'A Twist in the Myth' is my first full taste of 'Blind Guardian' and it certainly doesn't disappoint, their blend of Epic Teutonic Power Metal, is along the lines of fellow Metallers 'Helloween', 'Gamma Ray', 'Iron Savior' and Finnish group 'Stratovarius', but they have managed to carve out their own unique niche in the genre. Vocalist 'Hansi Kürsch' first impressed me on the 'Demons' and 'Wizards' albums and here he fails to disappoint, his soaring vocals shine on both the heavier and more balladsy material. One aspect of this album I particularly like is that although a lot of the tracks have an epic feel, don't drag on pretentiously (take note 'Iron Maiden'!). 'A Twist in the Myth' also marks the first studio appearance for 'Frederik Ehmke' after the departure of original drummer 'Thomas Stauch'.

The album unfolds with the thundering opener 'This Will Never End' and as with most of the material present is a complex piece full of variety, while highlighting an uneasy, slightly mystical melody, sharp riffs and splendid blazing fret work- nice work. Not quite so unrelenting is the powerful rocker 'Otherland' and although perhaps not one of strongest cuts present, is braced by an impressive 'Helloween' style chorus, sharp vocals and as with the majority of tracks, contains solid lyrics. Better still is the borderline Folk Metal of 'Turn the Page' which opens with a gothic style intro, only to develop into an interesting multi-layered piece, graced with excellent instrumentation and another strong chorus. The slightly more commercial single release 'Fly' ensues and surprisingly is another cracking track, more carefree than most and ebbs and flows sublimely throughout, while emphasising more superb soaring 'Hansi Kürsch' vocals. The tempo falls for the exacting melodious power ballad 'Carry the Blessed Home', while the less typical, more straight-forward Metal of 'Another Stranger to Me' makes for an interesting and entertaining cut. More characteristic of 'Blind Guardian' is the brisk ripper 'Straight Through the Mirror', which is fuelled by a plethora of glorious guitar work ranging from neo-classical influence, through to 'Iron Maiden' style duelling. Following in similar fashion is the fast paced rocker 'Lionheart' which at times is musically reminiscent of 'Iron Savior', but given the 'Blind Guardian' touch with the towering vocals of 'Kürsch' and progressive mid track instrumentation. The album is nicely broken up at this point with the medieval sounding 'Skalds and Shadows', at times very similar to the opening parts of 'Iron Maiden's' 'Dance of Death', very melodic with great layered vocals and lyrics -Ritchie Blackmore would be proud! The momentum is soon restored with the uncompromising blazer simply titled 'The Edge', a strong driven cut which includes some fine fret work compliments of 'André Olbrich' and 'Marcus Siepen', that at times is pretty 'Iron Maiden' like. After a 'Sabbath' ('Martin' era) style intro, 'The New Order' matures into another fine up tempo affair, the highlights here being the fret fuelled instrumental break and 'Kürsch''s powerful vocals. The album closes with the darker more brooding 'Dead Sound of Misery', which is evocative of a melancholy version of 'Fly', while also cleverly balances ripping Metal with more controlled balladsy material- Good stuff.

In my opinion 2006 hasn't been one of the best years for Hard Rock and Metal, but this is definitely an exception- one of the albums of the year!