Somewhere Far Beyond

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Somewhere Far Beyond
Studio album by Blind Guardian
Released	June 29th, 1992
Recorded	March-May 1992 Karo Studios
Genre	Power metal, speed metal
Length	55:28
Label	Virgin/Century Media
Producer	Kalle Trapp
Professional reviews
Sound Of Metal link All Music Guide link
Blind Guardian chronology
Tales from the Twilight World (1990) Somewhere Far Beyond (1992) Imaginations from the Other Side (1995)

Somewhere Far Beyond is the fourth studio-album by German Power/Speed-Metal act Blind Guardian. It was released in 1992 and produced by Kalle Trapp. The cover artwork was created by Andreas Marschall, who has also drawn the artwork for some more of Blind Guardian's releases (Tales from the Twilight World, Nightfall in Middle-Earth, etc.). The album saw the band creating its own original sound, while still employing some of their speed/power metal techniques. The strong songwriting of the album (including fan favorite The Bard's Song) made the album a power metal staple. The image of the cover and the two Bard's Songs gave the band its nickname "The Bards". The use of the nickname has been also extended to the fans of the group, Circle of the Bards being the now defunct fan club and Hansi frequently calling the fans Bards.

The album was acclaimed by power metal fans all across Europe and especially Japan, allowing them to tour for the first time outside Germany. The tour in the Far East led to the first live album of the band, Tokyo Tales.

Remastered and re-released on 15th June 2007, with bonus tracks.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Lineup 3 Guest musicians 4 Personnel 5 Lyrical references

[edit] Track listing

1. "Time What is Time" – 5:42
2. "Journey Through the Dark" – 4:45
3. "Black Chamber" – 0:56
4. "Theatre of Pain" – 4:15
5. "The Quest for Tanelorn" – 5:53
6. "Ashes to Ashes" – 5:58
7. "The Bard's Song (In the Forest)" – 3:09
8. "The Bard's Song (The Hobbit)" – 3:52
9. "The Piper's Calling" – 0:58
10. "Somewhere Far Beyond" – 7:28

• Bonus Tracks

11. "Spread Your Wings" (Queen cover) – 4:13

12. "Trial By Fire" (Satan cover) – 3:42

13. "Theatre of Pain" (Classic version) – 4:13

• 2007 Re-release Bonus Tracks

14. "Ashes to Ashes" (Demo Version) – 5.51

15. "Time What is Time" (Demo Version)

Note: the 2007 re-release has all the previous bonus tracks, although they are not listed as such.

[edit] Lineup

• Hansi Kürsch – vocals and bass
• André Olbrich – lead, rhythm, acoustic guitars and backing vocals
• Marcus Siepen – rhythm, acoustic guitars and backing vocals
• Thomas "Thomen" Stauch – drums

[edit] Guest musicians

• Piet Sielck - effects and guitars
• Mathias Wiesner - effects and bass on "Spread Your Wings"
• Rolfi Köhler, Billy King and Kalle Trapp - backing vocals
• Stefan Will - piano
• Peter Rübsam - Scottish and Irish bagpipes
• Kai Hansen - lead guitar on "The Quest for Tanelorn"

[edit] Personnel

• Kalle Trapp - producing, mixing and recording
• Piet Sielck - second engineer
• Andreas Marschall/Becker - Derouet Hamburg - cover paintings
• Tom Nagy - photo
• a•r•t•p•o•o•l - graphics

[edit] Lyrical references

• "Time What is Time" lyrics are widely inspired by the film Blade Runner.
• "Journey Through the Dark" is about Jerry Cornelius, bard and companion of the Eternal Champion, from the books by Michael Moorcock.
• "Black Chamber" is based on Twin Peaks.
• "Theatre of Pain" is based on fantasy novel The Merman's Children by Poul Anderson
• "Quest for Tanelorn" is based on the works of Michael Moorcock (Tanelorn being a fictional city in The Multiverse of Moorcock's stories).
• "Ashes to Ashes" has several notes to the story of Dr. Faustus, referencing to Faustus's remorese in the final scenes of the play
• "The Bard's Song (In the Forest)" also contains a short reference to the Middle-Earth legendarium, though probably more as a lead in to the next song.
• "The Bard's Song (The Hobbit)" is based on the J. R. R. Tolkien The Hobbit.
• "Somewhere Far Beyond" is based on Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

v • d • e Blind Guardian Hansi Kürsch | André Olbrich  | Marcus Siepen | Frederik Ehmke Former members Thomen Stauch | Markus Dörk | Christof Theißen | Hans-Peter Frey Demo albums as Lucifer's Heritage Symphonies of Doom | Battalions of Fear Studio albums Battalions of Fear | Follow the Blind | Tales from the Twilight World | Somewhere Far Beyond | Imaginations from the Other Side | Nightfall in Middle-Earth | A Night at the Opera | A Twist in the Myth Live albums Tokyo Tales | Live Compilations The Forgotten Tales Singles "A Past and Future Secret" | "Bright Eyes" | "Mr. Sandman" | "Mirror Mirror" | "And Then There Was Silence" | "The Bard's Song (In the Forest)" | "Fly" | "Another Stranger Me" DVDs Imaginations Through the Looking Glass