Another Stranger Me is the second release based off Blind Guardian's album A Twist in the Myth, and it's a fine selection for a new EP from the band. This nice companion release features the traditional CD single of the song of the same name to further push the promotional efforts for that full-length release, as well as features four never before released tracks, making for a fantastic addition to the collection of any Blind Guardian fan.
By the time this EP came out, many were already familiar with the song "Another Stranger Me", which even had a music video produced, and is included on this EP for you to watch on your computer thanks to an Enhanced CD function. Outside that, you have the bonus tracks "All the King's Horses" and "Dream a Little Dream of Me", both cover songs, and both are well done. "All the King's Horses" moves along in a very slow pace that seems sather sorrowful throughout, and will need more then just one or two spins for it to click, but when it finally grows on you, it'll be an instant favorite. Of course, the band does tread back into the more upbeat music with the track "Dream a Little Dream of Me", which is on par with the band's other cover offerings of classics like "Mr. Sandman", however doesn't really bring in any twists or turns like that and others have done in the past. Instead, this is a straight forward cover that is also slowed down a bit with a harsher vocal performance that works with the band's overall feeling that is present on the releases at the time of this recording.
The EP closes with the aforementioned bonus video of "Another Stranger Me", which can be accessed through your computer, as well as the demo versions of the songs "Lionheart" and "The Edge", both of which appear on the A Twist in the Myth release. One listen to these tracks and it's obvious that they are just the demos, but still somewhat impressive. The only problem here is that there's a bit of a lower production quality, obviously, but it winds up taking around from some of the bite that Blind Guardian brings into their music, as well as sounds rather tame, especially on "Lionheart". The guitars don't sound too natural, and the drumming sounds as if it were recorded through a drum machine, not to mention the vocals don't really have that same driving force that appear on all the band's previous releases, as well as have some keyboard elements throughout the songs that sound rather out of place. THese really aren't all that fantastic to listen to, but it's nice to hear them at least once and see how the band utilized some of today's recording technology to create A Twist in the Myth.
All in all, this EP does wind up making a nice companion piece with some tracks that will get a good amount of replay time, but sadly these are not all that impressive. For the Blind Guardian collector, it's definitely a release that they would want to grab because of the additional non-album tracks and demo versions, but to a casual fan it may not really be worth the time. If you happen upon this release at a lower price then what the manufacturer is actually asking for, as that really does sound like overkill for these five songs, why not grab it and add it to your collection and enjoy it as you will, even if you're sick of the title track "Another Stranger Me" by now.
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