Blind Guardian
Information about Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian is a German power metal band which formed in the mid-1980s in Krefeld, Germany.[1] Before calling themselves Blind Guardian, the band released two demos under the name Lucifer's Heritage in 1985 and 1986.[2]
From the beginning, Blind Guardian has been inspired by the fiction of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Stephen King, and Michael Moorcock, as well as traditional legends and epics.[2] Over the years, a running theme has developed associating the band members with traveling bards.
When the international chart-topper Somewhere Far Beyond was released, Blind Guardian achieved comparatively great success. For the first time, the band played in Japan to a crowd of 4000 fans.[2]
In 1997, Hansi decided that a different bassist would allow for more complex parts, and allow himself to further his vocal technique. 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.
Blind Guardian is relatively unique in that until April of 2005 (a twenty year period), the band's original line-up had not changed. However, due to differing musical preference, in April their long time drummer Thomen Stauch left the band to continue his work in Savage Circus, the band he formed to perform more straight-forward music like older Blind Guardian.
Blind Guardian's music features the staccato guitars and double bass drumming characteristic of power metal, as well as the use of overdubs to create a 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.
Hansi has been working on and off for 8 years on an orchestral project writing music about The Lord of the Rings (negotiations failed to be included on the famous The Lord of the Rings film trilogy as the soundtrack). The album will be released in 2008, and although it will not be a power metal album (meaning that there won't 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, according to Hansi[5] and Andre.[6]
This article may contain original research or unverified claims.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
From the beginning, Blind Guardian has been inspired by the fiction of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Stephen King, and Michael Moorcock, as well as traditional legends and epics.[2] Over the years, a running theme has developed associating the band members with traveling bards.
History
Blind Guardian was originally formed in 1984 as Lucifer's Heritage. They released two demos entitled Symphonies of Doom (1985) and Battalions of Fear (1986).[2] Their first studio album, Battalions of Fear, was released in 1988. The band's first tour took place shortly after its release. At this point the band had between 150 and 300 fans at their shows, which was a display of their early success in the realms of power metal.[1]When the international chart-topper Somewhere Far Beyond was released, Blind Guardian achieved comparatively great success. For the first time, the band played in Japan to a crowd of 4000 fans.[2]
In 1997, Hansi decided that a different bassist would allow for more complex parts, and allow himself to further his vocal technique. 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.
Blind Guardian is relatively unique in that until April of 2005 (a twenty year period), the band's original line-up had not changed. However, due to differing musical preference, in April their long time drummer Thomen Stauch left the band to continue his work in Savage Circus, the band he formed to perform more straight-forward music like older Blind Guardian.
Musical Style
Blind Guardian's first two albums, Battalions of Fear and Follow the Blind, were 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, heavily influenced by the English rock band Queen.[3][4]Blind Guardian's music features the staccato guitars and double bass drumming characteristic of power metal, as well as the use of overdubs to create a 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.
Side Projects
Together with Jon Schaffer (the leader and founder of Iced Earth) Kürsch is the lead singer of a side project called Demons & Wizards.Hansi has been working on and off for 8 years on an orchestral project writing music about The Lord of the Rings (negotiations failed to be included on the famous The Lord of the Rings film trilogy as the soundtrack). The album will be released in 2008, and although it will not be a power metal album (meaning that there won't 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, according to Hansi[5] and Andre.[6]
Line-up
Band members
- Hansi Kürsch — Vocals (1984–), Bass (1984–1996)
- André Olbrich — Lead Guitar (1984–)
- Marcus Siepen — Rhythm Guitar (1987–)
- Frederik Ehmke — Drums, Percussion, Flute, Bagpipes (2005–)
Former members
- Thomas "Thomen" Stauch — Drums (1984–1985, 1987–2005)
- Markus Dörk — Rhythm & Lead Guitar (Lucifer's Heritage) (1984–1985)
- Christof Theissen — Lead & Rhythm Guitar (Lucifer's Heritage) (1986)
- Hans-Peter Frey — Drums (Lucifer's Heritage) (1986)
- Thomas Kelleners — Vocals (Lucifer's Heritage) (1984)
Guest musicians
- Oliver Holzwarth — Bass (touring/studio) (1997–)
- Alex Holzwarth — Drums (live) (2002–2003)
- Mathias Wiesner — Keyboards (studio) (1989–)
- Michael Schüren — Keyboards (live) & Grand Piano (studio) (1997–)
- Kai Hansen — Vocals & Guitar Solos (1989–1992)
- Rolf Köhler, Thomas Hackmann — backing vocals (1989–)
- Olaf Senkbeil, Billy King — backing vocals (1990–)
Discography
Studio Albums
- Battalions of Fear (1988)
- Follow the Blind (1989)
- Tales from the Twilight World (1990)
- Somewhere Far Beyond (1992)
- Imaginations from the Other Side (1995)
- Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998)
- A Night at the Opera (2002)
- A Twist in the Myth (2006)
References
1. ^ Blind Guardian. Band: How it started... (English). Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
2. ^ Nuclear Blast. Blind Guardian: Bio (English). Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
3. ^ Queen influence 'Night at the Opera', The Metal Observer, <[1]
4. ^ Queen influence, Blind Guardian official site, <[2]
5. ^ "A New Twist in the Blind Guardian Legacy" by Kenneth Morton
6. ^ Andre Olbrich phone interview; April 08, 2006
2. ^ Nuclear Blast. Blind Guardian: Bio (English). Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
3. ^ Queen influence 'Night at the Opera', The Metal Observer, <[1]
4. ^ Queen influence, Blind Guardian official site, <[2]
5. ^ "A New Twist in the Blind Guardian Legacy" by Kenneth Morton
6. ^ Andre Olbrich phone interview; April 08, 2006
External links
- Blind Guardian Official Homepage
- Blind Guardian at MySpace
- Blind Guardian at MusicBrainz
- The Blind Guardian Releases
| Blind Guardian |
|---|
| Hansi Krsch | Andr Olbrich | Marcus Siepen | Frederik Ehmke |
| Thomen Stauch | Markus Drk | Christoph Theissen | Hans-Peter Frey |
| Discography |
| Demo albums as Lucifer's Heritage: Symphonies of Doom | Battalions of Fear |
| Studio albums: Battalions of Fear | Follow the Blind | Tales from the Twilight World | Somewhere Far Beyond | Imaginations from the Other Side | Nightfall in Middle-Earth | A Night at the Opera | A Twist in the Myth |
| Live albums: Tokyo Tales | Live |
| Compilations: The Forgotten Tales |
| Singles: "A Past and Future Secret" | "Bright Eyes" | "Mr. Sandman" | "Mirror Mirror" | "And Then There Was Silence" | "The Bard's Song (In the Forest)" | "Fly" | "Another Stranger Me" |
| Videography |
| DVDs: Imaginations Through the Looking Glass |
Power metal is a style of heavy metal music typically with the aim of evoking an "epic" feel, combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
worldwide view of the subject.
Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page.
Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page.
This article may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please help Wikipedia by adding references.
..... Click the link for more information.
Krefeld
Castle Linn at Night
Coat of arms Location
..... Click the link for more information.
Castle Linn at Night
Coat of arms Location
..... Click the link for more information.
Anthem
"Das Lied der Deutschen" (third stanza)
also called "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit"
..... Click the link for more information.
"Das Lied der Deutschen" (third stanza)
also called "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit"
..... Click the link for more information.
20th century - 21st century
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1982 1983 1984 - 1985 - 1986 1987 1988
Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar).
..... Click the link for more information.
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1982 1983 1984 - 1985 - 1986 1987 1988
Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar).
..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1983 1984 1985 - 1986 - 1987 1988 1989
Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI
..... Click the link for more information.
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1983 1984 1985 - 1986 - 1987 1988 1989
Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI
..... Click the link for more information.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
Tolkien in 1972, in his study at Merton Street, Oxford. Source: J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography, by Humphrey Carpenter.
..... Click the link for more information.
Tolkien in 1972, in his study at Merton Street, Oxford. Source: J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography, by Humphrey Carpenter.
..... Click the link for more information.
Stephen King
Stephen King
Pseudonym: Richard Bachman
John Swithen
Born: September 21 1947
Portland, Maine, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
Stephen King
Pseudonym: Richard Bachman
John Swithen
Born: September 21 1947
Portland, Maine, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
Michael John Moorcock
Pseudonym: Bill Barclay
William Ewert Barclay
Michael Barrington (with Barrington J. Bayley)
Edward P. Bradbury
James Colvin
Warwick Colvin, Jr.
..... Click the link for more information.
Pseudonym: Bill Barclay
William Ewert Barclay
Michael Barrington (with Barrington J. Bayley)
Edward P. Bradbury
James Colvin
Warwick Colvin, Jr.
..... Click the link for more information.
legend (Latin, legenda, "things to be read") is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
For other meanings of epic, see .
The epic is long, exalted narrative poetry, generally concerning a serious subject and details the heroic deeds and events important to a culture or nation...... Click the link for more information.
bard was one of a caste of poets and scholars of medieval and early modern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall.
..... Click the link for more information.
Etymology
The word is a loanword from Proto-Celtic *bardos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gwerh2:..... Click the link for more information.
20th century - 21st century
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1981 1982 1983 - 1984 - 1985 1986 1987
Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV
..... Click the link for more information.
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1981 1982 1983 - 1984 - 1985 1986 1987
Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV
..... Click the link for more information.
Symphonies of Doom
(1985) Battalions of Fear (demo)
(1986)
Symphonies of Doom was the first official release of Blind Guardian, then going under the name Lucifer's Heritage.
..... Click the link for more information.
(1985) Battalions of Fear (demo)
(1986)
Symphonies of Doom was the first official release of Blind Guardian, then going under the name Lucifer's Heritage.
..... Click the link for more information.
Battalions of Fear (demo)
(1986) Battalions of Fear
(1988)
Battalions of Fear was the second demo album by Blind Guardian, then going under the name Lucifer's Heritage.
..... Click the link for more information.
(1986) Battalions of Fear
(1988)
Battalions of Fear was the second demo album by Blind Guardian, then going under the name Lucifer's Heritage.
..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1983 1984 1985 - 1986 - 1987 1988 1989
Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI
..... Click the link for more information.
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1983 1984 1985 - 1986 - 1987 1988 1989
Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI
..... Click the link for more information.
Battalions of Fear
(1988) Follow the Blind
(1989)
Battalions of Fear is the debut album by German metal band Blind Guardian. It was released in 1988 and is a straightforward metal album, greatly inspired by Helloween's works.
..... Click the link for more information.
(1988) Follow the Blind
(1989)
Battalions of Fear is the debut album by German metal band Blind Guardian. It was released in 1988 and is a straightforward metal album, greatly inspired by Helloween's works.
..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1985 1986 1987 - 1988 - 1989 1990 1991
Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII
..... Click the link for more information.
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1985 1986 1987 - 1988 - 1989 1990 1991
Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII
..... Click the link for more information.
Somewhere Far Beyond
(1992) Imaginations from the Other Side
(1995)
Somewhere Far Beyond is the fourth studio-album by German Power/Speed-Metal act Blind Guardian. It was published in 1992 and produced by Kalle Trapp.
..... Click the link for more information.
(1992) Imaginations from the Other Side
(1995)
Somewhere Far Beyond is the fourth studio-album by German Power/Speed-Metal act Blind Guardian. It was published in 1992 and produced by Kalle Trapp.
..... Click the link for more information.
Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.
Savage Circus is a German/Swedish power metal band originally created as a side project by Thomen Stauch before leaving Blind Guardian, but can now be seen as his "official" band. He asked his friend Piet Sielck if he was interested to join Thomen's new project, which he was.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Battalions of Fear
(1988) Follow the Blind
(1989)
Battalions of Fear is the debut album by German metal band Blind Guardian. It was released in 1988 and is a straightforward metal album, greatly inspired by Helloween's works.
..... Click the link for more information.
(1988) Follow the Blind
(1989)
Battalions of Fear is the debut album by German metal band Blind Guardian. It was released in 1988 and is a straightforward metal album, greatly inspired by Helloween's works.
..... Click the link for more information.
Follow the Blind
(1989) Tales from the Twilight World
(1990)
Follow the Blind is the second full-length album from the German metal band Blind Guardian, released in 1989. Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray and ex.Helloween sings in the song Valhalla.
..... Click the link for more information.
(1989) Tales from the Twilight World
(1990)
Follow the Blind is the second full-length album from the German metal band Blind Guardian, released in 1989. Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray and ex.Helloween sings in the song Valhalla.
..... Click the link for more information.
Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that spawned in the early 1980s and was the direct musical progenitor of thrash metal[1] [2]. When speed metal first emerged as a genre, it innovatively increased the tempo of the music template set forth by
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Tales from the Twilight World
(1990) Somewhere Far Beyond
(1992)
Tales from the Twilight World is an album that was released in 1990 by Blind Guardian.
..... Click the link for more information.
(1990) Somewhere Far Beyond
(1992)
Tales from the Twilight World is an album that was released in 1990 by Blind Guardian.
..... Click the link for more information.
A choir, chorale, or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers.
A body of singers who perform together is called a choir or chorus. The former term is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the quire) and the
..... Click the link for more information.
A body of singers who perform together is called a choir or chorus. The former term is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the quire) and the
..... Click the link for more information.
orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
In musical notation, the Italian word staccato (literally detached, plural staccatos or staccati) indicates that notes are sounded in a detached and distinctly separate manner, with silence making up the latter part of the time allocated to each note.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Drum kit
1 Bass drum | 2 Floor tom | 3 Snare | 4 Toms | 5 Hi-hat | 6 Crash cymbal and Ride cymbal
Other components
China cymbal | Cowbell | Sizzle cymbal |
Splash cymbal | Swish cymbal |
Tambourine | Wood block | Rototom
A bass drum
..... Click the link for more information.
1 Bass drum | 2 Floor tom | 3 Snare | 4 Toms | 5 Hi-hat | 6 Crash cymbal and Ride cymbal
Other components
China cymbal | Cowbell | Sizzle cymbal |
Splash cymbal | Swish cymbal |
Tambourine | Wood block | Rototom
A bass drum
..... Click the link for more information.
This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.