Information AboutBlind Guardian |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BLIND GUARDIAN | |
| german heavy metal musical groups | |
| speed metal musical groups | |
| power metal musical groups | |
| quartets | |
| middle-earth music | |
| musical groups established in 1985 | |
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 Legend s and Epic s. Over the years, a running theme has developed associating the band members with traveling Bard s. 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 ). 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. 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. 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 Choir s and sometimes Orchestra l arrangements, heavily influenced by the English rock band '' Queen ''. Blind Guardian's music features the Staccato Guitars and double Bass Drum ming characteristic of power metal, as well as the use of Overdub s 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 "A New Twist in the Blind Guardian Legacy" by Kenneth Morton and Andre. Andre Olbrich phone interview; April 08, 2006 LINE-UP Band members
Former members
Guest musicians
DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Blind Guardian discography Studio Albums
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