SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND

Somewhere Far Beyond takes the approach of Tales From the Twilight World, diversifies the sound a little, and continues down the usual Blind Guardian path of endearingly dorky fantasy fiction references wrapped in power metal riffs. This time around, the band sound more confident than ever - perhaps at points verging on the pretentious, but power metal is one of those genres which benefits from time to time from a little bit of megalomania - and the inclusion of some elements of folk metal makes it a bit less homogeneous than previous albums from the group.

On the whole, the early 1990s was a very exciting time to be a Blind Guardian fan, thanks precisely to albums like this. There's the slight feeling of a formula being further polished; if it happens to be a formula you particularly like, that will be a plus. At the same time, it's hard to deny that Blind Guardian are exemplars of what one might call the "high cheese" wing of power metal, which might put off some.