Awesome, but why not don't do it whit first five or etleast Battalions Of Fear and Follow The Blind?

I agree, if there were one Blind Guardian album I'd like to see re-recorded, it would likely be one of the first two - probably Battalions Of Fear, as it has great songwriting already and I'd be curious to hear what they could do to polish it up. Somewhere Far Beyond is an odd choice as it's already perfect.

These projects are so often unflattering because of the time lapse. Hansi's voice is still in excellent shape now, as you can hear on The God Machine (and live), but the original Somewhere Far Beyond features some of the best vocal work of his career, and his voice has noticeably changed since then. Plus, back in the '90s, Blind Guardian had some fantastic backing vocalists - not only their regular chorus roster of Billy King, Rolf Kohler, Hacky Hackmann, and Olaf Senkbeil, who have always added a wonderful flavor to the backing vocals, but also Kai Hansen, Ronnie Atkins, and Piet Sielck, who occasionally contributed lead vocals, guitars, and production, so there was a great confluence of talent that helped make those albums special. I wonder how many of them would or could have returned to this project, or whether that was something BG considered. Not that they would have had an obligation to, it just causes me to reflect on how different this will likely sound, and while I'm sure that's the whole point, this is a risky gamble that not too many artists altogether benefit from.

Somewhere Far Beyond was, in my opinion, their first masterpiece, and it's one of my all-time favorite albums. I'm curious, maybe, but this just had a special sound that I think was unique to that point in time, and I'm not eager to hear it all redone. "The Quest For Tanelorn" sounds interesting, and certainly not bad, but I don't think it's something I needed.

Written by ScreamingSteelUS on 07.06.2024 at 17:53

I agree, if there were one Blind Guardian album I'd like to see re-recorded, it would likely be one of the first two - probably Battalions Of Fear, as it has great songwriting already and I'd be curious to hear what they could do to polish it up. Somewhere Far Beyond is an odd choice as it's already perfect.

Pretty much agree with everything here; this album had a perfect sound for what they were doing that didn't need an update; in contrast, I don't know for sure whether my general struggles in engaging with their first two albums (with a couple of exception songs, specifically Majesty and Banished From Sanctuary) are due to the songwriting or the unrefined production, so I would be very intrigued to hear an updated version with a bit more bombast in the production. I doubt I will bother listening to this tbh

I thought exactly the same last year about Paradise Lost when they released their remastered anniversary edition of Icon, but this baffles me even more so. I mean why try and perfect a sound that's pretty much already perfect The live tracks sound far more interesting to me, but still not interesting enough to go out of my way to listen to tbh.

Considering their recent releases I don't think this re-recording will be what I want it to be, but I do think the original could be improved on in terms of production.

Edit: I listened to the one song they shared. Well, the thing I like least about the original is the drum sound, but I don't like the drums on this new version either.

Somewhere Far Beyond was with me for almost 20 years and will remain for the rest of my life. It's a very special record for me. So, my first thought about this re-record was: "why?". After listening to the new "The Quest For Tanelorn" I can say, well, it's good, very good, but no way near as great as the original. It's a flawless performance of an amazing song with top-notch production, but, there is no nostalgia, no personal connection, no "magic". So, I'm looking for live recordings and videos - it's going to be awesome! I'm still very curious how the re-recorded album will sound as a whole, but, considering the time, effort and money put into this work - I want to talk about hypothetical studio projects that would make me much more excited, such as:

1. New album, duh, or EP, if it's not enough new material.

2. Re-recorded Metal version of Legacy Of The Dark Lands, which has huge potential as a "standard" Blind Guardian album.

3. Re-recorded version of Battalions Of Fear or/and Follow The Blind.

4. Re-recorded compilation, like they did on the Memories Of A Time To Come, but with more songs.


So yeah, it's a strange one, but hey, at least we are gonna have a fourth studio version of "The Bard's Song (In The Forest)".