SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND

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What a nice acoustic guitar fills in classical mode which opens this album through "Time What Is Time" which then flows beautifully in fast tempo accompanying Hansi Kursch's singing style. The guitar sound has emerged into what later became the trademark of Blind Guardian's music. "Journey Through The Dark" continues heavy riffs music with a faster speed than the opening track. "Black Chamber" starts mellow with lead singer and piano work. It's a nice opening with great piano notes. The lead vocal singing style is awesome. "Theater of Pain" starts with the sound of keyboard followed with drum and symphonic multi-layered keyboard. It's a nice song combining good guitar riffs and keyboard. "Ashes to Ashes" demonstrates true sound of Blind Guardian especially on singing style and guitar melody / solo.

"The Bard's Song" has become legendary track which comprises two tracks: "In The Forest" and "The Hobbit". It starts with excellent acoustic guitar work. The vocal and backing vocal harmonies are really good. The Hobbit is a true power metal song. "The Piper's Calling" sounds like a traditional (Scotland?) music melody which reminds me to "Braveheart" movie. It serves as a bridge to the title track "Somewhere Far Beyond". My CD contains two bonus tracks: "Trial By Fire" and "Theater of Pain" (Classic version).

This album is recommended for those who can appreciate power metal music. The overall album is more on power metal with no prog element at all. That's okay. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Typical German Power Metal with fantasy lyrics is what Somewhere Far Beyond is known for. Much like their three previous efforts this album don´t hold much of interest for prog fans.

The Album starts with the powerful tune Time What is Time which is rather fast paced, and continues with a mix of heavy songs and more folky slower songs. All delievered Blind Guardian style which is elaborate and bombastic, with lots of Guitar and vocal layers and choir ( their style was not fully developed yet, and would be more and more bombastic through the later albums).

I´ll have to mention the very weak track Spread Your Wings, which I find to be ridiculous, and I find it to be a really bad decision that Blind Guardian included this song on the album. What´s with that mood ? This is way too cheesy for me.

The production is not my cup of tea as I find it hollow. The musicians are brilliant and the ideas behind most of the compositions are terrific, but I think something is lacking, if I should give more than 3 stars.

This is an ok album, and if you like Power metal ( the german variant) this might please you more than it pleases me.

BLIND GUARDIAN are of course the legendary Power-Metal band from Germany. And while this isn't my favourite Metal sub-genre by a long shot, I must admit this release did impress me. This isn't Speed Metal from beginning to end either as they impliment some pleasant acoustic passages and tempo variations. The vocalist is also really good which helps a lot. It's kind of cool as well that they take 8 stories from 8 authors and present their take on them here. Notice the 8 guys on the front cover gathered around (in the woods) telling stories and playing music.

"Time What Is Time" opens with intricate and gentle acoustic guitar, which is flattened by a wall of heaviness. The heaviness pulls back some when the vocals arrive. Then it kicks back in. This really kicks ass! I really like his vocals when he's not yelling, but they're are great either way. A killer guitar solo before 3 minutes as drums pound relentlessly. Another guitar solo a minute later. The song ends with synths,reserved vocals and acoustic guitar. Nice. "Journey Through The Dark "absolutely smokes ! It hits the ground running and it's on fire. Some vocal harmonies in this one. A ripping guitar solo after 2 1/2 minutes.This is one of my favourites on the album. It doesn't let up.I have to say right here that the lyrics are very well done and are an interesting read. "Black Chamber" features vocals and piano melodies for about a minute. "Theater Of Pain" opens with some orchestral sounds before a beautiful guitar solo comes in. It's tasteful and one of my favourites on here. Vocals arrive and a great beat follows. Orchestral moments are sprinkled in throughout this song. Synths are prominant at times. Harmonies too.

"The Quest For Tanelorn" is an amazing tune. It opens with gentle guitar and some faint crying guitar as as well.Vocals arrive. Heavy riffs a minute in. Yes! A guitar solo follows as vocals come back and the tempo picks up.Harmonies join in on the chorus. Nice. Guest guitarist Kai Jensen then comes in firing away on his guitar. He will deliver 3 more solos before this song ends. He's played with HELLOWEEN, IRON SAVIOR, PRIMAL FEAR and GAMMA RAY, and guested on ANGRA's "Angel's Cry". "Ashes To Ashes" is quite dark to open before a punishing sound comes in, including some ripping guitar. I really like when they sing "Ashes to ashes dust to dust" as the heavy, fast paced riffs are played. Check out the guitar before 4 minutes. "The Bard's Song : In The Forest" is the first part of the two part song. This one opens with beautiful guitar as vocals come in. Harmonies too. This is a great folk song. "The Bard's Song : The Hobbit" is crushingly heavy to open, but it doesn't stay that heavy. Nice guitar solo 2 1/2 minutes in. It ends as the first part began with some gentle guitar. "The Piper's Calling" is a very short Scottish bagpipe passage. "Somewhere Far Beyond" is the epic really. Fast paced drums and guitar as vocals come in quickly. Some fantastic guitar after 3 minutes. Some Irish bagpipes come in. More amazing guitar before 5 minutes. I like on the chorus when the backup singers sing "Somewhere far beyond" while the lead singer screams out his words at the same time. This song really rocks out ! It's relentless.

Lots to like here I just wish I was more into Power-Metal.

'Somewhere Far Beyond' - Blind Guardian (7/10)

Up until this point, Blind Guardian was more or less a speed metal band with some fantasy- themed lyrics and content. It was really not until this album that Blind Guardian made a name for themselves as being masters of their genre. It's a classic for power metal, and a great album in general. 'Somewhere Far Beyond' also has progressive significance, and it was the first album where Blind Guardian started to have some forward-thinking in terms of their musical style.

Despite the fact that Blind Guardian was starting to experiment, this is still first and foremost; a power metal album. Being a casual fan of the genre, I really liked it, although I could understand a purely progressive listener not appreciating it.

While the complexity hasn't reached the levels that 'Nightfall In Middle Earth' and especially 'A Night At The Opera' reached, there's songwriting skill here that was not seen in previous releases. Multilayered vocals, impressive melodic playing and machine-gun guitar riffs all function to create a feeling of 'epicness.' Songs like 'The Bard Song' and the Blade Runner themed 'Time What Is Time' are very memorable, energetic tracks. The album doesn't have the progressive resonance to warrant it being called a prog masterpiece, but it's very good and all fans of the band should be able to appreciate it as being a great album.

High energy, razor sharp riffing, and screamiing vocals make this an enjoyable, if overall lightweight entry into the early prog-metal genre. It might be more accurate to describe Blind Guardian as prog-speed metal, since the group's songs here are built around precise twin guitar riffing which burns a speedy pace through most of the album. While Somewhere Far Beyond is definitely a guitar lovers' record, the group flexes its song writing skills somewhat with the inclusion of acoustic interludes with a medieval feel, as well as the occasional dynamic shift mid-song, which adds an element of artistry that elevates it above the group's more conventional peers. Technically speaking, this album is par for the course when compared to other prog-metal releases, but the band's sound is unique enough to keep things exciting.

The main attraction here is the energy, punctuated in the killer display of instrumental skill in the opener, the non-stop shredfest of "Jouirney Through the Dark", and the spooky mood in "Ashes to Ashes". There is an epic feel to most of these songs, giving it an air of power metal. The vocalist, Hansi Kürsch, adds a lot to the feel of the band as well, his powerful voice consisting mostly of a gravelly scream that is relentless in its delivery.

However, the album's schtick wears thin by the halfway piont, with the second "Bard's Song" sending the record into a nose dive that crashes with the bizzare "Spread Your Wings"-- which sounds like the group is covering an Elton John tune. This, and the general feeling of sameness which blasts through most of the first half, makes Somewhere Far Beyond an entertaining if flawed experience. A good metal album, but clearly missing something to make it a great one.

Songwriting: 2 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 3

Somewhere far beyond takes the approach of Tales From the Twilight World, diversifies the sound a little, and continues down the usual Blind Guardian path of endearingly dorky fantasy fiction references wrapped in power metal riffs. This time around, the band sound more confident than ever - perhaps at points verging on the pretentious, but power metal is one of those genres which benefits from time to time from a little bit of megalomania - and the inclusion of some elements of folk metal makes it a bit less homogeneous than previous albums from the group. On the whole, the early 1990s was a very exciting time to be a Blind Guardian fan, thanks precisely to albums like this.