Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

While the rest of the world stood up and took notice years ago, North America still remains "blind" to the fact that Heavy Metal remains the most challenging and durable style of music ever developed. And development and commitment, something German bands in particular have held in high esteem and which is often lost among their many shorter lived American counterparts, are what sets them apart for credibility and longevity.

Perhaps no other age-old Dragon Metal band stands as good a chance to wake up the sleeping giant than the chameleon-like Blind Guardian. With a decade and a half of solid musicianship and memorable creations that defy mere one word characterization, their albums and songs remain timeless and captivating, much like the work of a great author or masterpiece of art, to be admired over and again and forever appreciated by generations forthcoming.

To call "A Night At The Opera" anything less than astounding is an injustice; to call it a masterful work of epic proportions that their many fans and followers will look to for support in their longing for guidance is a good starting point. Like the work of a master craftsman, the final product comes away flawless, every part in working order, the satisfied patron gazing in amazement at the marvel of hand made technical talent. The brush strokes evenly and fluidly on this contemporaneous canvas, to be admired by all -- from the dawn of classical music, to the advent of blast beat drumming and all of the instrumental intricacies bore throughout, "A Night At The Opera" is right at home in sixteen century Europe as it is in the mind of today's discerning listener.

"Precious Jerusalem" features a brief opening lead-in before storming into a choral bombardment, setting the dial to anthemic overload and simply bowling over a listener still getting settled from the mighty lyrical contents.

"Sadly Sings Destiny" stands out as another operatically inclined moment filled with well placed double-bass marksmanship and power riffing amidst temporal changes and mournful chanting; "The Maiden And The Minstrel Knight," a traditionally inspired ballad that harkens back to the days of yore in all its instrumentally folk-like splendor, with a richness that few who've ever brandished what we understand as a "Power Ballad" could ever hope to achieve. All the while, vocalist Hansi Kursch's rising inflections work in perfect unison with the broad rhythmic scope and agile arrangements, dotting an already lush landscape with incomparable choral backing that emphasize and impress the majesty and might Blind Guardian possesses.

Nowhere is this impressiveness more evident than on the epic fourteen minute closer, "And Then There Was Silence," capping off what is amounts to a true performance in every aspect. Rooted in conceptually challenging storylines by way of fantastic lyrical passages woven of mystery and myth, "A Night At The Opera" finds Blind Guardian again delving deeply into their dark forest of enchantment where the reckoning spirits of Lovecraft, Poe, and Tolkien still burn, taking the listener on a memorable hour-plus journey where fantasy and reality collide and reside in perfect harmony.