Blackmore's Night / The Village Lanterne Steamhammer/SPV SPV 9970A Bonus Tracks

Individuality and true musical greatness are marked by an artist who follows his own intuition, without being influenced by other people’s expectations; Ritchie Blackmore’s integrity may occasionally seem strange, if not indeed doubtful to many a Deep Purple and Rainbow fan but it shows that he is one of the best and most exceptional contemporary musicians in every respect.

With his band, Blackmore´’s Night, featuring his partner, the vocalist Candice Night, Blackmore has certainly not broken with his previous creative forms of expression.

Quite the opposite: the songs on his current album, The Village Lanterne, document unmistakably that there’s still the rock musician inside him.

But Blackmore has not remained static in his development, he has allowed his penchant for medieval music, which already shone through on many of his hard rock compositions, to culminate in his very own, unique style of music.