Composer Reacts to Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence (REACTION & ANALYSIS)
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- Опубліковано 27 січ 2022
- Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence (Original Version)
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The lyrics of this song are the Trojan War seen from Cassandra's perspective. That's why they're so disjointed and weird, she got the gift of prophecy from Apollo, but didn't pay the forfeit, so he cursed with the loss of all capacity for persuasion. For example, tra-la-la victorious part sounds kind of hollow, because it's the city's people celebrating bringing in the Trojan Horse by breaking the walls. This song is a real blast if you know the story.
Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam, sister to Hector and Paris, and the high priestess of Apollo in Troy. She was gifted to foresee the future, but also cursed that nobody would believe her. So, she warned of the Trojan Horse in vain and was raped and killed by Ajax when the Greek warriors sacked Troy.
That dancing irish folky part is very much connected with the story. That specific part is shere the troyans find the horse and bring it inside the walls. In the story they have a huge drunken party (the war is over it seems and they even got a gift), so it fits perfectly, the very point it being out of place. The lines „we will cheerfully die“ at the end of that part say it all. They often do that, play a very cheerfull melody when the lyrics go to dark places which makes your brain react and feel. Also, this part explodes at the concert, the whole venue just jumping and dancing. And they keep the part on repeat for a couple of minutes so you literally die at the end, exhausted from singing and dancing with them now.
There are mmmaaaaaannnnyyyy layers of main vocalist Hansi Kürsch. In addition, there is a 4 person backing choir, sometimes sung with Hansi as 5th part.
I have seen them live. I'm a lucky guy
Can't believe this reaction and analysis slipped through my radar, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching you listen to this song. This was one of my fave reaction videos ever!
Never clicked a video so fast in my life. This is probably my favorite song of all time. There’s so many vocal layers and melodies that it took a few listens to reveal itself to me as a full composition though. Really enjoy hearing what you noticed and thought.
if you are stunned by this song after the first time listening, you would be even more if you listen to it a few times more. you cant get everything by listening to it one time.
30:46 the "how technical" question fascinates me. There's another song called Road of no Release (definitely recommend) that has me convinced these guys write music with 5 dimensional calculus or something. The Easter eggs build on each other and create these like compound Easter eggs where it's not just melody lines or instruments serving as an internal thematic consistency gluing the song together but the concepts themselves propagate in a way that the implications of the music give you a new level of conceptual Easter eggs to look for after you listen to the song 50 times and know all the parts.
As a fan of Blind Guardian since 1995, I appreciate the time and effort you put into this reaction. It's obvious you enjoy what you do.
I really do enjoy this. I've kept my mouth shut about music for the better part of a decade since I stopped going to school for it. My family and friends aren't as much of music nerds as I am so while they have indulged me in the past, usually I can tell I'm talking their ear off. So it's nice knowing that I can ramble on about how awesome little ideas are and people are actually enjoying it :)
God that threw me for a loop. Blind Guardian was one of the first "heavy" bands I ever got into because of friends. Huge part of my growing up. Still love them.
On this album (though I'm not sure about this song specifically), there are four other guest vocalists: Billy King, Rolf Köhler, Thomas Hackmann, and Olaf Senkbeil. But they do backing vocals. The majority of the vocals, particularly what you hear at the front of the mix is Hansi Kürsch who has layered his voice over and over to achieve the effect. In general the guitar and vocals on this album are insanely multitracked. I read a stat on the internet somewhere about the number of tracks on this album and I'm not sure if it's just apocryphal but it was in the multiple thousands.
This is my favorite song from probably my favorite album of Blind Guardian. I had them ranked #84 on my top 100 and noted how they're one of the very few symphonic power metal bands that even people who don't like power metal tend to love, in large part because of their combination of epicness, heaviness, progginess, and catchiness. It's often the case that power metal sacrifices aggression and complexity for hooks, but Blind Guardian very much does not. All of those elements really come together on this incredibly dense track that has so many layers to it that it really rewards repeat listens. This album (A Night at the Opera) and Nightfall in Middle Earth are both really superb, but their entire discography is extremely solid.
Blind Guardian was a band I loved as a kid but as I matured and listened to more music and coming back to it I realized that no they really are that good! With alot of unique elements to it. The way that they change up the verses. The way that instead of playing plain riffs they play melodic lines. The very rich harmonies and arrangements. They're actually brilliant.
This one is one of my favorite songs PERIOD! A masterpiece through and through.
My favourite song of all time. It always fills me with so much energy, especially when hearing it at the end of it's album. Great analysis, I would never be able to fully appreciate all it's detail on my own.
According to the album credits there are a few other singers :
Guest musicians:
Rolf Köhler, Thomas Hackmann, Olaf Senkbeil & Billy King - The Choir Company
Production:
Clemens von Witte - recordings (backing vocals)
Detlef - recordings (backing vocals)
To hear a modern production twist on it, check out the version from their re-recording / remastering album from a few years back.
They actually re-recorded this in 2011, if you'd like to check that out whether it be via reaction or just in your own time.
It's on a massive compilation album called Memories Of A Time To Come that just kinda consists of re-recordings, remixes/remasters & old demos, mostly.
Beside all else, BG also show a very keen knowlege of history. The "Revenge will be taken by Rome" (in the distant future) because one of king Priam's kindred, Eney and his kin manage to survive and they escape to Italy, where the legend says they've established the Roman civilization. The Troyan war itself is thought to have been provoked by climate and nature disasters at the time, c. the middle 13th c. BC, and was a kind of a fratricidal war - between the old peoples of the Balkans and West Asia Minor (Pellasgians, Micenians, various other Thracians, their relatives the Troyans, Phryghians, and others), all related to the broader Thraco-Illirian civilization, long before the "greeks" have been put in place by History, and that sh*t was actually the end of the Bronze Age, or at least the beginning of it's end. ...
Actually all states and kingdoms involved are destroyed and/or have declined after the war. Those events gave rise also to the Sea peoples migrations, and the very beggining of the Iron Age. On the other hand, the remnants of the Micenians and the "original greeks", who were migrating the opposite way, from Africa to Europe, gradually gave birth to what is later known as Ancient Greek/Hellenic civilization, after a dark age of 5(!) centuries, part of which in 8th c. BC is thought to be Homer (not Simpson :o) ).
Hence, the revenge - Rome conquered the Greek city states 1000 years after these war events - c. a 1000-1200 years, after Alexander's Empire fell. Another 200-300 years were needed for the conquering of the Thracians, last were the Geti and the Dacians.
Wow
I love this song so much. Made it my ringtone maybe a year ago and I'm really happy with it :)
Still I got chills listening to it now.
And was really happy to see you liked it!
Especially I was glad you mentioned how they play with themes.
Examining this song not too long ago (I've known it since the single came out in 2001) I realized how really most of it can be seen as variations on the intro - and very interesting variations. I generally enjoy listening to their songs with the first theme playing in my head and see what has become of it and how they relate to it. I like how you noticed the artistic qualities there - they Did emphasize in a rather recent interview that they consider themselves artists.
P.S.:
This was way more satisfying for me than the Doug Helvering reaction
Doug has an amazing mind and I'd never want to compete with him (or any of the theory based reactors) since I think we all have something to bring to the table. But I do appreciate the kind words and I'm glad that my specific take is well received.
yes, i was slightly disappointed with Doug's reaction, his focus is on certain aspects of the song only
this piece of masterpiece is orgasmic!!! so good man really proggresive the way the changes in the riddim of the drums... so adicctive!! it's like watching a condence lord of the rings movie but for your ears!! this song requiere multiple listenings.. i think the coir voices are like that so it's blends with the intruentation or another take is that is the anticipation something comming from afar!!
It’s been said but this is a top song of ALL TIME. I have been lifted out of a funk or two by belting this out along the River or in the woods 🥲
Gotta say I am really impressed with your perception. You realized a lot of aspects of the song I've only noticed after a lot of re-listens. Great stuff and analysis thanks, love this song!
This band is probably my favorite one, but their production leaves something to be desired in their latest albums. Mixing this one would be tough though I get it.
Great reaction. I would be interested to here a follow up on this multiple listening. Also more Blind Guardian would be great.
The thing with the choir being mixed far back while the soloist is mixed close to the listener. I think it is a callback to the Greek tragedy, a form of theatre they had back then. It had a few actors in principal roles and a choir that provided musical comment, something like an everyperson's view of the events. And in the song there is a lot of "we" perspective, from the point of view of the doomed Trojans, not just one hero. In a true tragedy, it's not only the hero who dies, it's the choir.
Masterpiece
I never even thought about the style of the transitions as part of the narrative like that
BG! Good choice 🤟🏻 More BG reactions please!
You should check out Wheel of Time if you liked this one. Similar scope but with imo better production.
Wheel of Time, Sacred Worlds, War of the Thrones - At the Edge of Time is probably the best BG album. But A Night at the Opera kicked off their transition from Speed to Power Metal.
This song is a 14-minute epic.
The Irish jig was supposed to be the celebration the Trojans had when the Greeks left the battlefield
Which transitioned into the Greeks springing out of the Trojan horse and wiping them out
Id really like to see a remake of this with a real symphony orchestra and 5.1 surround a la Steven Wilson. And yes the part about the vocals being distant is true. The production and sound quality is abit thin and tinnish.
Pffft gotta love this composer that are at least 20 years younger than the Blind Guardian and with at least half of their experience!
And then to think Hansi and Andre made an actual orchestral album called Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra: Legacy of the Dark Lands, based on an original novel by German Writer Markus Heitz
Definite shades of QUEEN, like if Q had come up in the early 00s to now.
Yes, Blind Guardian draw heavily from Queen, in the best possible way.
The album is called "A Night at the Opera" ;)
Did... did he just give the time in UTC? Finally, a sane person! That alone would warrant an instant subscription, if I hadn't already subscribed halfway through the video :)
Looking forward to more great content like this. I'm not very "musically gifted", and honestly, I never tried changing that as it has never stopped me from enjoying listening to music. But you're making me discover new aspects of some of my favorite songs I never really consciously noticed before.
Glad to have ya in the community. And yeah, I always post my local time as well as UTC since that's, well, universal 😄
These guys are awesome! I heard in an interview that they spent more time producing this song than the whole rest of the album out together. Not hard to believe after you listen to it - LOL!
Like others - I suggest "Wheel of Time" next. Another epic song.
How many singers do they have? Just one. He does all the voices!
Not accurate. There are a lot of Hansi layers, but there is also a small choir present on this and other albums. Always the same people, I believe.
André Olbrich is Brian May of Metal scene, they sound and style so close.
The most recent remaster addresses your vocal mix issue, imo
The album is called "A Night At The Opera", inspired by Queen.
Which again is inspired by the film of the Marx Brothers.
let's get some VIRGIN STEELE - KINGDOM OF THE FEARLESS next
I like to compare & contrast this with 'The Odyssey' by Symphony X.
Interesting idea. 🤔
I remember i fell asleep in my campin gchair during this song Blind Guardian Sweden Rock Festival 2007. That was a boring concert. And i've been fan since '95 and still is.
Certainly there are successful songs by Blind Guardian like "Wheel Of Time". Nevertheless, I recommend this to react from a composer's point of view.
The Trojan war from Virgil's perspective somehow...
Not Virgil, Cassandra. 🤘🤘
@@luisnunes3863, Virgil's tale-telling, Cassandra's perspective, but not only 👍
Actually, the vocals are all by Hansi Kürsch
Check out "a louse is not a home" by peter hammill, imo he's the most underated singer and songwriter in prog history
I had to do a double take because my high school band instructor's name was Peter Hamill. I'll check it out :)
I am inspired to fashion a fur gauntlet 🤔
I love this song. I don't like how you BS'd thru it.