Blind Guardian is a power metal (and more recently epic metal) band started in the mid-1980s in Krefeld, Germany. Before calling themselves Blind Guardian, the band released a demo under the name Lucifer's Heritage in 1986.

From the very beginning, Blind Guardian have been inspired by the fictional worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien and other fantasy authors, as well as traditional legends and epics. The 1998 album Nightfall in Middle-Earth, for example, is a concept album based on Tolkien's The Silmarillion, while the 2002 album A Night at the Opera features a 14-minute song about the Trojan War, titled "And Then There Was Silence." Over the years, a running theme has developed associating the band members with traveling bards.

Blind Guardian's music is characterized by the classic fast guitars and double bass drumming of power metal, but is relatively unique in its use of overdubs to create an extremely dense, "epic" sound. This technique, especially notable in the guitar and vocal tracks, creates the impression of a vast army of musicians playing in unison and singing in harmony. Considering the already anthemic and singalong quality of their choruses, it is unsurprising that the band's 2003 live album, Live , sounded much like their studio recordings: although the overdubs of vocalist Hansi Kürsch were lost, the live audience reproduced them faithfully and enthusiastically. On several occasions the audience has been known to sing along even to André Olbrich's guitar solos.

Blind Guardian's popularity has continued to grow from an initial following in Europe and Japan to one of the most well-known power metal bands in the world. The single for "And Then There Was Silence," for example, reached #1 in Spain and #7 in Canada, despite its length.

Together with Jon Schaffer - leader and founder of Iced Earth - Kürsch is part of a side project called Demons and Wizards.

They are relatively unique in that until April of 2005 (a twenty year period), the band's original lineup did not change. However, due to differing musical preference, their long time drummer Thomen Stauch exited the band.

Band Members

• Hansi Kürsch - lead singer and (formerly) bass
• André Olbrich - guitars
• Marcus Siepen - guitars
• Oliver Holzwarth - bass (touring member)
• Micheal "Mi" Schuren - Keyboards (touring member)

Former Members

• Thomas "Thomen" Stauch - drums (1986-2005)

Discography

• Lucifer's Heritage (demo) (1986)
• Battalions of Fear (1988)
• Follow the Blind (1989)
• Tales from the Twilight World (1990)
• Somewhere Far Beyond (1992)
• Tokyo Tales (1993)
• Imaginations From the Other Side (1995)
• The Forgotten Tales (1996)
• Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998)
• A Night at the Opera (2002)
• Live (2003)
• Imaginations Through the Looking Glass (DVD) (2004)

External links

• Official homepage