Batallions of Fear

Blind Guardian | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 8, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B0006Z3DE4
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #321,256 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Majesty

2. Guardian of the Blind

3. Trial by the Archon

4. Wizard's Crown

5. Run for the Night

6. The Martyr

7. Battalions of Fear

8. By The Gates of Moria

9. Gandalf's Rebirth

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dawning of an Era, June 13, 2006

By 

Tim Jewell (Inland Empire) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Batallions of Fear (Audio CD)

I first discovered Blind Guardian through their 2002 release "A Night At The Opera" and they pulled off the epic metal so well, I imagined that they had been doing this for a very long time. However, when I discovered that they had originally started off by playing pure, raw speed metal like that of Judas Priest and Metallica, I decided to check it out and see if they had just as much prowess in that vein as they did with their newer music. Therefore, I purchased their debut album and gave it a listen, being amazed at the raw power of it all. The opening of the first track "Majesty" gave me a good laugh with its happy-go-lucky opening and transition into a powerful anthem, but that was the only thing about the album that was funny or amusing. From start to finish, "Battalions of Fear" delivers heavy, fast, unadulterated metal that puts bands like Megadeth and Metallica to shame with melodic vocals, hefty riffing, and intense drumming.

If you're interested, let me break it all down for you. Leading the band is lead singer/bassist Hansi Kursch, whose vocal capacities haven't seemed to develop too much (at least in comparison to their future works, in which Hansi would lay down his bass in order to better his vocals in the tradition of power metal), but even in this albumhe has quite a gruff, powerful voice that compliments the music rather well, matching its scratchy sound. As for his bass playing, it's rather simplistic, but very fast and agile, never missing a beat when combined with his vocals. Lead guitarist Andre Olbrich had already had experience with the band in their previous form Lucifer's Heritage, so there's no messing up or sour notes from him; nothing but exigent, beautiful guitar solos to bring a sense of pure melody to the raw power provided by rhythm guitarist Marcus Siepen, who beats authoritative riffs from his guitar and adds a consistent thickness to the album. Drummer Thomen Stauch is definitely one of the best of the bunch, as he keeps a steady rhythm going in every song while pedaling fervent double-bass unlike almost anything ever heard in this sect of music, leaving him to be one of the most underrated drummers in the history of speed metal (especially when drummers like Lars Ulrich of Metallica and The Reverend of Avenged Sevenfold are thought of as gods among men, despite being only average in the field of metal).

In the end, this album is a must for any speed metal fans who want something a little more melodic, or for someone trying to complete their Blind Guardian collection. If you're looking for some great power metal from this German band you won't find much of it here, but the power and intensity that defines this wonderful band are present and accounted for, leaving nothing to be desired.

Track Selections: "Majesty", "Battalions of Fear", and "Gandalf's Rebirth"

10/10

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Speed Metal, April 22, 2005

By 

Evil_Tim - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batallions of Fear (Audio CD)

This is a classic example of Speed Metal majesty. Pun intended. :) This is probably one of the best Blind Guardian albums in the discography.
As much as I love later Blind Guardian works (Post-Follow The Blind, when they began playing Power Metal), I feel BG are at their best when playing pure Speeeeeeeeeed!!
Majesty has got to be my favorite song on this album. Seven and one half minutes of pure Speed Metal awesomeness.
Hansi's voice is quite raw on this album. At this point, he hasn't quite perfected his singing technique. That doesn't mean he isn't amazing, and manages to pull off some crazy high notes.

I definitely recommend this for all BG fans, and Speed Metal fans in general. One of their best albums ever and definitely worth buying. :)

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Humble Beginnings, December 20, 2005

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batallions of Fear (Audio CD)

It's hard, after listening to Battalions of Fear, to believe that this is the same band who would record classic albums like Imaginations from the Other Side and Nightfall in Middle-Earth. Blind Guardian may have gone on to become the dominant force in power metal, but you'd hardly know it from their 1987 debut album. That's not to say it isn't a good album, it just isn't what you might expect. Battalions of Fear is pretty much a straightforward thrash album, which makes sense since thrash (both American and German) was the major metal style at the time. The fantasy-themed lyrics were still present, but the grand arrangements and epic concepts were nowhere to be found.

In many ways, I'm reminded of Metallica's Kill 'Em All when I listen to Battalions of Fear. They're both relatively brief albums, both concentrate on speed, both are a bit choppy and uneven, and both suffer from poor production. Perhaps more importantly, both albums would help set the bands on the road to becoming the major players in their fields. Of course Metallica has long since abandoned their thrash roots, while Blind Guardian is still the world's premier power metal band.

Battalions of Fear is vital for the dedicated Blind Guardian fan. Their other albums are a heck of a lot better, but this is where they started out. If you're new to Blind Guardian and are looking for a good starting point, skip this one and go straight to Imaginations from the Other Side. Once that one sinks in, listen to Nightfall in Middle Earth. It will likely become the standard by which you judge all other concept albums, if not all other power metal albums.