Follow the Blind

Follow The Blind
Studio album by Blind Guardian
Released	October 25, 1989
Recorded	January-February 1989 at Karo Studios, Münster, West Germany
Genre	Speed metal, Power metal
Length	42:00
Label	No Remorse, Virgin, Century Media
Producer	Kalle Trapp
Blind Guardian chronology
Battalions of Fear (1988) Follow the Blind (1989) Tales From the Twilight World (1990)

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Follow the Blind is the second full-length album from the German metal band Blind Guardian, released in 1989. The album is more in the vein of speed metal, compared to the style that would later define the band's unique sound. According to guitarist Marcus Siepen, "When we were doing Follow the Blind we were listening to a lot of thrash metal bands like Testament or Forbidden, and that's why Follow the Blind was a bit heavier".^[2] The album was remastered, remixed and re-released on 15 June 2007, with the whole second demo tape, Battalions of Fear, of the band (at the time called Lucifer's Heritage) as part of the bonus tracks.

The opening track "Inquisition" is a repetition of the Latin phrase Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem (O sweet Lord Jesus, grant them rest in English) chanted as it would be by monks. The phrase forms part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, and is also identical to that which is chanted by the monks in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray and ex-Helloween sings in the song "Valhalla".

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Lineup 2.1 Band 2.2 Personnel 3 Lyrical References 4 References

Track listing

Words and music by Blind Guardian, except "Barbara Ann" by Fred Fassert

1. "Inquisition" – 0:40
2. "Banish from Sanctuary" – 5:27
3. "Damned for All Time" – 4:57
4. "Follow the Blind" – 7:10
5. "Hall of the King" – 4:16
6. "Fast to Madness" – 5:57
7. "Beyond the Ice" – 3:28
8. "Valhalla" – 4:56
9. "Barbara Ann" (The Regents and Beach Boys cover) – 1:43

• Bonus Track

10. "Don't Break the Circle" (Demon cover) – 4:28

• 2007 Re-release Bonus Tracks

11. "Majesty" (Demo Version) – 7:16

12. "Trial by the Archon" (Demo Version) – 3:53

13. "Battalions of Fear" (Demo Version) – 6:21

14. "Run for the Night" (Demo Version) – 4:29

Note: the 2007 re-release and other special releases have "Barbara Ann" moved to the 10th position, and the bonus track "Don't Break the Circle" being on 9th position. "Don't Break the Circle" was also featured on the cassette version. On the vinyl version, "Valhalla" was followed by "Barbara Ann".

Lineup

Band

• Hansi Kürsch - vocals and bass
• André Olbrich - lead guitar and backing vocals
• Marcus Siepen - rhythm guitar and backing vocals
• Thomas "Thomen" Stauch - drums

Personnel

• Kai Hansen - vocals on "Valhalla", Guest Guitar solo on Hall of the King.
• Kalle Trapp – recording, mixing and producing
• van Waay Design – cover painting

Lyrical References

• "Inquisition" is a version of the Pie Jesu motet.
• "Damned for All Time" and "Fast to Madness" are based on Michael Moorcock's characters from Eternal Champion series.
• "Banish from Sanctuary" is based on the life of John the Baptist.
• "Follow the Blind" is based on Stephen King & Peter Straub's The Talisman.
• "Hall of the King" is about the faith and being faithful.
• "Valhalla" is about the Valhalla, where warriors fallen in battle go to live with the gods, in Norse mythology.
• "Fast to Madness" contains reference to Elric of Melniboné, the doomed albino Emperor of Melniboné, who finds Stormbringer, a sword created by Chaos, which causes him to be alienated from his close friends and his family, taking souls from each of them, eventually even taking his own soul for fulfilling the hunger of Stormbringer

References

Blind Guardian Hansi Kürsch · André Olbrich  · Marcus Siepen · Frederik Ehmke Thomen Stauch · Markus Dörk · Christof Theißen · Hans-Peter Frey session/touring member: Oliver Holzwarth Studio albums Battalions of Fear (1988) · Follow the Blind (1989) · Tales from the Twilight World (1990) · Somewhere Far Beyond (1992) · Imaginations from the Other Side (1995) · Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998) · A Night at the Opera (2002) · A Twist in the Myth (2006) · At the Edge of Time (2010) Live albums Tokyo Tales (1993) · Live (2003) Compilations The Forgotten Tales (1996) · Memories of a Time to Come (2012) Singles "A Past and Future Secret" (1995) · "Bright Eyes" (1995) · "Mr. Sandman" (1996) · "Mirror Mirror" (1998) · "And Then There Was Silence" (2001) · "The Bard's Song (In the Forest)" (2003) · "Fly" (2006) · "Another Stranger Me" (2007) · "A Voice in the Dark" (2010) DVDs Imaginations Through the Looking Glass (2004) · TBA (2012/2013) Other Discography · Demons and Wizards