Somewhere Far Beyond Review
| Band | |
|---|---|
| Album |  Somewhere Far Beyond |
| Type | Album (Studio full-length) |
| Released | June 29, 1992 |
| Genres | Power Metal |
| Labels | Virgin Records |
| Length | 55:35 |
| Ranked | #11 for 1992 , #311 all-time |
Album rating : 90.6 / 100
Votes : 43 (5 reviews)
Votes : 43 (5 reviews)
September 28, 2021
I can’t tell if this is a transitional album yet cause I haven’t heard anything they released after, but on Somewhere Far Beyond, Blind Guardian really start to lean into more modern sounding cheesy melodic Power Metal. They’ve still got their thrashy Speed Metal edge, but a much larger focus is put on keyboards/synths and the general epic atmosphere. There’s also quite a variety of styles present, even in individual songs.
Most of the tracks here are magnificent; catchy yet fierce, energetic yet anthemic. I really like the vocals too, having a rough edge of aggression most of the time, but easily hitting smooth melodic notes when he needs to. Guitars, bass, drums, keys; all splendid, adding great flavor to the mix.
My huge complaint with this album is the amount of useless filler. Out of the ten tracks, two are pointless interludes that add nothing to the album, and the first Bard Song is an acoustic song that just isn’t up to par. Acoustic ballads can be beautiful, but this one is missing that special something and just ends up breaking the flow of the album. The bonus tracks, which are actually usually included in main releases, are great tracks that definitely add to the album in my opinion.
Unfortunately not as consistent as previous releases, but many of the tracks here are absolute top-notch Power Metal.
Most of the tracks here are magnificent; catchy yet fierce, energetic yet anthemic. I really like the vocals too, having a rough edge of aggression most of the time, but easily hitting smooth melodic notes when he needs to. Guitars, bass, drums, keys; all splendid, adding great flavor to the mix.
My huge complaint with this album is the amount of useless filler. Out of the ten tracks, two are pointless interludes that add nothing to the album, and the first Bard Song is an acoustic song that just isn’t up to par. Acoustic ballads can be beautiful, but this one is missing that special something and just ends up breaking the flow of the album. The bonus tracks, which are actually usually included in main releases, are great tracks that definitely add to the album in my opinion.
Unfortunately not as consistent as previous releases, but many of the tracks here are absolute top-notch Power Metal.
1 like
Track listing (Songs)
| title | rating | votes | video | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Time What Is Time | 5:46 | 96.1 | 22 | Audio |
| 2. | Journey Through the Dark | 4:48 | 90.9 | 19 | Audio |
| 3. | Black Chamber | 0:58 | 80.8 | 14 | |
| 4. | Theatre of Pain | 4:17 | 94.4 | 18 | Audio |
| 5. | The Quest for Tanelorn | 5:57 | 91.5 | 19 | Audio |
| 6. | Ashes to Ashes | 6:00 | 91.3 | 18 | Audio |
| 7. | The Bard's Song - In the Forest | 3:10 | 96.1 | 22 | Audio Music Video |
| 8. | The Bard's Song - The Hobbit | 3:54 | 91.6 | 18 | Audio |
| 9. | The Piper's Calling | 0:59 | 80.6 | 11 | |
| 10. | Somewhere Far Beyond | 7:30 | 94.4 | 21 | Audio |
| Bonus tracks | |||||
| 11. | Spread Your Wings (Queen cover) | 4:15 | 95 | 1 | |
| 12. | Trial by Fire (Satan cover) | 3:45 | - | 0 | |
| 13. | Theatre of Pain (Classic Version) | 4:15 | - | 0 | |
Line-up (members)
- Hansi Kürsch : Vocals, Bass
- André Olbrich : Guitars, Backing Vocals
- "Magnus" Armin Siepen : Guitars, Backing Vocals
- Thomen "the Omen" Stauch : Drums
45 reviews
| cover art | Artist | Album review | Reviewer | Rating | Date | Likes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | Beyond the Red Mirror Review (2015) | 90 | Nov 8, 2024 | 2 | ||
 | | 80 | Jan 25, 2024 | 0 | |||
 | | 90 | Oct 13, 2022 | 3 | |||
 | | The God Machine Review (2022) | 95 | Sep 6, 2022 | 2 | ||
 | | At the Edge of Time Review (2010) | 95 | Aug 3, 2022 | 4 | ||
 | | Battalions of Fear Review (1988) | 90 | May 14, 2022 | 3 | ||
 | | ▶ Somewhere Far Beyond Review (1992) | 85 | Sep 28, 2021 | 1 | ||
 | | 90 | May 21, 2020 | 12 | |||
 | | 70 | Feb 23, 2020 | 2 | |||
| | At the Edge of Time Review (2010) | 95 | Oct 28, 2019 | 7 | ||
| | 95 | Oct 23, 2019 | 4 | |||
| | 95 | Oct 23, 2019 | 8 | |||
| | Beyond the Red Mirror Review (2015) | 90 | Mar 31, 2019 | 4 | ||
| | Somewhere Far Beyond Review (1992) | 85 | Mar 29, 2019 | 4 | ||
| | Somewhere Far Beyond Review (1992) | 100 | Mar 1, 2019 | 9 | ||
| | 95 | Jul 19, 2018 | 1 | |||
 | | A Twist in the Myth Review (2006) | 80 | Jul 7, 2018 | 2 | ||
| | 90 | Oct 19, 2016 | 4 | |||
 | | Tokyo Tales Review (1993) [Live] | 90 | May 3, 2014 | 1 | ||
| | 80 | Apr 12, 2014 | 3 |
b1tc0!nguЯu 100/100Mar 1, 2019 Likes : 9
나를 헤비메탈의 세계로 인도한 운명적인 작품이다.
중학생이었던 나는 당시 던전드래곤, 매직 더 개더링등의
판타지 게임에 미쳐있었고, 문득 판타지와 관련된 음악을 알아보고
싶어서 동네 레코드 가게를 찾았다.
블라인드 가디언 이라는 멋드러진 이름에 끌려서 진열장에서 테잎을... Read More
KimiRaikkonen 96/100Jul 7, 2011 Likes : 4
블라인드 가디언의 음악을 집대성한 걸작.
Wheel Of Time 한 곡만으로도 먹고 들어가는 앨범이다. 웅장하고 화려한 사운드에 빈틈없는 구조가 인상적인 명곡. 특히 후반부의 역동적인 보컬 멜로디가 극적인 분위기를 잘 살려준다. 물론 이 곡만 좋은 건 아니고... 첫곡 Sacred Worlds도 이 곡과 맞... Read More
SilentScream213 90/100Oct 13, 2022 Likes : 3
On their 5th album, Blind Guardian released what I consider to be their best work up to that point. I’m one of the few who preferred their aggressive Thrash/Speed days on their first two albums to the more polished and melodic albums that followed (though this is mostly because they always had useless interludes bloating them). Well, Imaginations still has one of those in the... Read More
xxnoodlesxx0 90/100May 14, 2022 Likes : 3
A great start for Blind Guardian in their metal journey. Well, this album is quite different from their later albums, where they went more in the European power metal direction. The album starts with the fan favorite track, "Majesty", which has a very interesting intro that you wouldn't guess the song will speed up later. The intro suddenly ends with a thunder sound effect, the... Read More
