Blind Guardian
„Somewhere Far Beyond – Revisited“
Power Metal, Speed Metal. LP, Repress, Gatefold. 2024 (1992).

The album "Somewhere Far Beyond" is the fourth album by the German band Blind Guardian, officially founded in 1987. "Somewhere Far Beyond" marks the shift in style from pure speed metal to bombastic power metal with keyboards and choirs, which continued throughout their subsequent albums. Here, I'm reviewing the vinyl reissue released in 2024.

SFB (Somewhere Far Beyond) is generally considered one of Blind Guardian's best releases. The band thrives on the powerful playing and versatile voice of singer Hansi Kürsch. The vocals are particularly evident in the acoustic song "The Bard Song – In The Forrest." For me, it's a wonderful break from the power metal sound.

Current cast
Hansi Kürsch – Vocals
Marcus Siepen – Guitar
André Olbrich – Guitar
Frederik Ehmke – Drums

The songs are inspired by literary role models. “Time What Is Time” is about the film Blade Runner and its original “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick. “The Quest For Tanelorn” is based on the “Eternal Hero” by British sci-fi/fantasy author Michael Moorcock. J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” served as inspiration for the acoustic “The Bard Song – In The Forrest,” which fans can sing along alone.. “The Bard Song – The Hobbit” is also based on Tolkien’s work, in this case “The Hobbit.” “Somewhere Far Beyond,” in turn, refers to “The Tower” by Stephen King. All 10 songs on the vinyl version went down well and still sound fresh 32 years later.

“Revisited” is a remaster of the original album from 1992. Compared to its “rougher” charm, the sound is clearer and more distinct, with fewer edges. I personally prefer the remaster, precisely because everything sounds more “modern”. Which is not to say that the original recording is bad in any way. Which leads us to the question of whether the remaster is really necessary. First and foremost, it’s about business, because the original was excellently recorded. Nevertheless, I think it’s good that there are more choices. And this remaster succeeds in doing so; we’ve heard a lot worse. If you have the original, you’re already very well served. I listened to both albums and decided on the remaster. For me, Blind Guardian is one of the best German metal bands and “Somewhere Far Beyond” is their masterpiece.

The photos are all from my LP. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.