Blind Guardian

Blind Guardian is a German metal band founded in 1984 in Krefeld and sea bush. By 2013, the band sold 2.5 million records.

Band History

Blind Guardian was founded in 1984 emerged from the band Lucifer's Heritage (, Lucifer's Heritage '). After a line-up changes the band Blind Guardian (, blind guardian ',' protector blind ') was founded in 1987.

With the new band name came in 1988 the first album Battalions of Fear, which began the band for the record company No Remorse Records. Cooperation should still exist up to Tales from the Twilight World. For the tour for 1989 album Follow the Blind, the American metal band Iced Earth was hired as the opening act. Both bands got along so well that even followed by other tour together. The two heads of the bands Kürsch Hansi and Jon Schaffer ( guitar), and even set up a joint side project Demons & Wizards, which brought out two albums so far. With their third album, Tales from the Twilight World, Blind Guardian continued the collaboration with Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray, who already earned on the previous studio guest vocal and guitar parts.

The fourth album by the band brought not only the transition to a new record label (Virgin Records), but also changes in the first style of the band. More pure speed metal has been played, it was worked on Somewhere Far Beyond with choirs and nationwide Keyboards, overall the music was bombastic. This development should pass through it by all later albums. Somewhere Far Beyond was the last album on which Kai Hansen was involved, but also the first, with which the band won international attention. A kind of documentation of this international success is the live album Tokyo Tales in 1993.

The international success followed in 1995, outgoing Imaginations From The Other Side next, the Arthurian legend thematisierendes album, where A Past And Future Secret was released as a single. On the accompanying tour were not only performed all over Europe instead, but also in Japan and Thailand.

With the compilation The Forgotten Tales Blind Guardian published in 1996 an album quieter Art Here was also the failure, The Bard 's Song - In The Forest publish as a live version on Tokyo Tales, well done again. Furthermore, been covered well-known songs like Mr. Sandman ( Original by The Chordettes ) or Surfin ' USA ( Beach Boys ). With Mr. Sandman there was also a single from the album, which was renamed for the Japanese market in Bright Eyes. In contrast to the European version of the Japanese single starts with the song Bright eyes ( an original composition ) and contains the unreleased demo version of the song in Europe A Past and Future Secret.

Appeared in 1998 Nightfall In Middle - Earth. The best known and most popular songs of this album are Nightfall and Mirror Mirror. The latter song was also released as a single. The album is a musical summary of the fantasy book The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien dar. It was followed by another tour of Europe, South and Central America.

The next work, A Night at the Opera with the previous single And Then There Was Silence, was not published until 2002. Reactions of the fans on the album were divided. Many felt that the development of the bombastic style of music to be extremely successful, while others were put out on it and found that the songs seemed overloaded.

On May 13 and June 14, 2003 Blind Guardian organized a private open-air festival in Coburg ( Blind Guardian Open Air ) in which they performed on both nights as the headliner. The DVD Imaginations Through the Looking Glass represents a compilation of two days

Blind Guardian 2004 changed to a new record label ( Nuclear Blast ), in order to focus on the work for the next album can.

After nearly 20 years in 2005 drummer Thomen Stauch left the band. The basic musical differences were also mentioned. Thomen was no longer satisfied with the musical development of the band. While the pieces were always orchestral and had less to do with the type of metal, the Blind Guardian made ​​once to Thomen decided to leave the band to give to his side project Savage Circus henceforth full attention. Frederik Ehmke 2005, a replacement was found. To hear the first time he is on A Twist in the Myth.

In September 2005, Blind Guardian announced on the band's official website that they want to release a new album under the new line in April / May 2006. Following this, a world tour with Astral Doors in the interlude over South America, Japan, Europe, Australia, USA, Mexico and Canada should follow. This was postponed because the studio working on the new album A Twist in the Myth delayed by an Acute Otitis Hansi Kürschs. After four appearances in May, the main part of the tour in September / October 2006 took place. The first single Fly was published in February 2006; A Twist in the Myth was published on 1 September 2006. The album reached the top spot of the sound check in the September issue of Metal magazine Metal Hammer.

2007 Blind Guardian involved in the soundtrack to the Uwe Boll film of the King - A Dungeon Siege, and steered the theme song for. In 2008, she composed the theme song for the computer game Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. The so far last studio album At the Edge of Time was released on 30 July 2010.

The band was in 2010 at the Wacken Open Air in attendance, where she took the Metal Hammer Award for the best German band, was a Meet and Greet and Hansi Kürsch sang at the anniversary appearance of Grave Digger. In the 2011 edition of the festival, the group was one of the headliners. In January 2012, a best-of compilation was released titled Memories of a Time to Come, which reached number six in the German album charts. After the end of the Memories of a Tour to Come tour the group moved from mid-2012 from the public. In the second half of 2012, the musicians worked on the announced for February 2013 Boxset A Traveler's Guide to Space and Time. In addition, the group began work both to the next studio album as well as on the arrangements for the announced since 1997 album with orchestral versions of popular songs of the band, a publication of both albums and live performances before 2014, the band closed it out.

Style

The earlier albums are attributable to the speed metal; Michael Rensen of Rock Hard described Battalions of Fear as a " [s ] tarkes, punky raw speed metal debut with mostly good songs, some of which have already come up with a touch of complexity." The followers Follow the Blind he confirmed a thrash impact, with the retreating of the band Helloween, etc., and Tales from the Twilight World was " [ t] he best German Melodic-Speed/Thrash-Metal-Album all time". With Somewhere Far Beyond it was the band managed to " keep the, Tales' level and to open up simultaneously by bombast and folk elements stylistic new territory ". A characteristic feature of Blind Guardian are today complex polyphonic guitar arrangements, as well as fancy effects and performance technique. The structure of her pieces is virtually free of repetitions. The newer albums (especially since A Night at the Opera) can therefore also be attributed to the progressive metal, although the origins of the band in the ( orchestral ) Speed ​​Metal are still recognizable. Particularly noticeable is this development to the song And Then There Was Silence, which represents the culmination of A Night at the Opera. Meanwhile, the band plays loud Rensen " in their entirely own speed / thrash / metal bombast League".

The lyrics often deal with themes from the fantasy fiction, especially The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. Furthermore, the band takes up lyrically on, among other works of Stephen King, Frank Herbert, Walter Moers and Michael Moorcock. Likewise, historical, social and religious issues are addressed. Especially on their album A Twist in the Myth to also provide more abstract topics such as the importance of changes and dreams.

Special

Striking and quite a rare phenomenon, today's line-up that does not require a permanent bass player. Up to and including Imaginations from the Other Side Hansi Kürsch singer and bassist was at the same time. Then he focused only on the vocals. For recordings or live performances Oliver Holzwarth ( Sieges Even ) is used as a bass player. Likewise, Blind Guardian is no fixed keyboard player in the band structure, although orchestral keyboard sounds the trademark of the band have become. The unofficial post of keyboardist has now - taken Michael " Mi" fomenting - much like Oliver Holzwarth on bass.

From Harvest of Sorrow, there are six different versions ( As a bonus track on A Night at the Opera): The two in English and Spanish ( a "normal" and a purely acoustic ), one each in Italian and French.

With two live albums are compilations. Tokyo Tales is a compilation of two concerts in Tokyo ( December 4, 1992 in Koseinenkin hall and on 6 December 1992 in NHK Hall ). On this album many studio overdubs can be heard. The live album from 2003 includes the A Night at the Opera World Tour 2002. Below are just live recordings included, even if the instruments, the audience or the singing of a song partly derived from various concerts.

The Bard's Song ( In the Forest ) exists in three versions: the original version on Somewhere Far Beyond, Newly admitted as a single in 2003 and as orchestral version on the best-of album Memories of a Time to Come. The song, since its publication as a kind of band anthem, which is almost completely sung in concerts by the fans. Precisely because of this popularity, the band took to newer versions.

Blind Guardian are virtual, in the action role-playing game Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel represented. After a special quest has been completed, where they play the written specially for the game song Sacred Worlds. The song Battlefield from the album A Night at the Opera is heard in the heavy metal version of the game Robot Unicorn Attack.

The The remasters series

The first six studio albums (of Battalions of Fear up to and including Nightfall in Middle-Earth ), the live album Tokyo Tales and the compilation The Forgotten Tales, in 2007 to mark the 20 - year band anniversary of Charlie Bauerfeind digitally remastered, provided with bonus songs ( demos and / or B-sides of singles ), and the booklet with liner notes and new pictures added. Even the cover artwork has been revised. The first two albums ( Battalions of Fear and Follow the Blind ) have been re-mixed. This remastered versions were published by her former label Virgin / EMI in June 2007 in Europe ( world a little later ). The CD- backs of 8 CDs arise chronologically lined up the motif of the "Dragon Guitar" A Past and Future Secret single in a modernized version.

Discography

This list contains only the studio albums. For a full discography see: Blind Guardian / Discography