Blind Guardian относительно уникальны в том смысле, что в период с 1987 по 2005 годы состав группы не менялся: в него входили Ханси Кюрш (вокалист и, до 1998 г., бас-гитарист), гитаристы Андре Ольбрих и Маркус Зипен и барабанщик Томен Штаух. В 2005 году Штаух покинул группу; его заменил Фредерик Эмке.
Группа, изначально называвшаяся Lucifer’s Heritage (что переводится как «Наследие Люцифера»), была образована в 1984 году гитаристом Андре Ольбрихом и бас-гитаристом Ханси Кюршем. Первое время состав группы несколько раз менялся: Маркус Дорк (гитара) и Томен Штаух (ударные) уступили места, соответственно, Кристофу Тийсену и Хансу-Петеру Фраю, но оба эти музыканта покинули группу в течение года. Состав устоялся лишь в 1987 году, когда в Lucifer’s Heritage влились остатки группы Reedemer — Маркус Зипен и снова Томен Штаух.
После нескольких попыток найти вокалиста (один концерт группа отыграла с неким Томасом Келльнерсом, и осталась недовольна), эта обязанность закрепилась за поющим басистом Ханси. На деньги бабушки Андре группа записала две демо-записи: «Symphonies of Doom» и «Battalions of Fear», — благодаря которым (особенно последней) им удалось заключить контракт с лейблом No Remorse Records. Продюсером и звукорежиссёром группы стал Калле Трапп.
Чтобы избежать ассоциаций с сатанизмом, музыканты решили изменить название группы. «В течение нескольких дней мы назывались Battery — по одной из песен Metallica, но наши друзья убедили нас, что это не самая лучшая идея. Другим вариантом было название Raging Waters, в честь известной песни «Testament», — вспоминает Ханси.
В итоге было принято предложение Кюрша назваться Blind Guardian по собственной песне «Guardian of the Blind», под которым она известна и сейчас. Буквальный перевод названия — оксюморон «Слепой страж», но по словам музыкантов, они трактуют название скорее как «Слепой поводырь». «В моём воображении, «слепой поводырь» — это человек, на котором лежит ответственность за других людей, ведущий за собой. Который превосходит других, несмотря на своё физическое увечье», — говорит Ханси.
Первый альбом группы, «Battalions of Fear» (1988), состоял наполовину из песен с одноимённого демо и продемонстрировал ощутимое влияние ранних работ Helloween в стиле спид-метал. Туда также вошли гитарные вариации Андре на классические симфонии Антонина Дворжака. Годом позже был выпущен «Follow the Blind» (1989), более тяжёлый и, по словам музыкантов, с уклоном в трэш-метал. В записи альбома принял участие лидер Helloween Кай Хансен в качестве третьего гитариста и бэк-вокалиста. Blind Guardian начали набирать популярность в Германии.
Широкую известность Blind Guardian принёс их третий альбом «Tales from the Twilight World» (1990), ознаменовавший смещение в сторону пауэр-метала и начало выработки собственного звучания Blind Guardian, для которого характерно использование хоровых партий и общее достаточно «эпическое» настроение. На этом альбоме также участвовал Кай Хансен, уже ушедший из Helloween в собственный проект Gamma Ray. Вскоре после выхода «Tales…» группа подписала контракт с крупным лейблом Virgin Records, на котором в 1992 году вышел четвёртый альбом «Somewhere Far Beyond» тиражом 130 тысяч экземпляров. Благодаря «Tales…» и «Somewhere…» Blind Guardian стали весьма популярны в Японии, где был записан их первый концертный альбом «Tokyo Tales» (1993).
Новым продюсером Blind Guardian стал Флемминг Расмуссен, ранее работавший с Metallica на альбомах Master of Puppets и And Justice for All. В сотрудничестве с ним в 1995 году группа выпустила свой п
When the moonchild is crying And silence has broken The darkest truth
The things she remembered Had never been her own Replicant or human? I know the way to show
What do I see? What will I find? Know the answer inside It’s your last step
Tim
e what is time I wish I knew how to tell you why It hurts to know, aren’t we machines?
Time what is time Unlock the door and see the truth Then time is time again
Whispering These dreams were never mine It’s cold inside
It’s gone forever The things he saw Who can say what’s wrong or right? The vision of a free life
His eyes had seen it all For what he’s asking The vision, vision, vision I know it’s all a lie
I’ll remember his past life And I’ll remember time
What did I see? What have I done? God, I knew the answers When he felt so tired
Time what is time Come lock the door, don’t let me in I am the one, your destiny
Time what is time Reality, it hurts me so When time is time again
Look into my eyes Feel the fear just for a while I’m a replicant And I love to live
Is it all over now? Only these years I’ll leave but I’m singing
Time what is time He saw it clearly, it’s too late It does not heal but it lets us forget
Time what is time We’ll never know so don’t take care Then time is time again
Should I forget the way I feel? God, he knows how long I tried Feel there is no reason to cry I live my life in fortune dreams forever
Journey through the dark
Many songs I’ve written About the things I saw My inner soul’s a wasteland I can’t run away from here
Try to find them All the lost thoughts in my mind I woke up on a hill so many times before Yesterday seems like a dream no more
Frozen memories laughing They don’t let me find the truth Am I born to be a king? Or a jester of the fools?
You’re the mystical old bard On your journey through the dark Mystical old bard Your journey through the dark
I can’t remember my name I never knew how to find my home I can’t remember my name Come tell me where will it end
I’m the chosen one To perform all these things But not for me In illusions and reality
I’m on my journey through the dark I’m on my journey through the dark
You’re the mystical old bard On your journey through the dark Mystical old bard Your journey through the dark
I can’t remember my name Will I ever find myself? The distance is growing My hope has gone away
A flash of light but nothing changes When will it end? Which part of me remains?
Soon I’ll be back On my ferryboat of tales Where oblivion reigns It will take all of me
You’re the mystical old bard On your journey through the dark Mystical old bard Your journey through the dark
I am lost in the black chamber There’s no way to turn back It takes me down forevermore And death would be so sweet
I’m possessed by the old creature Who had planned all to take my soul
Too late for me In my hands it lies, I thought But I failed Now he’s in me
My soul is lost In his black chamber
The giant’s lost and all around him Destructed, for what? They all knew what it meant But they couldn’t change it
Lord, they had gone too far Leave them alone
It’s all gone, what is left behind On a desert we called earth? When the last whale went away Did they ever see the tears?
Don’t fear your last step From the theatre of pain And the children will love Your singing from the sea
The sea is calling Now we’ve to leave it
The sea was clear on the day I was stranded Answers I’d known To keep this all alive But I can’t change it forever
Now I’m gone And it seems that life had never existed So we left the dark and cold All I left behind are my tears
Don’t fear your last step From the theatre of pain And the children will love Your singing from the sea
The sea is calling I hear them calling
The quest for Tanelorn
By the ruins he stands And he’s waiting for me to enter Tanelorn His paths seems strange but they’re always planned Seldom he succeeds about his own fate
He tries to conquer it again and again But at last he’s almost a ruined man Not a king or god, who’s searching for A place called Tanelorn far beyond your dreams
On our quest for Tanelorn We lose our way On our quest for Tanelorn
He’s waiting He’s waiting for me He’s waiting He’s waiting for me
Darkness falling down on me Darkness, the eternal battle rises I know the answers although they don’t exist I’m just a mortal illusion
On our quest for Tanelorn We lose our way On our quest for Tanelorn
So I’m his companion through space and through time His eternal servant, he’s calling me So I must leave to any life To another world far beyond your dreams
To know the truth just for a while He’s longing for a place where he can find himself Deliverance, it could be everywhere How can he find?
He’s waiting for me and for you Tanelorn
On our quest for Tanelorn We lose our way On our quest for Tanelorn We lose our way
On our quest for Tanelorn We lose our way On our quest for Tanelorn We’re left alone
Taste the poison Feel that this is life Hallowed be the game
Of life and innocence God’s waiting for him Join us at the road to fate There are no two paths
Feel the pain which steps into his life Agony, he’ll be crucified Death awaits, knocking at his door Agony, leave him
The clock will strike the end Hell or heaven? Reflect and fade away
Ashes to ashes Dust to dust The life clock strikes and you obey Like a candle light that fades
Ashes to ashes Dust to dust When the life clock strikes you will obey Time isn’t here to stay
Ashes to ashes Dust to dust The life clock strikes and you obey A light shows the right way
Morning is whispering in my head Too late to say goodbye Too late, the last breath’s done Deliverance at all
He’s born to find this end I am the one, the one who’s calling Obey my call to the cemetary
And don’t be afraid to step into the dark Be sure that my voice will take you home
Ashes to ashes Dust to dust The life clock strikes and you obey Like a candle light that fades
Ashes to ashes Dust to dust When the life clock strikes you will obey Time isn’t here to stay
No hope, he’d waited so long This can’t be god’s will He surrendered long ago There was no real chance
Ashes to ashes And dust will be dust Ashes to ashes You all will be dust again
The clock had struck the end Up to heaven Reflexions fade away
Ashes to ashes Dust to dust The life clock strikes and you obey Like a candle light that fades
Ashes to ashes Dust to dust When the life clock strikes you will obey Time isn’t here to stay
Ashes to ashes Dust to dust The life clock strikes and you obey A light shows the right way
Taste the poison Feel that this is life Hallowed be the game
The bard’s song: In the forest
Now you all know The bards and their songs
When hours have gone by I’ll close my eyes In a world far away we may meet again But now hear my song About the dawn of the night
Let’s sing the bard’s song
Tomorrow will take us away Far from home No one will ever know our names But the bard’s songs will remain
Tomorrow will take it away The fear of today It will be gone Due to our magic songs
There’s only one song left in my mind Tales of a brave man who lived far from here Now the bard songs are over And it’s time to leave
No one should ask you for the name of the one Who tells the story
Tomorrow will take us away Far from home No one will ever know our names But the bards songs will remain
Tomorrow all will be known And you’re not alone So don’t be afraid in the dark and cold ‘Cause the bards songs will remain
They all will remain
In my thoughts and in my dreams They’re always in my mind These songs of hobbits, dwarves and men And elves, come close your eyes
You can see them too
The bard’s song: The hobbit
Out in the distance There’s so much gold The treasure that I’ve found Is more than enough
Far to be the hill we’ve to go Over the mountain and seas
To the old hill where the old dragon sleeps Blind in the dark dungeon’s night So god, please, take me away from here And Gollum shows the way right out
The dying dragon brought trouble and pain And horror to the halls of stone I’ll take the mighty stone And leave the dwarves behind
Ice and fire and forest we passed And horror in the halls of stone
Trolls in the dark, the dawn took them all Caught in the wood by the wooden kings men But now I’m alone ’cause I’ve made up my mind By the spell of gold
The king under the mountain Will risk the great war Oh, what a fool He’s losing control
So I am trying to find a way Blind in the dark dungeon’s night Then darkness comes from the northern side And Thorin clears his mind
The piper’s calling
Somewhere far beyond
I came from far beyond your reality The ocean of time, it’s the odyssey of mine I am the narrator and now I’ll tell you Where I’ve been and what I saw and how it ends
Welcome to the wasteland In a world which is turning faster Where I’m alone for a while It’s turning faster
Away from light, straight to the dark The march of time, it has begun I’m caught in an ancient dream so bright And then the march of time begins
The man in black, he waits behind this last task It’s full of pain, to sacrifice the only son The legions of the lost wait in the old mine They try to stop me, the battle, it has begun
So I’m not afraid To walk down to the wasteland I’m so alone on my way And I don’t fear that dusty god forsaken path
Somewhere far beyond
Somewhere far beyond The march of time, it has begun Somewhere far beyond your reality And then the march of time begins
Look at my soul and behind There are some things I’ve to hide from you I’m following the black man, I’m losing control And I don’t care what’s happening to the boy
Welcome to the new world One more step to the dark tower And my whole body’s in flames
I’m looking for those healing things to be prepared The march of time, it has begun I’m caught in a prisoner’s dirty life And then the march of time begins
The prisoner did bring the healing spell The queen of shadows found herself in pain And death brings answers to us all
What will I find when the dark tower appears? Will it be the end or just a new quest after all? I am the narrator and now I’ll tell you Where I’d been and what I saw and how it ends
Somewhere far beyond The march of time, it has begun Somewhere far beyond your reality And then the march of time begins
Somewhere far beyond The march of time, it has begun Somewhere far beyond your reality And then the march of time begins
Look around and see The world is turning fast Faster day by day
Somewhere far beyond I’ll try to change it if I can Somewhere far beyond There’s only one chance and it lies
Somewhere far beyond Somewhere far beyond The march of time, it has begun The march of time, it has begun
Sammy was low, just watching the show Over and over again Knew it was time he’d made up his mind To leave his dead life behind
His boss said to him: «Boy, you’d better begin To get those crazy notions right out of your head» Sammy, who do you think that you are? You should’ve been sweeping up the Emerald bar
Spread your wings and fly away Fly away, far away Spread your little wings and fly away Fly away, far away
Pull yourself together ’cause you know you should do better That’s because you’re a free man
He spends his evenings alone in his hotel room Keeping his thoughts to himself, he’d be leaving soon Wishing he was miles and miles away Nothing in this world, nothing would make him stay
Since he was small had no luck at all Nothing came easy to him Now it was time he’d made up his mind «This could be my last chance»
His boss said to him: «Now listen, boy! You’re always dreaming You’ve got no real ambition, you won’t get very far» Sammy, boy, don’t you know who you are? Why can’t you be happy at the Emerald bar?
So honey, spread your wings and fly away Fly away, far away Spread your little wings and fly away Fly away, far away
Pull yourself together ’cause you know you should do better That’s because you’re a free man
Come on, honey! Fly with me
In one hundred forty five The year it came to be Their fate decided Many miles accross the sea
They told them not to fear They couldn’t be prepared Then came the day That not a single soul was spared
The men of power Had nothing to fear When the finger hits the switch They’re far away from here
Down in their sanctuary Hidding in their lair The sorcerers of justice Will be waiting for them there
I saw the people running Through all my dreams I heard the soldiers crying Mother nature screams
I saw destruction falling From out of the sky I heard the wise man calling Why?
In one hundred forty five The year it came to be Their fate decided Many miles accross the sea
They told them not to fear They couldn’t be prepared Then came the day That not a single soul was spared
