Blind Guardian – Koko 2006

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Tonight represented Blind Guardian’s first ever show in London and the Koko was packed, with tickets going for twice face value outside, which is a big mark up for this kind of band and size of show in this country.

Astral Doors were the special guests for the tour, and they didn’t disappoint. Although they have strong power metal elements to their sound, the mixture of this with more traditional hard rock can produce much better songs than your average swords-and-scorcerers power metal outfit. Their riffs and melodies drew in more and more people from the bars, until the main floor was practically full before they’d finished.

For a band touring a brand new album (it’d only been out for three weeks at that point) Blind Guardian’s setlist was remarkably balanced, with only three new songs scattered evenly between some of their biggest fan-favourites. In fact, it wasn’t until the fifth song of the night that new single Fly was heard.

The lack of keyboards was quite striking in the sound mix, as they’re quite prominent on the albums, but at this show they were pretty much completely drowned out. This gave riffs and solos space to breath, but stripped away some of the texture from the more symphonic tracks.

Nevertheless, every track, with Nightfall and Another Stranger Me standing out in particular, was superb, and singer Hansi Kursch didn’t waste much time between tracks talking to the crowd which meant the songs seemed to be coming thick and fast for the whole show. He actually spent more time drinking tea at the side of the stage than he did addressing the fans.

Kursch’s voice is a lot ballsier than you’d normally associate with power metal. He’s not always trying to sing higher than the next guy, and this seems to give BG songs a lot more depth and variety than, say Rhapsody (or Rhapsody of Fire, as they are now known). He doesn’t have to rely on flashy stage moves or running around like Bruce Dickinson to entertain either. Blind Guardian’s almost-symphonic style (more riffs than neo-classical fills), with the very fitting video-screen backdrop that was perfectly timed with each track, creates such an immersing atmosphere that what the individual band members are doing at any point is almost a superfluous detail.

This show can be considered as nothing less than a complete success for all concerned, so it shouldn’t be the last time they visit the UK.

“ creates such an immersing atmosphere ”

Setlist: Into The Storm / Born In A Mourning Hall / Nightfall / The Script For My Requiem / Fly / Valhalla / Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill) / Bright Eyes / This Will Never End / And Then There Was Silence // Welcome To Dying / Another Stranger Me / Imaginations From The Other Side // The Bard’s Song (In The Forest) / Mirror Mirror

Photo(s): Chiaki Nozu | www.chiakinozu.com

Written by Andy Lye
More: Gigs, Power Metal, Blind Guardian