FOLLOW THE BLIND

"Follow the Blind" is the second full-length studio album by German speed/power metal act Blind Guardian. The album was released through No Remorse Records in April 1989, a little less than a year after the release of their debut full-length studio album "Battalions of Fear" from May 1988.

Stylistically the material on "Follow the Blind" pretty much continues the speed/power metal style of "Battalions of Fear", although Blind Guardian have arguably become better songwriters and more skilled musicians since the debut album. It´s still artists like Running Wild, Rage, and early Helloween which are valid references and at this point Blind Guardian weren´t the most unique sounding German act (Kai Hansen even makes a guest vocal appearance on "Valhalla").

Blind Guardian perform their music with great skill and conviction, but lead vocalist/bassist Hansi Kürsch doesn´t have particularly memorable or melodic vocal lines to sing, and that the major issue with "Follow the Blind". As well performed and well produced the album is, the tracks simply aren´t that memorable and they aren´t easy to tell apart because of the lack of hooks. In that respect they are closer to second tier thrash metal than speed/power metal, but this is of course not pure thrash metal.

So upon conclusion "Follow the Blind" is a decent sophomore studio album by Blind Guardian, but it´s a far cry from the quality and uniqueness of their next couple of releases, where the band really found their sound. This is for fans of the above mentioned artists, although you won´t find much here which sets Blind Guardian apart from mid-80s releases by those artists. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).