by Kenneth Morton

It’s been four years since their last masterwork A Night At The Opera, and now Blind Guardian has returned with yet another instant classic. A Twist In The Myth is a dynamic collection of power metal tunes that should impress the older fans as well as gain them a whole new set of converts. The band will be returning to North America on tour with Leaves Eyes in support. We had to opportunity to speak with vocalist Hansi Kürsch about their superb new album, the upcoming tour, the Demons & Wizards project he participates in with Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth, and the departure of their longtime drummer Thomas Stauch…

What did you think of the Hollywood show, and just Hollywood overall?
Hollywood is something very special. We had a good amount of people and they were very into the music. They were very familiar with our old stuff as they were with the new stuff. It was a nice show with a good performance, and it was the last show on the US tour. Afterwards, we were relieved! (Laughs) Hollywood was very interesting. Of course, we had all been very exhausted after the touring from all the five weeks at that point. We went to a few clubs – had some good dinner and some good beer and it was very enjoyable.

What can Blind Guardian fans expect when you come back over here with Leaves Eyes to do some shows?
Well first of all, the last time we came, we always used local production. This time the shows will be a little bit bigger, so it seems we will be able to bring some of the European productions of having some moving images and stuff like that, which makes it a more interesting performance for the audience and makes it more visual for everyone. It should be far more intense this time. I expect the audience to be prepared to sing the songs with us.

Here in Los Angeles, you will be playing a much bigger venue this time around, so that’ll be good.
Yeah, I think so too. I have a feeling that this US tour will improve on how big the stages are in North America. It is still not on the same level of the stages we have in Europe or South America, but it’s a decent one and one to build up on.

How does this new album A Twist In The Myth compare to the old Blind Guardian albums?
It certainly stems in the tradition of all the Blind Guardian albums. It contains a lot of the qualities and the musical roots – there is no doubt about that. But on the other hand, it goes in an even further direction. It has a very modern approach and defines the band and how we feel for the Blind Guardian music in 2006, which means it is not a good old-fashioned album, but a very open and very innovative album. I believe we also were able to come up with songs, which are easier to comprehend than the songs on A Night At The Opera. At the same time we followed that direction.

It seems like the average wait for a Blind Guardian CD is four years. Do you sometimes get impatience to have to wait that long to release new material?
(Laughs) It really looks like it, even since Imaginations, it turns out to be more and more obvious that to come up with quality music and improvement of style at the same time, it takes us that long. But just to add to that, it’s really justified for A Twist In The Myth, because you have to consider it was not of course due to songwriter activities – it was more due to touring activities and the last output we have had in between. And I did the Demons & Wizards album in between – so all in all, it just took us two years to accomplish A Twist In The Myth, which is a decent amount of time for the quality of the album. We have very dedicated fans which are willing to wait that long. If not, we would have a problem, but on the other hand, we try to express ourselves as good as possible on each album – which means we need to be satisfied with what we are delivering to the people. And if that’s not the case, we would not release something. And that also means that it takes awhile.

You’ve been working on a Lords Of The Rings project for the past eight years. Could you tell me a little bit about this project?
Yes, it’s orchestral music. It’s Blind Guardian music composed for orchestra. It contains all of the vivid and important elements that we are known for. We started writing these songs during the Nightfall In Middle-Earth sessions. The songs are very melodious and you will easily recognize that it is Blind Guardian music, even though the band is not involved that strong into it. I do the vocals of course, and that makes it a Blind Guardian album.

When do you think this one might be released?
We plan to work on the finalization of it at the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 – which makes it very possible that the album will be released somewhere during the year 2008.

What did you think of the Lord Of The Rings movies and the soundtrack?
I think the movies have been absolutely brilliant, even though they got away from they original spirit of the story sometimes. Peter Jackson did everything necessary to make it a blockbuster, and it’s very enjoyable. The music is great and it fits very well. But I think it could have been a little more outstanding. Some of the elements used in there I’ve heard in other soundtracks already, and that’s the only bad thing I could say about it. Everything apart from that is just brilliant.

Would you ever want to do soundtrack work?
Yes, of course. It’s something very ambitious, and I’m happy we were not involved in the Lord Of The Rings soundtrack, because it would have been too early, and it would take too much time away from our regular albums. But doing something like that is a real challenge, and one fine day I hope we can do so. (Editor’s Note: There were negotiations for Blind Guardian to do soundtrack work for the Lord Of The Rings movies, but this did not come to pass.)

How disappointing was it when Thomas Stauch left the band after 20 years, and what do you think of his new project Savage Circus?
It was necessary – it was not disappointing at all – it was sad. It was really sad that the relationship was not the same that it used to be and that the chemistry was not there anymore. But there was hardly anything you could do against it. It was a well thought consideration from Thomen and the band as well. I believe he needs to find out how it is to be on his own. He certainly will be successful. Savage Circus – I heard a few songs – I think for what they were trying to do, they did very well – but it’s not very original.

Would you ever even consider doing a tour with Savage Circus as the support?
Not really, to be honest. That’s certainly based on the fact that Thomen wanted to be on his own, and he should really experience everything on his own. I doubt that he would be interested in playing with Blind Guardian at the moment.

Would you ever consider doing a tour with Iced Earth or Demons & Wizards together with Blind Guardian?
I prefer Iced Earth and Blind Guardian – most definitely, that would be the perfect solution to set up in almost every country and continent. I mean, the guys are very nice. It is a very ambitious band, and it would be the power metal tour of the year suddenly.

It would be too much work to sing for both Blind Guardian and Demons & Wizards on the same night.
That’s true! But you never know. If such a set up comes to happen, I’m sure we’ll talk about Demons & Wizards. At least having some Demons & Wizards shows at the end of a Blind Guardian show or at the end of an Iced Earth show – whoever headlines. If it comes to happen that Iced Earth and Blind Guardian plays, we’ll find a solution for Demons & Wizards.

Do you think they’ll be a third Demons & Wizards CD, and how did you feel about the second one that came out?
I personally think the second one was stronger than the first one. I sometimes felt it has been underrated for whatever reasons. Many people have said this, but I’ve also spoken to a lot of people who thought it was weaker than the first one. We certainly do want to do another one; it’s just a question of time. If you see my time schedule or Jon’s time frame, it’s very difficult to make that fit in. I would believe that the next Demons & Wizard album will be on the agenda in the year 2010 or 11. We need to do something very special, and I’m sure Jon and I will spend a lot of time together before this album comes out.

When you started Blind Guardian in the mid-80’s, did you even dream that your band would still be going strong in the year 2006?
Yes. We considered it to be a long-term project. Of course, you do not think about the year 2006 in the 80’s, especially not if you’re 18 or 19 years old. It’s the near off future and the present which you are living in, and we try to do so nowadays as well. But when we started and I joined together with André for a band, we both defined our goals. And for both of us, it has been necessary to point out that we were working on a professional level project from the very first moment on. We were willing to sacrifice many things for it. If someone is really that focused, then it’s always an option that things go on for that long.

If you weren’t doing Blind Guardian today, what do you think you would be doing?
I’ve had an answer some days ago when I was thinking about it, but right now I don’t have a clue. Really. It’s open, absolutely. Because I was so focused on the music for the last 20 years – I hardly did anything else apart from that. Before that, I liked reading, so probably I would do something with reading. But apart from that, I don’t have any clue.

Do you have any messages for Blind Guardian fans here in the Los Angeles area?
See you in November. And you can also join us on the other California show, because it’s not that far away.

The Blind Guardian lineup is Hansi Kürsch on vocals, André Olbrich on lead guitar, Marcus Siepen on rhythm guitar, and Frederik Ehmke on drums. A Twist In The Myth will be available in early September from Nuclear Blast Records!

Blind Guardian Links

Blind Guardian: Their Official Home Page!
Nuclear Blast Records USA: The Record Label for Blind Guardian in the States!
Blind Guardian on Myspace: Their Official Myspace Page!
The Highwire Daze Home Page: Return to the Main Page!

Counter