Blind Guardian

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Blind Guardian is a power metal (and more recently epic metal) band started in the mid-1980s in Krefeld, Germany. Before calling themselves Blind Guardian, the band released two demos under the name Lucifer's Heritage in 1986 and 1987.

From the very beginning, Blind Guardian have been inspired by the fictional worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien and other fantasy authors, like Michael Moorcock, as well as traditional legends and epics. Over the years, a running theme has developed associating the band members with traveling bards.

Blind Guardian's first two albums, Battalions of Fear and Follow the Blind, were much more in the style of speed metal than their following works. Beginning with their third album Tales from the Twilight World, Blind Guardian gradually turned to a more sophisticated sound, including vast use of choirs and sometimes orchestral arrangements.

Blind Guardian's music is characterized by the classic fast guitars and double bass drumming of power metal, but is relatively unique in its use of overdubs to create an extremely dense, "epic" sound. This technique, especially notable in the guitar and vocal tracks, creates the impression of a vast army of musicians playing in unison and singing in harmony. Considering the already anthemic and singalong quality of their choruses, it is unsurprising that the band's 2003 live album, Live, sounded much like their studio recordings: although the overdubs of vocalist Hansi Kürsch were lost, the live audience reproduced them faithfully and enthusiastically. On several occasions the audience has been known to sing along even to André Olbrich's guitar solos.

Blind Guardian's popularity has continued to grow from an initial following in Europe and Japan to one of the most well-known power metal bands in the world. The single for "And Then There Was Silence," for example, reached #1 in Spain and #7 in Canada, despite its fourteen-minute length.

Together with Jon Schaffer — leader and founder of Iced Earth — Kürsch is part of a side project called Demons and Wizards.

Hansi has been working for 8 years on an orchestral project writing music about Lord of the Rings (negotiations failed to be included on the famous Lord of the Rings Trilogy movies as the soundtrack). The album will be released in the end of 2007, and although it will not be a power metal album (meaning that there wont be any drums or electric guitars and bass), it will be published under the name of Blind Guardian because it matches the theme of the band's lyrics, as Hansi said. Also, some appetiser of the orchestral project will be published as bonus on the digipack version of Blind Guardian's next album, "A Twist in the Myth" (working title).

They are relatively unique in that until April of 2005 (a twenty year period), the band's original lineup did not change. However, due to differing musical preference, in April their long time drummer Thomen Stauch exited the band to continue his work in Savage Circus, the band he formed to perform more straight-forward music like older Blind Guardian. He was replaced in July 2005 by Frederik Ehmke. In an interview with Metallian in 2006, Hansi Kürsch stated that Oliver Holzwarth will handle the bass for the foreseeable future.

A new studio album (working title: A Twist in the Myth) is due to be released in September 2006. Some currently revealed details of the album by Hansi Kürsh are:

  • 3 "new-style" songs on it like the track Fly
  • Song lyrics deal with a number of different themes, i.e. fantasy, mythology, real-life, poetry and lyrics
  • A mix of 30% new Blind Guardian style, 25% A Night at the Opera, 20% Nightfall in Middle-Earth, 20% Imaginations From the Other Side and 5% older work
  • Vocals are already recorded
  • Some song titles are: This will never end, turn the page, Straight Through the Mirror, Another Stranger Me, Otherland, the Edge,Market square, Carry the Blessed Home, New Order, Skalds and Shadows, and Fly
  • The Japanese version will have a bonus track called All the King's Horses

Contents

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Band members

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Guest musicians

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Former members

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Discography

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As Lucifer's Heritage

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As Blind Guardian

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Singles, compilations and live albums

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Notes

  1. Template:Note In 1997, Hansi decided that a different bassist would allow for more complex parts, and allow himself to further his vocal technique both live and in the studio. Oliver Holzwarth was hired as a bassist for the album and for the tour. He is not a full member of the band, because Hansi may decide to play bass again, and has said he does not have the heart to put Oliver in the position that he may be fired.
  2. Template:Note On Blind Guardian's second and third studio albums, Kai Hansen, formerly of Helloween, and currently in Gamma Ray, performed guest vocals on a few songs and a guest guitar solo.
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External links

cs:Blind Guardian de:Blind Guardian es:Blind Guardian fr:Blind Guardian gl:Blind Guardian it:Blind Guardian he:בליינד גארדיאן nl:Blind Guardian ja:ブラインド・ガーディアン pl:Blind Guardian pt:Blind Guardian ru:Blind Guardian sl:Blind guardian fi:Blind Guardian sv:Blind Guardian tr:Blind Guardian uk:Blind Guardian (гурт)

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