Hansi Kürsch

Hansi Kürsch
Background information
Birth name Hans Jürgen Kürsch
Born 10 August 1966 (1966-08-10) (age 45)
Lank-Latum, Germany
Genres Heavy metal, power metal, speed metal, progressive metal
Instruments Vocals, bass
Years active 1984–present
Labels No Remorse, Virgin, Century Media, Nuclear Blast, SPV GmbH
Associated acts Blind Guardian, Demons and Wizards, Edguy, Ayreon, Kai Hansen

Hans Jürgen Kürsch, better known as Hansi Kürsch (born 10 August 1966 in Lank-Latum, Germany) is a German musician, the lead vocalist and lyricist of power metal band Blind Guardian. Together with André Olbrich, he is also the principal songwriter for the band. He was also the bassist in Blind Guardian until the 1998 album Nightfall in Middle-Earth. He also provides lead vocals for the band Demons and Wizards.

Contents

History

A signature of Kürsch's songwriting is his practice of overdubbing his own voice multiple times in complex, overlapping harmonies on his recordings, creating the atmosphere of a huge choir. The track "Chant" on the first Demons and Wizards album is vocal only, in the style of a traditional Gregorian Chant; Kürsch's is the only voice on the song.

Kürsch's lyrics revolve around various themes prevalent in the power metal genre, including medieval fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, religious/mythological tales, and legends/stories, both his own and from the literary world. Many of his lyrics also exude a dark, cynical, and negative feel, spoken from a first-person perspective. His lyrics in the first Demons and Wizards album tackle even darker themes, telling tales of death, deception, and evil, whereas "Touched by the Crimson King" was based primarily off different fantasy novels.[1]

Kürsch has also recorded two albums for his side project with Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth, Demons and Wizards.

Guest appearances

Hansi has done guest vocals on the following albums, in the following songs (listed chronologically):

References

External links