Back in 1992, German Blind Guardian release probably the most important album of their career, “Somewhere Far Beyond”! An album that, in my opinion, was the nodal point between their background and their future career. This release was the occasion for the undersigned (that would be me) to discover this incredible power metal band. I still recall the radio producer of a well-known, back then, Greek metal radio show making a prologue about “Time What Is Time” and my first contact with Blind guardian taking place.

The album made it to attract a major attention from the fans plus it recruited many new fans as well. It also gave Blind Guardian the chance to get out of the borders and tour for the first time out of Germany, performing in a front of a different audience. The band also toured in Japan – the result was they released their fist live album “Tokyo Tales” the next year, 1993.

Those days, the vinyl was still in the metal heads’ routine while the cd was only starting to gain ground gradually – at least in the Greek market. The cd was more attractive due to the bonus tracks that it included. So, the cd version of “Somewhere Far Beyond” offered the classic version of “Theatre Of Pain” and two more bonus tracks, "Spread Your Wings" and "Trial By Fire"! The “Theatre Of Pain” – classic version - is, in my opinion, one of the top compositions and inspirations of the band up to our days and it remains my favorite Blind Guardian song. “The Bard’s Song (In The Forest)” was the ballad of the album and it is one of the best and most typical Blind Guardian songs ever. The title track with its entirety of 7 ½ minutes also brought out the composing abilities of the band, with its clever turns between the guitar parts and the vocal lines which contribute to a total, metal masterpiece! The highlights list goes on with the track “Journey Through The Dark”, a “dynamite” that blows you away. Blind Guardian had made the big “break” and they became more and more famous to the metal community.

The amazing cover of the album was created by Andreas Marschall (who has designed more covers for albums of the band, such as “Tales From The Twilight World”, “Imaginations From The Other Side”, “Nightfall In Middle Earth”, as well as he has designed more great covers for other bands like Hammerfall, UDO, Sodom, Kreator, Stratovarius, Grave Digger…) and it contributes to the transcendent quality of this album. An album that simply made history…

Tracklist:

01. Time What Is Time
02. Journey Through The Dark
03. Black Chamber
04. Theatre Of Pain
05. The Quest Of Tanelorn (Feat. Kai Hansen)
06. Ashes To Ashes
07. The Bard’s Song – In The Forest
08. The Bard’s Song – The Hobbit
09. The Piper’s Calling
10. Somewhere Far Beyond
11. Spread Your Wings (Bonus Track)
12. Trial By Fire (Bonus Track)
13. Theatre Of Pain (Classic Version) (Bonus Track)