IMAGINATIONS FROM THE OTHER SIDE

After the mediocre Somewhere far Beyond this was really a nice surprise. Produced by Flemming Rasmussen ( Metallica, Morbid Angel) at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark Imaginations from the Other Side was elaborate like no Blind Guardian album before it. The production skill used on this album is very professional and brings out the best in the music.

The elaborate and lavish title track kicks of the album. There are so many parts and leads on this track that it is almost a mini-epic. I heard in an interview it took them half a year to write this one track. The style hasn´t changed since the last album as this is still German Power Metal. But the execution of the project is much better. There are lots of layer of guitar, not unlike Metallica´s Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All. And Hansi´s vocals are really aggressive throughout the whole album. This is Blind Guardian´s most aggressive album, and the angry vocals might scare a prog head or two away.

It´s hard to pick out any song as they are all very well composed and performed, but the title track is a classic.

It´s hard to say if this album really has any prog relevance as this is essentially Heavy Metal. But the Symphonic sound and the many parts in the songs makes up for that more than enough.

It is a near flawless album, but 4 stars will do as Blind Guardian would be even better on later albums.