Only a short time ago, Blind Guardian released their great opus ``At the Edge of Time`` which received the highest chart positions ever in Blind Guardian history. Now it is time for the ``Sacred Worlds and Songs Divine``-world tour, starting in Germany. It is great that they guys did what they promised in our interview interview Only 9 songs are fixed every evening. Other 7 songs are played more or less randomly out of a list of 32 tracks. A nice thing for people watching more than one concert!
More photos in the gallery, link in the title section!
Because of a problem with my keys I arrived 30 min late at the venue, and Steelwing. are already on stage. Quite many people are already in front of the stage and celebrate the sound of the Swedish band. This is as old school as the sound of a bandconsisting of 20 year old guys could possibly be. But it is authentic and the band seems to be really competent and also professional. Only the interaction with the audience required ab it more effort, there is only one singalong game during `Roadkill`, the highlight of the show. Nevertheless both thumbs up for Steelwing!
More photos in the gallery, link in the title section!
Then it is time for Van Canto, who are as mass compatible as Apocalyptica were in their first years. But Van Canto do not use cellos or other classic instruments Instead they use their voices for a capella metal. As they do have 5 very good singers in their band, it works really well, at least because of 3 nice cover versions of songs like `Wishmaster`, `Rebellion` and `Fear of the Dark`. But also their own songs work quite well and Van Canto are even better in their interaction than Steelwing. With their mixture of ability, cool songs and nice interaction, Van Canto warm up the venue really well for the headliner.
Even if there were still some tickets available at the beginning of the evening, the venue is really full when the first tones of `Sacred Worlds raise. When Blind Guardian are entering the stage and the first guitar riffs hit the audience, all arms going up in the air. The sound is so heavy, that the first rows are almost blown off their feet. Those who do not like the opener should warm up with the following `Welcome to Dying` and `Nightfall´. The setlist is today a real treat! Really nice that the routine, which the band showed on their last tours, has been broken. So they play some old tracks, which have not been played for years (`Goodbye my Friend` and `Time what is Time`) and also some tracks which were rarely played at all (`Tanelorn` and `Turn the Page`). The majority of the audience seems to have the same opinion, especially the newer tracks are extremly celebrated today. This was not always the case in the last years!
More photos in the gallery, link in the title section!
Concerning the show, Guardian are sticking to their concept from the last tour. Instead of much unnecessary stuff on stage, there is a screen for videos in the back and in addition also a backdrop. Regretably there are again no pyros used. And it is also a pity that Guardian cannot use all of their banners and backdrops today because the venue is a bit to small for them all.
A closing word to the entertainment qualities of the band: Blind Guardian are not the stereotypes of rockstars. They are more or less the stereotypes of your neighbours, making them really sympathic. So they do not appear like ``real`` rock stars on stage. But the guys did really improve their stage acting, as well as their interaction with the audience. Hansi`s comments are really great today and they differ from show to show.
Summary:
All 3 bands did their part for a perfect evening. The sound was really great for all bands, as well as the atmosphere. If Guardian would not have made so many compromises with their production (decorations and pyros in this case), it would be a 10. Therefore it is just a little bit below that.
Setlist: Sacred Worlds, Welcome to Dying, Bourn in a Morning Hall, Nightfall, Fly, Time stands still, Time what is Time, Goodbye my friend, A Past and Future Secret, Turn the Page, Tanelorn, Imaginations from the other Side, Wheel of Time, The Bard`s Song, Valhalla, Mirror Mirror
Timo Päßler
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