Warthur Somewhere far beyond takes the approach of Tales From the Twilight World, diversifies the sound a little, and continues down the usual Blind Guardian path of endearingly dorky fantasy fiction references wrapped in power metal riffs. This time around, the band sound more confident than ever - perhaps at points verging on the pretentious, but power metal is one of those genres which benefits from time to time from a little bit of megalomania - and the inclusion of some elements of folk metal makes it a bit less homogeneous than previous albums from the group. On the whole, the early 1990s was a very exciting time to be a Blind Guardian fan, thanks precisely to albums like this.

adg211288 Somewhere Far Beyond is without any doubt Blind Guardian at their very finest and indeed their most diverse. Sitting nicely between the speed metal days and their newer, more progressively inclined material, it is the Blind Guardian album that has something for everyone.

To begin the album we have two speed metal songs, the first one Time What is Time beginning with some acoustics before launching into an instant Blind Guardian classic. Journey Through the Dark continues the pace and if anything gets the album going even faster. The chorus of this song is particularly epic “You're the mystical old bard on your journey through the dark”. Hansi Kursch delivers with true vocal power here, in a standard that is set for the whole album.

Black Chamber doesn’t even clock in at a full minute, and is just Hansi singing with piano. It’s a nice enough piece but is over so fast you don’t have much time to appreciate it. In a way it’s almost as if it’s there to allow you to take a breather after the two speed metal anthems that is Time What is Time and Journey Through the Dark.

Theater or Pain and The Quest for Tanelorn are heavy songs again but neither has the pace of the first two songs, showing signs of Blind Guardian’s shift from speed to power metal. They are however no less epic for it. Hansi shines on Theater of Pain and later track Ashes to Ashes.

Later there is the two part track The Bard’s Song. The first, In the Forest is a light acoustic piece more akin to the bands track Lord of the Rings from the previous album Tales From the Twilight World. The second part, The Hobbit gets the album going heavier again. Both are good in their own right.

The Piper’s Calling is another interlude. No vocals this time, just bagpipes. Yeah bagpipes. Yet for some reason doesn’t sound out of place on the album.

But they save a monster of a track for last, the title track, Somewhere Far Beyond. This is Blind Guardian at their most epic. A seven and a half minute mix of speed, power, prog and folk metal, topped off with Hansi’s incredible vocals. A very strong way to close their best album, Somewhere Far Beyond is an album which will have you going back to it for many years to come. A true must have not just for Blind Guardian fans, but for metal fans in general. Even with its bagpipe surprises this album is faultless in every aspect, vocals, guitars, bass, drums, lyrics, production, you name it, Somewhere Far Beyond has got it. Overall it's not quite my favourite Blind Guardian release, but it is the second in what I consider their trio of masterpieces. Essential.

(Review originally written for Heavy Metal Haven)

Conor Fynes 'Somewhere Far Beyond' - Blind Guardian (7/10)

Up until this point, Blind Guardian was more or less a speed metal band with some fantasy- themed lyrics and content. It was really not until this album that Blind Guardian made a name for themselves as being masters of their genre. It's a classic for power metal, and a great album in general. 'Somewhere Far Beyond' also has progressive significance, and it was the first album where Blind Guardian started to have some forward-thinking in terms of their musical style.

Despite the fact that Blind Guardian was starting to experiment, this is still first and foremost; a power metal album. Being a casual fan of the genre, I really liked it, although I could understand a purely progressive listener not appreciating it.

While the complexity hasn't reached the levels that 'Nightfall In Middle Earth' and especially 'A Night At The Opera' reached, there's songwriting skill here that was not seen in previous releases. Multilayered vocals, impressive melodic playing and machine-gun guitar riffs all function to create a feeling of 'epicness.' Songs like 'The Bard Song' and the Blade Runner themed 'Time What Is Time' are very memorable, energetic tracks. The album doesn't have the resonance to warrant it being called a masterpiece, but it's very good and all fans of the band should be able to appreciate it as being a great album.

Time Signature The guitarist's calling...

Genre: power metal / speed metal

One of my favorite metal albums, "Somewhere Far Beyond" is a quite magnificent power metal album which successfully combines the epicness of power metal with the fast picking of speed metal; it is also, with its acoustic sections, compositional dynamics and semi-complex song structures, progressively inclined without really being a progressive metal album at all.

I really don't think that there are any weak moments on this album. There are some cheesy moments, but, hey, it's power metal. Anyway, it never becomes too cheesy (well, "Black Chamber" comes pretty close, though). There are several things that make this album interesting to listen too: catchy choruses, catchy guitar melodies, guitar riffs galore, Hansi Kursch's voice, unusual song structures, bagpipe sections and just the pure energy from the speed metal and thrash metal elements that are on this album.

As I said, I don't think there really are any weak moments, but there are a couple of songs that deserve to be highlighted such as "Time What is Time", "Journey Through the Dark", "Quest for Tanelorn", "Ashes to Ashes" and the title track, which are fast and epic speed/power metal tracks, and "Theatre of Pain" which is more melodic and more in the vein of traditional heavy metal.

This album should hit the spot for power metal fans, but I can imagine that some fans of traditional metal and thrash metal might also like it.