Somewhere Far Beyond has all the elements of classic Blind Guardian: fantasy and horror-story tracks inspired by the likes of J.R.R.
Tolkien and Stephen King; speedy double-bass riffing; and searing melodic vocals punctuated by anthemic group choruses.
Bassist/vocalist Hansi Kürsch seems to possess several different voices, which serve his band's dynamic purposes well.
From regal tales of dragon warfare ("The Bard's Song: The Hobbit,") to minstrel ballads ("The Bard's Song: In the Forest,") to Blind Guardian's trademark early-'90s speed metal matrix of hyper riffs and melodic multi-voiced choruses ("Journey Through the Dark," "Ashes to Ashes," and "Somewhere Far Beyond,") every pompous, excessive base is covered.
Practically unknown in America, Blind Guardian had grown into quite a formidable metal outfit by the time of this 1992 release.
The coming world-wide revival of '80s-influenced European metal certainly did their burgeoning career no harm and the group began penetrating the U.S.
market.
This delighted many old-school metal fans tired of the fake anger, pasty hip-hop posturing, and overall uniformity of American "hard" music.
With plenty of great performances, challenging material, and some wicked guitar playing, Somewhere Far Beyond is a cornerstone of Blind Guardian's sizable reputation.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Time What Is TimeAndré Olbrich | Blind Guardian | Play | 05:45 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 2 | Journey Through the DarkHansi Kürsch, André Olbrich | Blind Guardian | Play | 04:48 | 10 MB | 34 MB |
| 3 | Black Chamber | Blind Guardian | Play | 00:58 | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| 4 | Theatre of PainAndré Olbrich | Blind Guardian | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 5 | The Quest for TanelornAndré Olbrich, Marcus Siepen | Blind Guardian, Kai Hansen | Play | 05:56 | 13 MB | 39 MB |
| 6 | Ashes to AshesAndré Olbrich | Blind Guardian | Play | 06:00 | 13 MB | 43 MB |
| 7 | The Piper's CallingAndré Olbrich | Blind Guardian | Play | 00:58 | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| 8 | Somewhere Far BeyondAndré Olbrich | Blind Guardian | Play | 07:30 | 17 MB | 53 MB |
| 9 | Spread Your WingsJohn Deacon | Blind Guardian | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 10 | Trial by Fire | Blind Guardian | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 11 | Theatre of PainAndré Olbrich | Blind Guardian | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 12 | The Bard's Song - In The Forest | Blind Guardian | Play | 03:10 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 13 | The Bard's Song - The Hobbit | Blind Guardian | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 14 | Theatre Of Pain (Classic Version) | Blind Guardian | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 59 mins | 137 MB | |||||
| 59 mins | 404 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blind Guardian | Primary Artist |
| 2 | John Deacon | Composer |
| 3 | Becker Derouet Hamburg | Cover Painting |
| 4 | Kai Hansen | Guitar, Primary Artist |
| 5 | Billy King | Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | Rolf Kohler | Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Hansi Kürsch | Bass, Composer, Vocals |
| 8 | Andreas Marschall | Cover Painting |
| 9 | Tom Nagy | Photography |
| 10 | André Olbrich | Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Rhythm, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 11 | Peter Ruebsam | Bagpipes |
| 12 | Piet Sielck | Effects, Engineer, Guitar |
| 13 | Armin "Magnus" Siepen | Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Marcus Siepen | Composer |
| 15 | Thomen Stauch | Drums |
| 16 | Kalle Trapp | Engineer, Mixing, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Matthias Wiesner | Bass, Effects |
| 18 | Stefan Will | Piano |
| 19 | Stephanie Will | Piano |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |