Track Listing
1. Time what is time 2. Journey through the fark 3. Black chamber 4. Theatre of pain 5. The quest for Tanelorn 6. Ashes to ashes 7. The bard's song - In the forest 8. The bard's song - The hobbit 9. The piper's calling 10. Somewhere far beyond Year: 1992 Label: Century Media - Official Site |
Blind Guardian - 'Somewhere far beyond' - By J. Korkiam�ki
Blind Guardian have always had a very clear J.R.R. Tolkien atmosphere, in their visual appearance, in their lyrics, and sometimes you can almost associate the acoustic melodies with the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. This atmosphere created the band�s fourth full length album Somewhere Far Beyond, from which I hold in my hand a CD version promoted with a couple of bonus tracks. The two previous albums being without doubt the "creme de la creme" of German power metal, some would expect Somewhere Far Beyond to be a huge disappointment, knowing the way Helloween, for example, went their own commercial highway to hell a year before with the Pink Bubbles Go Ape album, and knowing what have happened to many bands after they have gained some global knowledge. But luckily, Somewhere Far Beyond doesn�t betray a fan. Somewhere Far Beyond does a fantastic job melting together some faster songs ("Time What Is Time", "Ashes To Ashes", "Somewhere Far Beyond") and some softer, mellow ones ("Black Chamber", "Theatre Of Pain", "The Bard�s Song � In The Forest") and in all of the songs you can clearly hear the impact of Tolkien�s influence on the band�s music. On Somewhere Far Beyond Blind Guardian�s music isn�t speed metal anymore, or true metal, it�s fantasy metal, where the band has put in some exotical elements, like bagpipes, to get the correct atmosphere. And what masterpieces the album contains! "The Bard�s Song � In The Forest", when you think about it, is the climax of the album; a beautiful, acoustic ballad, which is followed by the electric version "The Bard�s Song � The Hobbit", with different lyrics. The band doesn�t fail in faster songs, of course. "Somewhere Far Beyond" and "Journey Through The Dark" are examples of songs, that the and would�ve been proud of during the worst moments of Battalions Of Fear. The only songs, that should�ve been added in as bonus tracks or something, are the short heart opening "Black Chamber" and the song previous to "Somewhere Far Beyond", the bagpipe instrumental "The Piper�s Calling". Maybe they�re not bad and are in for the mentioned atmosphere, but compared to the other songs, they sound like fillers, and don�t create the same effect they probably would somewhere else. On the CD version of the album, there are three bonus tracks. The first one is the awesome cover version of Queen�s "Spread Your Wings", where the epic choir used often by Blind Guardian shows a different side of itself. Although "Spread Your Wings" has really "made it" as a cover song, it can�t possibly beat the infernally fast and fantastic cover version of "Trial By Fire", originally performed by the English underground legends Satan. For trivia and for straightening up who the f**k is Satan; Satan was active in halfway 80�s, then for obvious reasons changed their name to Blind Fury, then Pariah, and nowadays the band�s guitarist Steve Ramsey and bass player Graeme English play in Skyclad, which should globally be a lot more familiar band. Well, back into Blind Guardian. The last bonus track is a sinfonic version of the album�s great song "Theatre of Pain", that is a bit more heavy and a bit better than the more traditional piece. Somewhere Far Beyond still isn�t Blind Guardian�s best album, but a terrific follow-up for its predecessors and well, the first album that I got from the band, so I guess it�s inspired me just a little, to get more of the material, I mean. They are fantastic musicians, all of them, although their unorthodox, crampy style maybe doesn�t please everyone�s ear. But enough about those who don�t or probably won�t like the album. This is a great purchase for the band�s and Tolkien�s fans. Metal Obsessive Grade: 90% |