BLIND GUARDIAN Frontman Talks About Forthcoming Orchestral Album In New Audio Interview

On August 1, Jorge Ciudad of Chile's PowerMetal.cl web site conducted an interview with vocalist Hansi Krsch of German power metallers BLIND GUARDIAN about the band's upcoming concert in Santiago and the group's orchestral project. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Question: Why did BLIND GUARDIAN decide to work with German author Markus Heitz on this project?

Hansi: "This was our first idea (to do a project based on Tolkien's 'Lord Of The Rings'),because when we started we were working on 'Nightfall In Middle Earth', which was heavily influenced by Tolkien's literature, and at that time we came up with two or three songs for this project, so everything speaks a very strong Tolkien language. But on the last seven or eight years, we put or minds backwards and forwards what would be the best direction to go for in terms of the concept. At points, we decided that it would be best to go for individual topics, then we decided that it would be best if I come up with an original written by me story, and then, I finally decided that that might be too difficult for me. At that point, we already knew that it would be too difficult to get the rights for such a big project and using anything from the 'Lord Of The Rings' literature. So, at that point we knew how the music would sound like, but that it would be too difficult to work with either Tolkien's stuff or stuff written by myself. At the very end, we sort of tried to find a compromise and since Markus Heitz is an author able to deliver stories which have that Tolkien universe attitude, he was the best choice for us, because we work with a German author. So storyboard-wise and ideology-wise, it's very easy to make business and become creative with him at the same time."

Question: How would you describe the music of this orchestral project?

Hansi: "To make it fairly easy, I would rather say: just listen to pieces of 'Wheel Of Time' or 'Sacred Worlds' and you'll make out an idea, but, of course, there is even a more skillful way of featuring an orchestra on these songs, but the atmospheres are very close, and maybe you'll have to add a little bit more of the Tolkien-ish universe into it, it that is possible in terms of music. Apart from that, I still think that these two songs are a very good [representation] of what to expect, apart from, you know, there's no heavy guitars and no gigantic backing vocals choirs, but more intimate singing and yeah, bombastic orchestrals and then orchestral choirs, of course. So if you're into that particular kind of music, the grandeur will be revealed very soon."

Question: How would you compare the challenge of doing a conceptual effort such us "Nightfall In Middle Earth" (based on "The Silmarillion") and a conceptual effort such us the orchestral project?

Hansi: I think that the challenge for the orchestral project is still more difficult, because at a certain point we had a sort of guideline, from the very early beginning of composing 'Nightfall In Middle Earth', and we knew which parts (of the book) to involve or not. It was more a difficult question which exact parts to choose, but after reading these words of 'The Silmarillion' backwards and forwards, it turned up to be very obvious, even though it still was difficult because there was so much content even in that particular small part of 'Of The Flight Of The Noldor', where we just were able to cut halfway. If we kept the second half, or the late half, it would be never be released! With Markus, we have the privilege of designing the story suitable for the music as well. That makes it a little easier and gives us a little more headroom with the lyrical issues of the songs. But for Markus, the work might become more difficult because he has to interact with our music as well. And for me, at the very end, it becomes difficult when I have to work with narrative parts and pay justice, pay tribute to his judgment."

Audio clips from PowerMetal.cl interview:

*** Question: How special is this upcoming show Chile, nine years after you first performed here?

*** Question: Since you were not able to perform in Chile and Argentina last time in 2007, how much of a "revenge" are these shows in Chile for BLIND GUARDIAN?

*** Question: How hard is to trust local promoters in such distant places as South America in order to make live shows a reality?

*** Question: What are your funniest memories from your first visit to Chile in 2002?

*** Question: How exciting has been this month for you now that you are making progress with your orchestral project?

*** Question: How much of a challenge has been for you to work on this orchestral project between all the other albums that you've released?

*** Question: Why did BLIND GUARDIAN decide to work with German author Markus Heitz on this project?

*** Question: How much of a Tolkien-ish vibe is this album going to have?

*** Question: What is the beauty of trying to adapt that "unwritten" music into your music, into the music of BLIND GUARDIAN?

*** Question: How would you describe the music of this orchestral project?

*** Question: How would you compare the challenge of doing a conceptual effort such us "Nightfall In Middle Earth" (based on "The Silmarillion") and a conceptual effort such us the orchestral project?

*** Question: What are your thoughts when people feel attracted to the fantasy books that you use in order to write your music?

*** Question: What kind of interaction do you have when you work with people who have been influenced by your music (Felipe Machado, Frederik Ehmke)?

*** Question: What is so special about the album "Imaginations From The Other Side" that causes you to still perform many of its songs live in concert?