Style: Power/speed metal
Primary Emotions/Themes: There comes a time in everyone's life when they are faced with a decision, a decision to stay in youthful ways or accept their fate and become an adult.
Thoughts: Blind Guardian. A name that is held in high regard by those who listen to metal and in many cases those who do not. They are one of those bands that reach well beyond the genre that they are in and garner fans from all demographics of life. It's not uncommon to see someone wearing a Cradle of Filth shirt standing next to someone in a suit at a Blind Guardian. I've seen that more than once.
Early Guardian is unapologetically speed metal. Everything is played as fast as possible and there is little variation between songs. The quality is there though. The riffs are catchy and they make great songs for live performances. That's not what Blind Guardian are known for though. In my experience the three 90's albums are the holy trinity of albums from the band.
Somewhere Far Beyond is the start of their golden era. It retains the speed metal of the early releases while transitioning into something else. Something larger... more grandiose... this is the transition where Guardian went from speed metal to the massive sound that they would have on the next few albums.
Right off the bat Time What is Time introduces us to their new sound. Like almost every album at the time it has an acoustic intro that mirrors the main riff of the song. When the song comes in the band wastes no time blowing my socks off with the intensity of the riff... but something is different.
Instead of going straight into the speed metal riff fest the band slows down with an acoustic break with a distorted lead. It gives the song just a little bit of pause... letting the listener catch up and appreciate what is happening. The band uses the bridge to speed things up with their trademark speedy power chords. Even here though we have interesting leads and choirs - all staples of the later releases, but they are new here.
The band does rip things wide open with the chorus. Whole note power chords played over a spastic back beat gives it almost a thrash like feel. It's the climax of one of the better songs on the album. The band has begun to show that they are capable of more than just speed.
This continues throughout the album. You have scorchers like Journey Through The Dark and Ashes to Ashes, but you also have more off kilter songs like Black Chamber and Theater of Pain. Both of the latter songs are decidedly more keyboard driven than anything the band has done in the past.
That leaves the title track. This thing is something special. Brought in by The Piper's Calling - a triumphant bagpipe introduction to one of Blind Guardians best songs. It's the longest song on the album by far and goes through many twits and turns before its nearly eight minutes concludes. I won't spoil any of it here, it needs to be heard to be fully appreciated.
Somewhere Far Beyond is either my favorite or second favorite Blind Guardian album depending on the orientation of the sun and planets. I go between this and Nightfall. Sometimes this one blows me away unlike anything else, other times Nightfall does the same. I should just say screw it and say they are equal... yes actually lets do just that. This is Blind Guardian's best album, a title also shared with Nightfall in Middle Earth.
Written May 10th 2024
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