The Cimmerian has just posted a very useful and lengthy review by Brian Murphy of the 1998 heavy metal album Nightfall of Middle-earth by Blind Guardian.

A brief summary quote from the review:

Now, I know heavy metal ain’t everyone’s cup o’ tea. But if you like Tolkien you might want to give Nightfall in Middle-earth a try. While it’s powerful and heavy, it’s as much melodic as it is bombastic, and it features singing instead of screaming (there’s none of the dreaded Cookie Monster-style vocals to speak of). Best of all it’s presented without irony: Blind Guardian’s genuine love of JRRT is evident in not only the packaging, but the well thought-out lyrics and the passionate delivery. Many metal bands have used fantasy imagery on their album covers, but very few understand and express an obvious passion for the source material like Blind Guardian.

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