Blind Guardian

A Traveler's Guide to Space and Time is a first box set by German power metal band Blind Guardian. It contains 15 CDs and covers the bands discography during the so-called Virgin years, between 1988 and 2004…

Undisputed kings of symphonic power metal BLIND GUARDIAN have been beavering away at a brand new project, and it is finally here for all to enjoy. But know this, true believers: the new project isn’t the same epic power metal band we know and love. It is, instead, the BLIND GUARDIAN TWILIGHT ORCHESTRA. It’s a whole new thing, and in collaboration with celebrated German fantasy author Markus Heitz, they have brought to light a fantasy tale of epic proportions in the form of Legacy of the Dark Lands…

Complete with anthemic choruses, spoken word story lines, and plenty of bombastic power metal punctuating every dramatic turn, Nightfall in Middle-Earth is perhaps Blind Guardian's most triumphant effort. After spending ten years and numerous releases building a large following in Europe and Japan, Blind Guardian took on the task of creating this progressive concept record based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Silmarillion. The story recounts events from the first age of Middle-Earth, Tolkien's parallel world that serves as the mythological backdrop for his classic Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Blind Guardian interpretation features bassist/vocalist Hansi Kürsch's first-person character portrayals and narrations of the medieval quest for truth and glory…

The German power metal unit's tenth studio album and first since 2010's At the Edge of Time, Beyond the Red Mirror is being billed as a sequel to 1995's much-loved Imaginations from the Other Side, but listeners need not be versed in that sci-fi/fantasy narrative to enjoy the ride, as per usual, Blind Guardian lets the music do most of the talking. Sparing no expense, the band enlisted two full 90-piece orchestras and three international choirs (Prague, Budapest, and Boston), but unlike some of their symphony-loving peers, the window dressing is integrated tastefully, allowing the veteran band's well-established technical skill set to shine through…

Over the years, metal has demonstrated that it can be quite flexible, incorporating everything from punk (thrash metal, death metal, black metal) to hip-hop (rap-metal) to goth-rock (gothic metal) to traditional European folk (folk-metal). And on At the Edge of Time, Blind Guardian's influences range from Euro-folk to classical to progressive rock; the end result is a fairly diverse album, which is not to say that the disc is groundbreaking by 21st century standards. These German power metal/progressive metal veterans have been around since the mid-'80s, and whether they are being influenced by Euro-classical or Euro-folk, At the Edge of Time maintains a stubbornly pre-'90s outlook - both musically and lyrically. The lyrics are strictly fantasy-based, as were so many pre-‘90s metal lyrics - and when they incorporate Euro-folk on occasion, they don't do it in the black metal-ish or death metal-ish way that, say, Finntroll do…

Somewhere Far Beyond has all the elements of classic Blind Guardian: fantasy and horror-story tracks inspired by the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien and Stephen King; speedy double-bass riffing; and searing melodic vocals punctuated by anthemic group choruses. Bassist/vocalist Hansi Kürsch seems to possess several different voices, which serve his band's dynamic purposes well. From regal tales of dragon warfare ("The Bard's Song: The Hobbit,") to minstrel ballads ("The Bard's Song: In the Forest,") to Blind Guardian's trademark early-'90s speed metal matrix of hyper riffs and melodic multi-voiced choruses ("Journey Through the Dark," "Ashes to Ashes," and "Somewhere Far Beyond,") every pompous, excessive base is covered…

Follow the Blind is the second full-length album from the German metal band Blind Guardian. It was released in 1989 and is more in the vein of speed metal, compared to the style that would later define the band's unique sound. According to guitarist Marcus Siepen, "When we were doing Follow the Blind we were listening to a lot of thrash metal bands like Testament or Forbidden, and that's why Follow the Blind was a bit heavier".[6] The album was remastered, remixed and re-released on 15 June 2007, with the whole second demo tape, Battalions of Fear, of the band (at the time called Lucifer's Heritage) as part of the bonus tracks.

Tales from the Twilight World is the third studio album by Blind Guardian, released in 1990 by Blind Guardian. The cover artwork was created by Andreas Marschall, who has drawn the artwork for some of Blind Guardian's other releases (Somewhere Far Beyond, Nightfall in Middle-Earth, etc.). It was remastered and re-released on 15 June 2007, with bonus tracks.

Japanese Edition with 2 bonus tracks.
Imaginations from the Other Side teams Blind Guardian with Metallica producer Flemming Rasmussen. Since Blind Guardian was always somewhat influenced by Metallica, the match is a natural one, and results in one of the band's better albums, balancing the epic, neo-classical elements of their sound nicely with the power metal grooves. The band's compositional skill reaches its peak on Imaginations, making it their best and most complex work to date.