Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Blind Guardian
Label: Virgin Records
Release: 1992
Runtime: 55:28
Rating: 5/5
Most European power metal fans first heard of Blind Guardian in 1992, when their fourth studio album, »Somewhere Far Beyond«, came out. You can safely say it’s the record that finally nailed down their style and cemented them as a power/prog metal superpower. Even its predecessor, »Tales From the Twilight World« (1990), which made no big splash on release outside Japan, was a huge leap forward in style and maturity, but that was only the beginning of soaking progressive, symphonic and acoustic elements into the Blind Guardian sonic collage. On »Somewhere Far Beyond« Hansi, Andre, Marcus and Thomas waved goodbye to their thrash/speed metal past and went all in on the mystical worlds of epic prog metal, with a clearly audible influence from power/prog metal heavyweights led by Helloween and Savatage. The influence of the legendary Queen was far from negligible either. The latter especially fed the growing presence of epic backing vocals, which started playing an ever bigger role in Blind Guardian’s music, while acoustic and orchestral arrangements finally had the road wide open.
The album holds some of their best-known and most vivid songs. Standing out among them is the most beloved Blind Guardian ballad, »The Bard’s Song (In The Forest)«, which crowds often sing through in its entirety at gigs, along with the mystical »Time What Is Time«, the dramatic »Journey Through the Dark«, the orchestral masterpiece »Theatre of Pain«, the nostalgic »The Quest For Tanelorn« and the epic title track, which is the album’s peak. As in the past, most of the lyrics draw on various fantasy and sci-fi literary masterpieces. That goes right for the opening classic »Time What Is Time«, inspired by the novel/film ‘Blade Runner’ (or, as we call it here, ‘Izstrebljevalec’). Still, the atmosphere of this piece reminds you more of the setting of some fantasy saga than of a dystopian city of the future. A mystical, acoustic intro gives way to a stormy switch into a punchy, distorted section where three-part harmonies kick in over double bass drum, while the multi-voiced chorus is the high point.
»Journey Through the Dark«, whose lyrics refer to the old bard, companion of the hero in Moorcock’s epic ‘Eternal Champion’ saga, is one of the faster songs on the album, with plenty of cataclysmic drum fills, twisting guitar runs and a climax in the epic chorus. »Black Chamber« is a short, wonderfully sung ballad with a dark message. The orchestral epic »Theatre of Pain«, inspired by the fantasy novella ‘The Merman’s Children’, is their first excursion into the world of orchestral power metal. Here Hansi once again shows off his incredible vocal progress and emotional range in ‘telling’ the tragic tale of the downfall of an ancient underwater people. It’s a masterpiece that, thanks to its mighty symphonic arrangements, could easily serve as the soundtrack to one of Peter Jackson’s epic fantasy films, and it’s a real shame film producers never used it, even though there was talk of the possibility for a while.
The mystical masterpiece »The Quest For Tanelorn« marks the band’s third collaboration with the legendary guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray, ex-Helloween, Iron Savior), who didn’t contribute backing vocals this time but still proved himself with a blazing guitar solo. The lyrics refer to events from one of Moorcock’s novels about the hero of the ‘Eternal Champion’ saga, who sets off for the ancient city of Tanelorn. A mysterious intro is followed by alternating punchy and subtle sections, while an almost sacral mood arrives in the middle part. The multi-voiced, epic-nostalgic chorus is one of the best in Blind Guardian history. Many years later they came up with a very fitting sequel to »The Quest For Tanelorn« in the song »Tanelorn«. »Ashes to Ashes« is another epic classic and at the same time the darkest piece on the album, as it touches on the death of Hansi’s father. After an intro reminiscent of the background music of some horror flick, stormy guitar harmonies arrive and the dramatic mood builds up through lively layered vocals. The next two songs are linked to each other. The unforgettable acoustic ballad »The Bard’s Song (In The Forest)«, which they released as a single ten years later, and which every Blind Guardian fan can sing by heart, is perhaps even the band’s most recognizable piece ever, and they play it at every show. With its poignant, folk-tinged acoustic arrangements and Hansi’s outstanding vocal performance, hobbits, elves, dwarves and ents ‘come alive’ again among the hollows of the trees.
Blind Guardian wouldn’t be Blind Guardian if they didn’t draw inspiration from one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works in at least one set of lyrics. That goes for »The Bard’s Song (The Hobbit)«, inspired by Tolkien’s epic novel ‘The Hobbit’, which in structure is in many ways a distorted version of its predecessor »In The Forest«. The triumphant vocal harmonies are sung with incredible feeling, while the guitar harmonies deliver epic drama the whole way through. The mood and lyrics recreate the key events of the aforementioned prelude to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ brilliantly, from the meeting with the trolls to the Battle of the Five Armies. Until the ‘Hobbit’ film trilogy came along, this song was the most successful at bringing the characters and events of that unforgettable fantasy novel to life.
The instrumental »The Piper’s Calling« features a dramatic bagpipe solo. The title track, which doubles as the closer, delivers the triumphant »Sonewhere Far Beyond« climax. This epic masterpiece, whose lyrics touch on the first two parts of the cult fantasy saga ‘The Dark Tower’ from the pen of the legendary Stephen King, is also the most complex piece on »Somewhere Far Beyond«, with plenty of unpredictable twists. Among them, the bagpipe interlude in the middle section and an excellent guitar solo stand out, while the mighty, multi-voiced chorus is yet another chapter all its own.
The three bonus tracks that came out on the original CD version are all interesting too, especially the exceptionally successful cover of the Queen classic »Spread Your Wings«, which is yet another clear proof that Hansi had already grown into a singer worthy of admiration at this stage of his career. »Trial By Fire« is a fun cover of NWOBHM heroes Satan, though with its slightly oriental mood it doesn’t quite fit this album perfectly, while the classic version of »Theatre of Pain«, with even more orchestral arrangements, only strengthens the conviction that this classic would be more than suitable as the soundtrack to a Hollywood take on Tolkien’s works.
With »Somewhere Far Beyond« in the early nineties, Blind Guardian became the leading lights of German power metal, while Helloween slid into an identity crisis and Gamma Ray were still searching for their true sound. That was a remarkable achievement for a young band that had already started fully realizing its big ambitions on the previous album, while »Somewhere Far Beyond« took yet another huge step forward in their constant sonic evolution. Through their music, they began bringing to life various fictional worlds from different literary sources, which only years later made it to the big screen for the first time, and that’s one of the main reasons they quickly started winning more and more fans. Around that time their followers dubbed them the bards of metal, and the label has stuck with them ever since. An ambitious tour followed, peaking in front of fanatical Japanese crowds, and it resulted in their first live album, »The Tokyo Tapes« (1993).
Lineup
Hansi Kürsch – vocals and bass guitar
André Olbrich – lead guitar, rhythm guitar and backing vocals
Marcus Siepen – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar and backing vocals
Thomas “Thomen” Stauch – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Piet Sielck – effects and guitar
Mathias Wiesner – effects and keyboards, plus bass on “Spread Your Wings”
Rolf Köhler, Billy King and Kalle Trapp – backing vocals
Stefan Will – piano
Peter Rübsam – Scottish and Irish bagpipes
Kai Hansen – lead guitar on “The Quest for Tanelorn”
Production
Kalle Trapp
Track list
1. Time What Is Time (5:45)
2. Journey Through The Dark (4:48)
3. Black Chamber (0:58)
4. Theatre Of Pain (4:17)
5. The Quest For Tanelorn (5:56)
6. Ashes To Ashes (6:00)
7. The Bard’s Song: In The Forest (3:10)
8. The Bard’s Song: The Hobbit (3:53)
9. The Piper’s Calling (0:58)
10. Somewhere Far Beyond (7:30)
Bonus tracks:
11. Spread Your Wings (4:15)
12. Trial by Fire (3:44)
13. Theatre of Pain (classic version) (4:14)
