Blind Guardian - A Twist In The Myth (2006)

Right in the early days of writing this power metal blog (and it's been going for about two years now - that's not bad), the first band I really enthused about was Blind Guardian.  TALES FROM THE TWILIGHT WORLD, from 1990, blew me away, and their next few releases continued to blow with similar greatness.
As time went on, the band's output became less common (they have eventually slipped into a one-album-every-four-years way of doing things), and other bands, like Freedom Call, Rhapsody, etc, took over my adorations. 
I thought 2002's A NIGHT AT THE OPERA was really good, but not quite the same as those earlier great ones, and A Twist In The Myth is kind of similar.
The immediate hooks aren't there any longer, as Blind Guardian now seem to prefer a more reckless, haphazard style of songwriting. However, that's not to say there's nothing here worth listening to.  These boys can't help but be entertaining and lively with their vigorous playing and passion, and such early songs as "This Will Never End" and "Otherland" are fine, as is "The Edge", which is actually about the apostle Paul and his view of the end of the world.
Of course, through it all, Hansi's unique voice (forget Jens Carlsson) just can't be beaten for epicness. 
Blind Guardian will always remain one of my favourite power/heavy metal bands, even if largely on the strength of those nineties releases, but they've never brought out anything less than, at the very least, really good, and A Twist In The Myth doesn't buck that trend.

***1/2