (or Iron Maiden). As you might know most of Blind Guardian's lyrics are in one way or another related/inspired to J.R.R Tolkiens books and the song "Lord Of The Rings" must be one of the best ballads ever! The first section with accoustic guitars and some synth is great and I also have to mention the awesome leads and the last section (chorus?). During the song "Lost In The Twillight Hall" they are again honoured to have Kai Hansen singing with 'em. The first section in "Lost In The Twillight Hall" is an cool "grooving" part and when the verse begin and Kai Hansen (Gamma ray, ex-Helloween) starts to sing togheter with Hansi Kürch I am actually lost, can it be better than this? The chorus got the typical power metal "sing-a-long" chorus and it got a cool guitar lead. I believe that "Tommyknockers" are inspired by the Stephen King book with the same name but I ain't sure. By many this is viewed as the records only weak spot and I agree with them but it's a good song, it just doesn't fit the rest of the album. In "Altair 4" we got an another song which are a bit different from rest of the record but this song is better than "Tommyknocker". It start with a dark synth and some noises and got's some cool guitar leads but the chorus doesnt match the standars of Blind Guardian. "The Last Candle" is also the last song. It starts with some vocal harmonies and a heavy riff and out of nowhere this unbelieveable great guitar lead enters! The verse are good with loads of leads and more varied that the others. The chorus is similar with the chorus on "Lost In The Twillight Hall". The fast and screamy guitar solo is great and is also one of the few times they uses the "sweeping" technice. The last riff before the last chorus is similar with the intro but only better and in another key. At the end we got some more vocal harmonies and it's an cool end to an awesome record. Those of you don't have enough money to buy the original No Remorse Vinyl release from 1990 or aren't interested in Record Collecting (Shame on you!!) should buy the 1991 Virgin CD which got an bonus song, "Run For The Night" Live (Originaly from the "Battalions Of Fear record"), and it is quite good but the musical direction is more "trashy" than the "new" style. They originaly started as an Trash band under the name Lucifers Heritage.

Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond 1992 (Ger)
Rating: 90
Even though that "TftTW" is better than this one, the music are very much in the same vein. On "Somewhere Far Beyond" the songs gets to similar to each other but its far, far from a bad album. Actually one of my favorite Blind Guardian records. "Time Where is Time", after an accoustic intro it crushes into the regular power metal sound. Nothing special about it. "Journey Trough The Dark" is a good, fast and heavy song. Some of the parts reminds me of their next studio album "IFTOS" more riffs and leads not the ordinary verse, chorus verse etc. The short song, "Black Chamber" only featuring Hansi's voice and a piano is a good "sad" song. "Theatre Of Pain" is more symphonic than the others and it got a good chorus. Kai Hansen also guesting the Guardians this time on the song "The Quest For Tanelorn", not one of my favorite tracks buts is good and like the others it got an big Headbanging factor. "Ashes to Ashes" is like "Altair 4" on "TftTW" as it doesnt fit the rest of the album but its a good song. The songs, "The Bard's Song - In The Forest" and "The Bard's Song - The Hobbit" are awesome. "In The Forest" is probaly the best ballad written by BG with accoustic guitars and the verses & choruses must be design for sing-a-long live. "The Hobbit" sounds more like "Journey Trough The Dark" and its a great song, with great riffs and leads. The un-nesecary "The Piper's Calling" featuring only bag-pipes works as an intro for the title track which also have a middle section with only bag-pipes. The title track is similar to "The Quest For Tanelorn". Anyone interested in Power Metal should check this one out but you should buy "Tales From The Twilight World" first.

Blind Guardian - Tokyo Tales 1993 (Ger)
Rating: 85
After an dark intro from the Follow The Blind record called "Inquisition" the song "Banish From Sanctuary" (also from FTB) starts. The song works great live and you can clearly hear the audience agree. The one thing that suprised me is the dark voice Hansi got when he is speaking because when you listen to the music he got a beautiful voice. All of the songs work great live and the sound is good. Some of the leads are missing here (quite logical as they only have two guitarist) but the music sounds more powerfull live. One of the highlights are "Valhalla", probaly the best song from "Follow The Blind," even though you miss Kai Hansens voice you got the audience helping on the chorus. I would like the live album better if they had played one of the ballads, "Lord of the Ring" or "TBS - In The Forest" as the sing-a-long would be awesome, but you can hear the audience singing along on the heavy songs too. They also play the Beach Boys classic "Barbara Ann" but I must say that their version on "Follow The Blind" is much much better. "Majesty" from "Battalions Of Fear" is an good trashy song and the only one from "BOF". "TfTTW" is the album which is most featured but also "Somewhere Far Beyond" got many songs here. I would recomend this to fans who got everything else or newbies who wanna check out the good old Blind Guardian sound.

Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side 1995 (Ger)
Rating: 95
The songs have becomed much more proggressive and complex than the elder ones although some of their most heavy riffs are on this one it's an whole other way of heavy. It's the best record after "Tales From The Twilight World" in my eyes but fans of more proggressive bands might like this one better. They have used more keyboards this time and the guitar leads are played in a whole different way than usual. Hansi's voice has also proggressed more since the old days and also the way they write the melody lines. The ballad "A past and future secret" is a great proggresive song with accoustic guitars and some keyboards. "Mordred's Song" which probaly is the heaviest song on "IftOS" is awesome and have a powerfull chorus. "Born In A Mourning Hall" starts easy with accoustic guitars etc. but about 1.27 out in the song the "choir-like-singing" is great. "And The Story Ends" is an worhty end to this superb record. Did I say that I liked "Tales From The Twilight World" better? Well I don't, this one is better... Ah!!! I can't decide, the progressive side of my likes this better but they metal side says something else.. Buy 'em all!

Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle Earth 1998 (Ger)
Rating: 90
Their first concept album inspired by Tolkiens Silmarillion and with 22 tracks (Almost the half of them are just talking or sound effects) this is an very varied record. The first song "Into The Storm" is a fast song, something like the stuff on "Imaginations..." and is one of the better songs. Songs like "Blood Tears" and "Noldor" starts slow and mellow but they also have some heavy parts. It's hard to imagine that this is the same band you wrote "Follow The Blind" as they are completely different but their all great. "Mirror Mirror" is my favorite from "Nightfall in..." with fast verses and loads of leads and a violin playing what the guitar should have played but its realy cool, none of the verses is like the other and only the chorus is played the same way. "The Eldar" can be compared to "Black Chamber" from "Somewhere..) as it only contains piano and vocals, and you can clearly hear that Hansi has becomed a better singer and especaly on this song the voice is perfect, gentle but stil harsh at times. "The Curse Of Feanor" is a more heavy song with a cool synth/guitar intro and the song later turns into one of the better one with its good mixture of melody and fast heavy riffs and proggressive parts. This is the most complex and proggressive Blind Guardian record to date but they haven't forgot their roots and it's still ass-kickin' metal. A must buy for anyone interested in Prog Metal or Power Metal!

Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence 2001 (Ger)
Rating: 95
Finaly Blind Guardian is back. This single can't realy be called a single. It contains only two songs, but it lasts for almost 20 minutes. I don't usualy buy CD-singles - but since its Blind Guardian I had to buy it while waiting for their next record - "A Night At The Opera". The title track, "And Then There Was Silence", is an 14 minutes long epic song. It can be described as a mixture of "Imaginations From The Other Side" and "Nightfall In Middle-Earth". It contains loads of choirs and melody lines. If I remmember correctly they have used 50 channels only for the voices! That is alot! If their next record continues in the vein of "And Then There Was Silence" its gonna be their most epic, symphonic and proggressive record. The next song, "Harvester Of Sorrow", is an more dark, slow song. Quite different from everything else they have done before. Its very orchestral and mellow. Hansi's voice has gotten much better over the years. This is a must buy for old and new fans of Blind Guardian. Fans of progressive music should check this single - and discover great music.

Borknagar - Quintessence 2000 (Nor)
Rating: 65
This is the first album I have heard by Borknagar. Fans of their old albums says that they have become more trendy and comercial, I dont know if they have become more comercial but sure - they sounds more like Dimmu Borgir and have recorded the album in The Abyss. Simen Hestnes (Dimmu Borgir) is a great vocalist and Asgeir Mickelson from Spiral Architect is one of the better drummers in the Norwegian Metal scene. I think that some songs like The Presence Is Ominous and Ruins Of The Future are great songs while others may be abit boring. But the use of clean vocals are great and when they mix both styles of singing at once its realy great. An example of that is TPIO. Fans of the new generation Black Metal would love this but others wouldnt be as satisified. Its worth checking out but dont get too exited.

Burzum - s/t 1992 (Nor)
Rating: 93
The debut record of Norway's most known Black Metal artist, Varg Vikernes. Created in the golden era in Black Metal and I don't think that anybody has manage to create such atmosphere in the music like Varg does, at least not in this kind of music. It may be hard to get used to Varg's high pitched screams at first but after a while you discover how great this music realy is. Anyone interested in Black Metal should own all the early Burzum records. "Ea, Lord of the Depths" is my favorite track from Burzum and one of the best Black Metal tracks ever. The overal atmosphere is very dark & depressive and should not be listened by people with suicidal thoughs... The synth track, "Channelling The Power Of Souls Into A New God", is very depressive and sounds similar to Summoning without vocals. It's very dreaming and is good when you want to calm down or fall to sleep. "War" is an up-tempo Black Metal song and it even got an guitar solo! The song "My Journey to The Stars" got the typical Burzum sound and is realy cool. The instrumental outro called "Dungeons Of Darkness" only contains an hard-to-hear low pitched synth voice doesnt make any sense to me. I'd like it better if it where a synth song like "Channelling The Power Of Souls Into A New God" but this is only some dark noises. This is an must have record and those of us who don't have the money to buy the original DeathLike Silence Productions (Euronymous from Mayhem's Label) release should buy the Misanthropy Digi-pack version with the "Aske" EP as an bonus.

Burzum - Aske (Ashes) 1993 (Nor)
Rating: 90
Because of its cover and contents, the cover showing a burned-church and the first 1000 releases contained an lighter..., this has become an high priced rare MLP and most people buy the Misanthropy version instead. The music is similar to the music on "Burzum" and the first track,"Stemmen Fra Tårnet" , is great with its typical Burzum sound. The next song, "Dominus Sathanas", contains only guitars except for some screams and whispers in the beginning, is an O.K. but a bit boring song. "A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit" is actualy an re-record of the song with the same name on "Burzum" (Please note that the Misanthropy CD version of Burzum doesn't contain the original "A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit"). This MLP is highly recomendable and now when you buy the "Burzum" record you get "Aske" as an bonus. This is also the first and only time Varg doesn't play everything himself, Samoth (Emperor, Zyklon B) plays Bass guitar. "That Fire Which Never Burns Out, Which Yet Burns Low, Which Flickers Out. Yet There Remains Always Beneath The Ashes Embers, Which Smoulder And Wait, For One To Bring Dry Twigs And Wood. Red-Hot Embers, Dreaming Of Becoming, A Fizzling Crackling Fire Once More. And Such Is The Fire Burning Within Ourselves.

Burzum - Det som Engang Var (What Once Were) 1993 (Nor)
 Rating: 95
"Det Som Engang Var" continues where "Burzum" ended. After an short song, "Den Onde Kysten" similar to "Dungeons Of Darkness" from "Burzum, "Key To The Gate" starts and its very aggressive song but not as atmospheric as the elder Burzum, on the other hand, "En Ring Til aa Herske" is very atmospheric and it isnt as fast as "Key To The Gate". My favorite Burzum tracks are not the fast aggressive ones but the more depressive and atmospheric tracks. "Lost Wisdom" is one of those with its simple guitar riffs, slow rythm and high-picthed voice. "Han Som Reiste" is probaly the best synth/darkwave track Burzum has released. Atleast from the old records ("Burzum" up to "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss"). The same theme repeating it over and over with some small changes. "Naar Himmelen Klarner", is an good intrumental almost only featuring guitars. "Snu Mikrokosmos Tegn" is an more aggressive song but stil an good one. The outro, "Black Thrones", is similar to "Dungeons Of Darkness" and I don't like it. Fans of "Burzum" and "Aske" should buy this one too.

Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss 1994 (Nor)
Rating: 94
This Burzum record is very different than the elder ones. The first three minutes of the first song, "Det Som Engang Var", iis very atmospheric and only contains synth and guitar, actually most of the songs contains a lot of synths and is more atmospheric than before. The songs has also becomed much longer (from 8 to 15 minutes long). The riffs repeats it self alot of times and some might say that it becomes booring but I dont think so as the atmsophere is very dreaming and the riffs them selves are quite good. It is only 4 tracks on this LP but it last for almost 45 minutes so its quite long. The title track is my personal favorite but the songs sound very similar to each other. The last track, "Tomhet (Emptiness), is an 14 min. long instrumental synth song and it's quite good and togheter with "Han Som Reiste" this is my favorite synth Burzum track. "Inn I Slottet Fra Droemmen" (Into the castle from the dream), is the most aggressive song but also this one becomes more atmospheric.

Burzum - Filosofem 1996 (Nor)
Rating: 92
The music has changed again and it's even more atmospheric than the previous ones. The first song, simply called "Burzum" (Dunkelheit), is a very good song. It has alot of synth and the vocals has completaly changed! It's not the ordinary high-pitched Buzum voice but a more dark, distorted voice. If I remember right he sings trough some broken headphones. "Jesu Død" (Jesus' Tod), is one of the better songs on Filosofem. It is a little more aggressive but stil very atmospheric and "floating". "Beholding The Daughters Of The Firmanent" (Erblicket Die Töchter Des Firmanents), is similar to the track "Burzum" and it is also quite good. Decreptidue 1 (Gebrerchlichkeit 1), only features synth, guitar and vocals and becomes a little booring, at least I think so. The same goes for "Rundtgåing Av Den Transcendentale Egenhetens Støtte", (Rundgang Um Die Transzendentale Säule Der Singularität), it last in 25 minutes with one bass riff and different synth "leads"! It's a good dreaming song but I dont sit down and listen to the song as I would have done for "Tomhet" or "Han Som Reiste". The last song, "Decreptidue 2", is musically similar to "Decreptidue 1" but this is an instrumental. The booklet contains in addition to the lyrics loads of drawings by Theodor Kittelsen and loads of different stories written by Varg.