Here Be Dragons
Friday’s post about Sleep’s “Dragonaut” brought in mind dragons of another sort.
One of my favourite bands of all time (you’ll here me use this phrase a lot 😉 ) is Blind Guardian.
Blind Guardian are a symphonic Metal band hailing from Krefeld, Germany. Inspired by high fantasy, how could I fail to fall under their spell.
I have most of their albums and there isn’t a bad one amongst them. The one album I have in mind (and am playing as I write this) is “A Twist in the Myth”. It is a blast of an album and I remember it arriving as near to when it was released as possible. Looking through the CD packaging, I notice a sticker. At least I think it’s a sticker. I daren’t try to peel it, just in case it’s not and I ruin it – hic sunt dracones.
The DVD “Imaginations Through the Looking Glass” shows Blind Guardian at their finest – superlative.
Alive!
I saw Blind Guardian Live at KOKO in 2006. I remember us driving to London, parking somewhere, wondering if we would ever remember where it was and if we would find the car again. Queueing out, around the corner of the building with hundreds of others, a t-shirted fraternity (it was warm). Entering the old Ballroom/Cinema, feeling like we were entering the drawing of “Imaginations Through the Looking-Glass”. It was one of the great concerts, a hi-light of musicfan6160.
There’s something about dragons, I’m a sucker for them. Think “The Hobbit” and Smaug, with Metal playing in the background. That’s the vibe…
A change of pace from the Stoner grind of “Dragonaut” but this is dragons flying not dragons sleeping…
Anthony Clarkson is the artist responsible for the artwork for “Myth” and Nikolay Simkin, Leo Hao & Dennis Kost Roman for “Imaginations” and here, dragons abound!
The term hic sunt dracones was used in Medieval times to denote “dangerous or unexplored territories” – quite fitting really.
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