Author: Rok Klemše
Interview date: 20.07.2007
Blind Guardian is a name followed all over the world by hordes of loyal, almost fanatical fans. It’s no different here at home: last October, Ljubljana’s VPK was bursting at the seams during a stellar show by the legendary Germans. Blind Guardian have been at the very top of metal for two decades now, so as a fan I was all the happier to be able to sit in on the press conference with the Blinds before their set at Metalcamp 2007. Below you can read what vocalist Hansi told some ten gathered journalists, with the other band members getting a word in here and there. RockLine’s questions are labeled; the rest of the questions come from other journalists.
To start off, what’s going on with the Blind Guardian symphonic project?
Hansi: It’s still in the works. Producing this project is a real challenge for us. We started writing it years ago and it’s still dragging on. In theory we could already record the album, but that would take too much time, so we’re still looking for the right moment to produce it and put it out. It’s music along the lines of “orchestra meets Blind Guardian”, and the songs will be brand new, with no connection whatsoever to the older material. But it’s really interesting, it has a kind of mystical, Celtic vibe, in the style of Nightfall in Middle-Earth.
What do you think of Metalcamp compared to other metal festivals around Europe?
Hansi: We just got here, and it’s definitely really hot (laughs). Andre and I went to check out the beach and had a little swim. It certainly has the nicest surroundings and the best atmosphere. I can’t say yet how many people are here, we’ll see that later, but considering the gig in Ljubljana was such a huge success, we’re expecting nothing but the best.
RockLine: Do you ever plan to do a concept album based on the works of Stephen King, like you did with Tolkien on Nightfall in Middle-Earth?
Hansi: I doubt that’ll ever happen. Maybe we’ll come back to Tolkien someday and do something similar, but even that’s questionable. For me, Stephen King is more a thing for individual songs. You probably know I admire King’s Dark Tower, it strikes me as even more epic than The Lord of the Rings, but I don’t think it’s quite tailor-made for Blind Guardian the way Tolkien is.
RockLine: So King is more of a Demons&Wizards thing?
Hansi: Yeah, kind of, although the Blind Guardian songs Somewhere Far Beyond and Carry the Blessed Home are actually about the Dark Tower… So sometimes he fits Blind Guardian, but not always. But you never know. If we think of an album like that, you know we recorded Tommyknockers too, so King is a very good choice. But I doubt I’ll be writing another concept album anytime soon that could fit into a concept like Nightfall in Middle-Earth.
Staying on Demons&Wizards for a moment. Will you record another album?
Hansi: Yeah, probably, but right now it’d be really hard for me because of Blind Guardian. When we finish the tour, Jon will be out on tour with Iced Earth, so I don’t see a new album before 2009/2010. And even that’s questionable, because that’s when we’ll be starting a new Blind Guardian tour or production.
Would you like to record another one?
Hansi: Yeah, of course! It was a lot of fun, Jon and I are good friends, but the distance between Germany and the US is huge and we both have day jobs with our own bands, so it’s hard to get together.
When you play songs live, thousands of people sing along and there’s just no stopping them. Can you describe that feeling?
Hansi: Well… (laughs). It’s a great feeling, we always get goosebumps, but in a way you get used to it and almost expect it (laughs). It’s definitely part of the Blind Guardian magic, we’re extremely proud of it, and we always try to build it into our shows. When the crowd takes over they’re happy, and that’s a huge privilege. Even if it sometimes looks like they’ve taken control, it’s part of the show.
Does that happen at every gig?
Hansi: Not always, maybe at every fifth one. But Bard’s Song – In the Forest is always a magical moment, without a doubt the high point of every Blind Guardian show.
Right from the start, Blind Guardian have been inspired by the works of Tolkien, King, traditional legends and mythology. Do you think you’d be where you are today without these themes?
Hansi: Hard to say. When we started with this, Tolkien wasn’t as overrun as he is today; after Jackson made the films, we stopped for a while. I think it helped, but it helped because it fits the music so well. The music itself already conveys something like that. To me it’s perfectly logical that the lyrical themes are what they are, we use them because they interest us, because we love these stories. But like I said, it’s the spirit of the music, and it’s in the lyrics too.
Is your creative process different today from the old days? Do you still rehearse as much?
Hansi: It’s completely different. Usually we don’t rehearse at all (laughs). We didn’t before, either. First we write the music, go into the studio, record, and by the time we’re done there’s hardly any time left for rehearsals. If anything, we’ve rehearsed more for this tour than for the last one, since we had to put in a bit more work because of Frederik. We felt that was the right thing to do, since we planned to play some stuff we hadn’t played in a long time. In a case like that, rehearsals are a must, but otherwise we don’t rehearse (laughs).
How do you find yourselves here among the other bands, who play different genres of metal? Do you know each other, or do you see each other as competition?
Hansi: No, there’s no competition, it’s not football (laughs). A band is either good or crap. That’s something the fans decide. I actually prefer mixed genres like here over a typical heavy/power package that wouldn’t draw as much attention. Even playing with Immortal, for example, is a benefit. We’re not especially tight with these bands, but of course we know Sodom and Grave Digger. We’re not exactly close, but we know each other and get along well. It’s not the World Cup, we just want to be good live.
Is there any band you don’t communicate with at all?
Hansi: No, no. To be honest, we couldn’t care less.
Will you ever record a follow-up to Nightfall in Middle-Earth, like Gamma Ray are about to do with Land of the Free 2?
Hansi: Yeah, given the lyrical content of Nightfall it would be logical, since the story isn’t finished. Musically, though, we’re heading in a completely different direction at the moment, so it wouldn’t be acceptable for us. As long as a band is able to reflect what it recorded in the past, like Queensryche tried with Operation: Mindcrime 2, then it makes perfect sense. But we haven’t thought about it yet.
I read that you’ll only be playing three festivals this year…
Hansi: No, we’ve already played quite a lot of festivals this year. I think this is the second-to-last one, with Wacken still to come. A few more are left for the fall, like the Nuclear Blast festival in October.
RockLine: Hansi, you’ve sung countless guest vocals. Is there one that really stuck with you?
Hansi: Angra and maybe Edguy. They were the most hospitable and they took the vocals on board and respected them very well. Most recently I got involved in a Turkish project, Neverland, which comes out toward the end of the year. I think that was a great song too.
What are you expecting from today’s gig? Do you think it’ll be better than the Ljubljana one?
Hansi: I think it will be, we’re in great shape, we played almost 140 shows for A Twist in the Myth. We’re in a bit of a groove by now, the production here is lavish, and we’re still super motivated. I’m pretty sure people will enjoy it, and we certainly will.
You’ve been together for more than 20 years. What’s the secret?
Hansi: I don’t know… a democratic dictatorship? (laughs). Respect… We found it’s easier to solve problems between people who know each other than to just swap members out. Thomen left of his own accord and we were glad to find Frederik so quickly, but I don’t see any change in how we behave. There’s no secret, except mutual respect maybe.
And what about staying on top for so long?
Hansi: I don’t know, opinions differ. I think the secret is that we change our style slightly and keep evolving, even if some people don’t like it. It’s easier for younger listeners, who only got to know us with A Night At the Opera or A Twist in the Myth, to take our music in, since there’s a certain spirit of a certain era present, which other metal bands might ignore. They turn into traditional, “true” metal bands that hold on to their old fans but can’t win new ones.
Will you play anything from the older albums today, like Banish From Sanctuary?
Hansi: I don’t know, I haven’t decided for today yet. We only have 90 minutes, so we’re limited. We want to present the new album and spread the material out well.
Which moments of your career are your fondest memories?
Hansi: The first one is of course signing our first record deal. You were convinced you’d conquer the metal world within a year (laughs). Then Tales From the Twilight World, which did well outside Germany too, in Japan. Imagination and Nightfall. Every tour has been even more successful than the last.
Will you put on another Blind Guardian Open Air?
Hansi: Yeah, but it’s a long-haul project. Maybe in five years. There’ll definitely be another one, but we need time and a reason to organize it. The 25th anniversary could be a reason, the metal opera could be a reason, since it’d be hard to pull off more than once otherwise. As for plans for the future, right now it’s finishing the tour, which wraps up in October. They asked us to record some music for a German PC game, Sacred. We’ll be doing that through the end of the year, and then a decision will be made on whether we start writing a new album or finish the orchestral project.
You mentioned you only have 90 minutes today. Is that too little?
Hansi: Depends on the conditions. Yeah, today we could play longer. Sometimes 90 minutes is enough, sometimes we’d even prefer less. If we wanted to play even older stuff we’d need 100, 115 minutes.
RockLine: Frederik, how did it feel being the new guy in the band? Was it hard to fit in and fill the gap Thomen left?
Frederik: No, actually I was surprised it wasn’t even hard. I knew Blind Guardian really well, and I also trained and prepared very intensively.
What does the songwriting process look like? Do you write together or separately?
Hansi: Individually. Usually Andre and I start writing, each on our own, so we can focus on our roles, in my case that’s the vocals. Then I write the lyrics, and finally Marcus and Frederik join in.
What music inspired you?
Hansi: I’ve always been a big fan of Deep Purple and Queen.
Andre: Iron Maiden, Kiss,…
Whose idea was it to release remasters of the older albums?
Hansi: The idea came from the label, EMI, because of the twentieth anniversary. At first we wanted to remix the first three, four albums, but there was only time left for the first two; the rest were just remastered, with bonus material added.
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