«Somewhere Far Beyond» is the fourth album by Blind Guardian and it came out on 29 June 1992 through Virgin. It was recorded between February and May 1992 at Karo Studios, with Kalle Trapp producing. The lineup is Hansi Kürsch on vocals and bass, André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen on guitars and Thomen Stauch on drums.
“`Country: Germany
Genre: Power Metal
For fans of: Helloween, Running Wild, Gamma Ray
On this record the band found its own sound while keeping the fast, melodic side of speed metal. The cover was painted by Andreas Marschall, who had already worked on their previous releases.
The standouts are «Time What Is Time», «Journey Through the Dark» and the two «The Bard’s Song» pieces, which earned the band the nickname «The Bards». Their fans became the «Circle of the Bards».
«The Piper’s Calling» and the title track use bagpipes, which gives the album a distinctive, fairy-tale colour.
The lyrics draw on literature and cinema: «Time What Is Time» is based on Blade Runner, «Journey Through the Dark» on Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion and «The Bard’s Song – The Hobbit» on Tolkien’s work.
Before «Somewhere Far Beyond», Blind Guardian had released three albums, from «Battalions of Fear» in 1988 to «Tales from the Twilight World» in 1990, building their sound step by step. The record was the first step towards the more epic, multi-layered compositions that would peak with «Imaginations from the Other Side». The band went further down that road on Blind Guardian – Nightfall in Middle-Earth.
The album was especially loved in Europe and Japan, where the band toured outside Germany for the first time. That tour of the Far East led to their first live album, «Tokyo Tales». «Somewhere Far Beyond» was reissued in remastered form in 2007 with extra tracks.
See also: Blind Guardian – The God Machine and Powerwolf – Wake Up the Wicked.
