“The reason for us doing music and creating new albums is to improve and to progress, so it’s very important for us to be different, no matter what.”
These words from affable Blind Guardian frontman Hansi Kursch have been repeated by many musicians before him with regards to their latest (and always greatest) work, but in Kursch’s case, the man actually happens to be right. The band’s ninth and latest album, At the Edge of Time is an excellent reminder of what makes The Guardian one of Germany’s most beloved power metal exports.
“What I think makes this album special and different in comparison to A Twist in the Myth is the diversity,” continues Hansi. “We managed to compose an album which gathers all the qualities of Blind Guardian, of the last 25 years; there’s stuff for the old school fans here, as well as more modern stuff. So A Twist In the Myth was necessary in order for this to happen, because we wouldn’t have been able to do an album with all of these elements involved without doing that experimentation. This one does have a bit more momentum and intensity. It’s impossible to please everyone, but I think in general we’ve managed to find a good compromise.”
It does, indeed. Combining all of the quintessential Guardian elements, At the Edge of Time celebrates the three faces of the band most recognized by fans: epic, symphonic bombast, subtle acoustic balladry, and—most impressively—their old school, speed metal roots
“Yes, I would agree,” enthuses Hansi, “and even add a fourth side: the progressive, more surprising side. On the new album, that’s presented on songs like ‘Control the Divine’ or ‘Valkyries’, which have a little bit of everything. These are sort of hybrid songs. They’re heavy metal—there’s no doubt about that—but they also have this orchestral feeling and more Queensryche-esque, progressive attitude.”
Another one of the album’s most impressive attributes are Hansi’s vocals, which bring back the singer’s trademarked rasp to wondrously intense effect.
“The music was going in that direction already,” admits Kursch, “and when we did the vocal arrangements, we could already figure that out, and we decided to go for it. [Our producer] Charlie [Bauerfeind] came up with individual concepts for each song in terms of producing it the proper way, and one of them is having this harsh, strong attitude. This was something we were missing a bit on Twist in the Myth, and I’m really happy that the additional rasp is in there; I think sometimes that this is one of the things which defines me as a vocalist, actually. I have the ability to deliver this additional aggression to the music, so we can have the best of both worlds: melodies and intensity. Sometimes I feel like I have to keep it back a little bit, but Charlie definitely pushed me to be as aggressive as possible.”
At this point, Bauerfeind has worked enough with the group to almost be considered a fifth member.
“He definitely has the best understanding possible, apart from the four members in the band. I personally think he might even have a larger understanding than Frederik, who’s still somewhat of a new guy! He’s an extraordinary producer, which explains why we’ve worked with him so many times; he grows with the band. It’s his understanding which almost makes him a member of the band, and we trust him 100 percent.”
In our past conversations, Kursch has often spoke love about The Guardian’s collective love for Queen. Given Queen’s penchant for amalgamating so many diverse styles into their sound, has Hansi ever harbored a secret desire a really experimental sound for this band of metal minstrels?
All signs point to no.
“I don’t think I’d like to go further than ‘Fly’, for example,” says the singer. “We’ve already explored everything ‘essential’ for us musically for now, anyways. The really poppy, experimental style of Queen never really caught my full attention, even though I appreciated it. I like classical music, rock music, and heavy metal. That’s basically it. I get along with blues, jazz and good pop music, but I don’t think I’d want to incorporate it into Blind Guardian music.”
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