Germany’s Blind Guardian is one of the world’s foremost pioneers when it comes to power metal. With a catalogue of 10 albums going back to 1988 they have had time to perfect their craft in a way no other band has been able to match. It’s been a long six years since they last came to San Francisco so fans have not had many opportunities to bear witness to their greatness in quite a while. Tonight they would be accompanied by metal kings Grave Digger at the historic Fillmore on the outskirts of Japantown.
Grave Digger started the show promptly at 8PM and played a number of their best including “Rebellion,” Witch Hunter,” and “Highland Farewell.” They’ve traveled the world far and wide and paired up with Guardian make for one hell of a show. Vocalist Chris Boltendahl has been with the band since its inception in 1980 and with his trademark gravely vocals they have led the way in speed and power metal. Every one of the current members has quite a tour of duty with the band with most of them having been together for more than a decade. Their latest album, “Return of the Reaper,” is a throwback stylistically to their earlier work and would provide songs like “Tattooed Rider” and “Season of the Witch” to the night’s set. They ended the night with “Heavy Metal Breakdown” which had the crowd belting out the chorus along with the band.
Next up: Guardian.
Blind Guardian is led by founder and vocalist Hansi Kursch. He is backed by guitarists Andre Olbrich and Marcus Siepen, drummer Frederik Ehmke, bassist Barend Courbois, and keyboardist Michael Schuren. Their music is a mix of frantic double-bass anthems and slower fantasy ballads. On top is the usage of overdubbing, orchestral instruments, and choruses to help shape the sound. In a word, “epic.” Subject matter ranges from “The Lord of the Rings,” “Dune,” and “Dragonlance” (all epic fantasy series) to mythologiy and original concept albums. With this in mind they really do represent modern-day minstrels. They blend the lyrics seamlessly that it is impossible to tell anything is amiss to your usual metal fan.
They announced that they would be recording the night’s concert live much to the cheers of the crowd. The band led off with “Ninth Wave,” the leading track from their newest album “Beyond the Red Mirror.” One thing you can always count on when it comes to Blind Guardian is an epic opener; they have many slow-building set pieces that build up to their full potential and “Ninth Wave” does not disappoint.
The main set would end up packed with crowd favorites that seemingly everyone knew the words for. “Nightfall,” “Fly,” “Lord of the Rings;” the list goes on and on. Everywhere I looked I saw cheerful faces belting out the lyrics. Blind Guardian isn’t adverse to a little crowd participation. Later in the night “The Last Candle” would have the crowd chanting “Somebody’s out there” accompanied by the drums. If Hansi didn’t put a stop to things it’s likely the crowd would have gone on forever and he remarked as much. Similarly with “Valhalla” the crowd would join in with “Valhalla / deliverance / Why’ve you ever forgotten me.” It’s a practice that can be tracked back at least a decade and probably more.
Telling tales that everyone can get into seems to be Blind Guardian’s stock in trade. They are “leading the blind” so to speak. They take stories from all spectrums and time periods and add it to their repertoire like any good storyteller should do. A story for all occasions and persons. I think that being able to apply what you’re hearing to another story is part of what draws you into Blind Guardian and their music. For me I think it was “And Then There Was Silence” which speaks of the Trojan War.
The band was called back for a total of two encores. The first consisted of “Sacred Worlds,” “Twilight of the Gods,” and “Valhalla.” The second provided three staple songs with “Into the Storm,” “The Bard’s Song – In the Forest,” and “Mirror Mirror.” “Sacred Worlds” may be a song with origins in video games (it was written for the game “Sacred 2″) but has earned itself a place in their live shows. I feel it’s one of the stronger of their most recent offerings and had pretty much waited the whole night for it. Of course it was a given that fan-favorite “The Bard’s Song – In the Forest” would be part of the night. As is tradition the entire audience would take the lead for this sound. Hansi would provide a few cues but would otherwise take a backseat. I was able to give a good count of myself and joined in this time. I was unprepared back in 2010 and didn’t want to have that happen again. Finally, “Mirror Mirror,” which has quickly become a common sight at Guardian lives finished off the night.
Blind Guardian has stood tall for two decades and shows no signs of slowing down. Hopefully we’ll be seeing them again soon. Until then all we can do is listen to their tales and pass them on to the next generation of fans. “No one will ever know our names but the bards’ songs will remain…”
Grave Digger:
Headbanging Man
The Round Table (Forever)
Witch Hunter
Ballad of a Hangman
Season of the Witch
Excalibur
Tattooed Rider
Highland Farewell
Rebellion
Heavy Metal Breakdown
Blind Guardian:
The Ninth Wave
Banish from Sanctuary
Nightfall
Fly
Tanelorn (Into the Void)
Prophecies
The Last Candle
Lord of the Rings
Time Stands Still (at the Iron Hill)
Born in a Mourning Hall
And the Story Ends
Encore 1:
Sacred Worlds
Twilight of the Gods
Valhalla
Encore 2:
Into the Storm
The Bard’s Song – Into the Forest
Mirror Mirror