Band:

Blind Guardian

BiografieCommonly the development of any band is judged by the means of their studio albums. But in case of Blind Guardian it´s definitely worth to cast a glance at the dimensions of the live activities in order to appraise the development of the musicians. And these have no peer, not only in Germany!



Already the first live shows of the quartet, which was founded in 1984, showed one thing: Blind Guardian has entertainment qualities, which quickly became a trade mark.



Spontaneous acting on corresponding situations build a contrast to all the bands that tried hard to deliver their studied ballet. Logical that the first big tour took place shortly after the release of the debut album "BATTALIONS OF FEAR" (1988).



From this first tour on, the guys from Krefeld alredy had between 150 and 300 fans an evening. After the release of the second album "FOLLOW THE BLIND" (1989) an appendix operation put singer (and at that time also bass player) Hansi Kürsch out of action. The consequence: Reluctingly, the band had to abandon the plan to tour again. But in the following years Blind Guardian catched up on the missed tours with an impressing intensity. Especially because the third output "TALES FROM THE TWILIGHT WORLD" (1990) came as a real bombshell, the interest in concerts of the band got bigger and bigger. In Germany Blind Guardian toured three weeks and each concert was attented by 500 to 800 people. Shortly after this the first external-commitment was possible. "SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND" (1992) then fueled the flames of success for the four guys: For the first time in the history of Blind Guardian one of their albums was on top of the international charts - the guys became stars in Japan overnight. The first trip to Far East was also the highlight of the career of the band so far: In Japan, the quartet played in front of 4.000 enthused fans and was able to taste the mega rock star atmosphere for the first time.



The Impressions that the first live album "TOKYO TALES" (1993) gave the fans also showed how strong and special the relationship between the band and audience is. A unique symbiosis which makes every Blind Guardian concert magical.



After the release of "IMAGINATIONS FROM THE OTHER SIDE" (1995) the band toured in whole europe - some countries were even visited several times. In some large cities up to 3000 fans came to see the show. "In Japan, we gave one concert more than on the last tour. On the way back, we had the next culture shock as we were the third Heavy Metal band after Metallica and Bon Jovi to play in Thailand. Right after we left the plane, we got some sort of hawaii-chaplets from the salutation committee. On our drive from the airport into town we were escorted by the police. Our bus hat a stereo outside, so thad everyone in the streets could hear our music. We felt like gods on earth!" guitar player Olbrich remembers.



On the entertaining "THE FORGOTTEN TALES" (1996) album Blind Guardian made good for something they forgot on the "TOKYO TALES": For the first time the ineffably atmosphere of the classic "The Bard´s Song - In The Forest" was presented in a live version.



In 1998 the triumphal procession continued with "NIGHTFALL IN MIDDLE-EARTH". In Europe the band toured even more then before. For the first time the fans chorused "Nightfall" and "Mirror Mirror" like battle hymns. But the peak of the tour was the trip to Middle- and Southamerica (Mexiko, Brasil and Argentinia)...



Nevertheless the tentative high point in the career of Blind Guardian was the "A NIGHT AT THE OPERA" crusade. Andre Olbrich: "In Germany we had an average of 2.000 guests an evening, whereas the gig in the Phillipshalle (Düsseldorf), attended by over 6.000 fans, was the most touching moment to date. After we played "The Bard´s Song", the traditional highlight of our program, Hansi wasn´t able to communicate with the audience for about five minutes because the jubilation was so loud."



This pathetic scene is evidenced by the live documentation simply called "LIVE". The Guardian-mania was spread all over the globe: In Turkey and Chile the band debuted in front of more than 3.000 spectators. The first concert in the captial of Russia, Moscow, went so off so terrific that the local publicist obliged the band for another concert after the official end of the tour. In England - normally a trickily terrain for traditional Metal bands, especially if they are from Germany - Blind Guardian were engaged as headliner for the Bloodstock festival. And even the first trip to North America was more successful than expected: "In big towns like New York, Los Angeles, Chigago or Montreal, 1.500 to 2.000 maniacs came to our shows!"



In 2003 the fresh founded Blind Guardian Open Air Festival - which took place near Coburg - was the triumphal ending of the tour activities for "A Night At The Opera". For the first time, the band was responsible for the complete realization of a festival. More than 6000 enthusiatic "die hard" bards attended the festival in june, which wrote music history. Highlights full of atmosphere of these ultimate Blind Guardian shows can be watched on the live DVD "Imaginations Through The Looking Glass" (2004). Even classics like "The Bard´s Song" redefine itself because of the innovative camera perspectives and the tasteful used tracking shots sliding over the audience which gives the songs a mystical depth. The strongest effect is caused by the 13 minutes opus "And Then There Was Silence" (from "A Night At The Opera"): The perfect assembly of light and camera causes endless gooseflesh atmosphere.



Before the phenomenal crusade in music business can write the next chapters, as is generally known, the gods placed the sweat. After the departure form their longstanding record company Virgin in 2004, Blind Guardian was able to find the perfect partner for worldwide coorporation in Nuclear Blast. Despite the split with drummer Thomen Stauch, the band is the final phase of songwriting for the follower of "A NIGHT AT THE OPERA". The new songs can described as consequent further development of the predecessors. The outstanding qualities of the music of Blind Guardian: bombast, flexibility, dynamics, epos, hardness and a high amount of catchy melodies are descriptions of every song to be found on the new album, which is expected for April 2006. In brief the band will start the recordings with producer Charlie Bauerfeind...Quelle: http://www.nuclearblast.de/band_showa.php?action=bio&artist=714Discografie1988 - Battalions Of Fear

1989 - Follow The Blind

1991 - Tales From The Twilight World

1992 - Somewhere Far Beyond

1993 - Tokyo Tales (live)

1995 - Imaginations From The Other Side

1996 - The Forgotten Tales (Compilation)

1998 - Nightfall In Middle-Earth

2002 - A Night At The Opera

2003 - Live

2004 - Imaginations Through The Looking Glass (DVD)

2006 - A Twist In The Myth
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Interviews

Blind Guardian_1
Dienstag 11.12.2012
Ich hatte die Gelegenheit, mich per Telefon mit Gitarrist Marcus Siepen von der deutschen Metal-Legende BLIND GUARDIAN zu unterhalten und so einiges spannendes erfahren – aber lest selber!
Blind Guardian_1
Donnerstag 28.06.2007
Wenn es eine deutsche Metal-Band gibt, bei der Klasse statt Masse produziert wird, dann sind das BLIND GUARDIAN.
Donnerstag 13.05.2004
Das Medium DVD hat nun auch Deutschlands größten Metal - Export BLIND GUARDIAN erreicht und eine vorab verschickte, zusammen geschnittene VHS - Version lässt auf einen wahren Oberhammer der audiovisuellen Momentaufnahme eines Karrierehighlights schließen.
Mittwoch 21.07.1999
Andre und Marcus von Blind Guardian waren im Rock Hard Chat. Da haben wir sie doch gleich mal ein bisschen löchern müssen...
Blind Guardian_1
Dienstag 10.09.2002
Auf der "A Night At The Opera"-Tour bekamen wir Blind-Guardian Trommler Thomen "The Omen" Stauch vors Mikrofon. Der auskunftsfreudige Kreefelder sprach mit Metal-Inside über die erfolgreiche Tour, das aktuelle Album und die treuen Fans der Band.

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Konzertberichte

Donnerstag 15.06.2017
Es war so weit: Das ROCKFELS FFESTIVAL ging nun in die dritte Runde und fand an drei vollen Tagen vom 15.6.2017 bis zum 17.06.2017 statt.
Donnerstag 04.08.2016

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Reviews

A Night At The Opera - Cover
Fast vier Jahre lang haben die Blind Guardian Fans des neuen Studioalbums der Band harren müssen.
A Traveler's Guide To Space And Time - Cover
BLIND GUARDIAN machen lange Musik – seit 1984 um genau zu sein. Eine ganze Reihe an Studioalben, eine unzählige Masse an Liveauftritten und ein bemerkenswert rapider
TIPP
And Then There Was Silence - Cover
Was lange währt, wird endlich gut, so sagt der Volksmund.
Live - Cover
So, hier ist es also nun, das langerwartete Doppel-Livealbum der Blinden Gardinen aus Krefeld.

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Tourdaten

Band Termin Land / Ort / Location
Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian
2015-04-10
2015-04-11
2015-04-15
2015-04-21
2015-04-23
2015-04-24
2015-04-25
2015-04-26
2015-04-28
2015-04-30
2015-05-01
2015-05-02
NL-Tilburg - O13
B-Antwerps - Ho ter Loo
FR-Strasburg - La Laiterie
CH-Pratteln - Z7
Trier - Europa Halle
Frankfurt - Batschkapp
Düsseldorf - Mitsubishi Electric Halle
Bamberg - Brose Arena
München - Zenith
Leipzig - Haus Auensee
Stuttgart - Liederhalle Beethoven Saal
Hamburg - O2 Arena