German heavy metal legends BLIND GUARDIAN are pleased to unveil “Ashes To Ashes (Revisited),” another single from the re-recorded version of their immortal 1992 breakthrough album, “Somewhere Far Beyond.”
“Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited,” which was recorded in 2022 and 2023, is a refreshing and powerful tribute to one of the most influential albums in German metal history. It paved the way for BLIND GUARDIAN‘s international career that is still going strong today and this re-recording impresses with all the class and quality these pioneers have been known and respected for since forming as LUCIFER’S HERITAGE three decades ago.
“Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited” will be released on August 2nd, 2024, coinciding with BLIND GUARDIAN‘s triumphant return to this year’s edition of Wacken Festival, and a wide selection of physical variants is available!
“Ashes To Ashes (Revisited)” is a brand-new, re-imagined version of one of the heaviest tracks in the history of BLIND GUARDIAN, combining aggressive thrash riffs and rhythms with majestic melodies. Originally inspired by the terminal cancer of his father, vocalist Hansi Kürsch reveals his personal feelings in a highly intense manner. ‘Time isn’t here to stay‘ he sings, but this monumental track is meant to stay forever.
An epic live video of the song being performed at Hellfest 2022 can be watched below.
PRE-ORDER / PRE-SAVE SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND REVISITED: https://blindguardian.bfan.link/SomewhereFarBeyond-Revisited
AVAILABLE FORMATS
The album will be released as Limited Edition 3 Disc Digipak which contains an additional 2022 live version of the entire album on a separate CD and a Blu-Ray disc with the anniversary sets at Rock Hard Festival and Hellfest 2022.
“Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited” will also be available as Gatefold LP with 24-page LP booklet and as jewelcase CD as well as digital album.
SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND REVISITED
Release Date: August 2nd, 2024
01. Time What is Time (Revisited) 05:45
02. Journey Through the Dark (Revisited) 04:49
03. Black Chamber (Revisited) 01:00
04. Theatre of Pain (Revisited) 04:18
05. The Quest for Tanelorn (Revisited) 06:06
06. Ashes to Ashes (Revisited) 06:03
07. The Bard’s Song – In the Forest (Revisited) 03:27
08. The Bard’s Song – The Hobbit (Revisited) 04:10
09. The Piper’s Calling (Revisited) 01:02
10. Somewhere Far Beyond (Revisited) 07:33
Right on time with their show at 2024’s edition of Wacken Open Air, BLIND GUARDIAN proudly announce the release of “Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited” on August 2nd which includes a complete re-recording of this classic as well as a live celebration of 1992’s “Somewhere Far Beyond,” a landmark record for Germany’s heavy metal titans. After three albums on No Remorse Records, it was the band’s major label debut via Virgin Records that opened the doors to the Japanese market resulting in a wider availability and presence on the global metal scene. After finding the right balance of speed, heaviness, melodies, drama, and irresistible choruses on 1990’s “Tales From The Twilight World,” “Somewhere Far Beyond” honed this approach to perfection, evolving further on a conceptual level and increasing BLIND GUARDIAN‘s sonic range. On “Somewhere Far Beyond” the band experimented with keyboards, orchestrations, and folk elements, the latter manifesting in the group’s best-known song and live staple, “The Bard’s Song (In The Forest),” whereas other tracks like “Ashes to Ashes,” the rapid “Journey Through The Dark” or “The Quest For Tanelorn” connected well with previous mostly fast-paced albums yet offered an additional push in dynamics.
Fast forward 30 years! Prior to releasing the much lauded opus “The God Machine” in September 2022, BLIND GUARDIAN had been performing “Somewhere Far Beyond” in its entirety at Rock Hard Festival and Hellfest in Summer 2022 in front of tens of thousands of fans singing along to each track. Both shows were filmed and recorded professionally and aired via WDR and ARTE. For the limited triple-disc-edition of “Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited” the Hellfest material was newly edited by the band’s long-time videographer Dirk Behlau using additional multi-cam footage.
The idea of re-recording the album originated from the rehearsals for these shows as Hansi Kürsch explains in the detailed liner notes: “The original idea wasn’t to do a re-recording. When rehearsing for the anniversary gigs, corona hit and we couldn’t be certain that those shows would take place. We still wanted to celebrate the anniversary of the album and if we wouldn’t be able to include a live version, we initially thought we could at least record the rehearsals.” Not 100% satisfied with those rough versions, BLIND GUARDIAN decided to go all in, knowing the risk of being frowned upon by fans who consider re-recordings utter blasphemy. “We tried to recapture what we did in 1992 but compensate youth with skillful experience, though in a hungry way. We never discussed any major changes but with over 30 years of experience, and our current line-up, those ingredients already add a new flavour to it.” With the basic tracks recorded in a live setting, “Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited” is leaner and more focused on impact in terms of guitar arrangements yet retains all the harmonies and melodies essential to the original.
“We finally ended up with this cool hybrid version“, André adds. “We combined how we play the songs today, but at the same time, really tried to retain that speed metal spirit of the early 90s!“
BLIND GUARDIAN LIVE
Tickets here: www.blind-guardian.com/tour
11.07. DE Neukirchen-Vluyn – Dong Open Air
19.07. RO Beclean – Celtic Transilvania Festival
26.07. GR Chania – Chania Rock Festival
28.07. DE Oelsnitz – Schloss Voigtsberg
29.07. AT Innsbruck – Dogana Hall, Congress Innsbruck
31.07. IT Serravalle di Chienti – Montelago Celtic Festival
02.08. DE Wacken Open Air
04.08. PT Vagos – Vagos Metal Fest
09.08. ES Villena (Alicante) – Leyendas del Rock
17.08. DE Sulingen – Reload Festival
18.08. DE Illingen – Burg Open Air
16.12. IL Tel Aviv – Reading 3
