Blind Guardian T-Shirt at T Shirt Subway
Blind Guardian
The German’s produce some fine things from technology to automotive class but few things are more exciting than the German Power Metal scene and a huge part of that has been the amazing Blind Guardian.
The band famous for their powerful, imaginative lyrics often inspired by fiction and even the works of J.R.R Tolkien influenced the imagery created in the powerful tales that mix with the speed metal to create such a dramatic effect.
Fans often refer to the band as ‘The Bards’ due to continual references to each band member being a different travelling bard. Originally they were called Lucifer’s Heritage and originated from Krefeld, Germany by Hansi Kursch and Andre Olbrich.
They produced two demo’s and like any metal band went through a plethora of line up changes Siepen and Thomen were settled upon as the final line up and that was to last for the next 18 years. They changed their name and the reason is unclear, perhaps it was to divert from any satanic reference causing problems or some suggest it was to distance itself from the black metal movement.
Their first album Battalions of Fear was in all essence a speed metal album and carried some influence from their counterparts Helloween. Indeed so close were their ties that Kai Hansen made a guest appearance on Follow the Blind their second LP and then the band took a slightly different direction with their third album.
Tales from the Twilight World was a much more epic offering, the instrumentals were tighter and the whole feel was little less robust but more melodic. It really told a story to fans and it was no surprise when soon after Virgin Records wanted to sign them.
Somewhere Far Beyond and Tokyo Tales followed and then came the influence of former Metallica producer and Imaginations From the Other Side and The Forgotten Tales both went down well with fans but it was their next album that was to cement their place in metal history.
In 1998 Nightfall in Middle Earth inspired by the book The Silmarillion became an instant success. It had so many influences and contained layers of backing vocals that were an absolute treat on the ear and it’s widely considered to be their best work yet.
It’s not hard to see how people regard Blind Guardian as pioneers, they’re ability to enthuse and entertain is second to none and their powerfully constructed yet poetically complex songs are something of legend now and we’re sure their popularity will not diminish any time soon.