Marcus Siepen – Blind Guardian

Blind Guardian are a band that need no introduction. They’re also one of a rare few that have managed to transcend the boundaries or restrictions of their genre to appeal to a broader, wider audience. I know a number of people in my life that aren’t particularly power metal fans, yet enjoy and follow Blind Guardian’s music. The German bards have over the years dealt with a number of varying lyrical ideas and subjects over their three decade long career. From the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, to A Song of Ice and Fire and The Wheel of Time by George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan respectively, their penchant for great, epic literature (especially that of the high fantasy and sword-and-sorcery genres) hasn’t restricted them, either.

They have had songs that pay tribute to John Milton’s Paradise Lost (“Control the Divine”), Stephen King (with “Somewhere Far Beyond” and “Carry the Blessed Home” both based on The Dark Tower; as well as “Guardian of the Blind”, further based on IT), and much more. Blind Guardian are masters of taking the inspired and celebrated works of others and further imbuing them with a sense of grandiose storytelling, ominous and serene moments, and with a common medieval style to their music that feels remarkably authentic. And this isn’t even to mention Blind Guardian’s innate ability to build rich worlds of their own unique creation, as well as touch on tales concerning old myths, films, and others.

Truly, there is no band quite like this one, and it is with that Blind Guardian’s wide appeal is suddenly made so clear. Since the moment I first discovered this band with the song “Turn the Page” (off 2006’s ‘A Twist in the Myth’), they’ve been one of my favourites. It was my great and recent honour then to have had the opportunity to speak with the ever-charming and welcoming Marcus Siepen, longtime guitarist of the band.

After exchanging pleasantries, we got right into the thick of it, with me asking Marcus if he could tell Metal Obsession a bit about the process behind developing the concept for ‘Beyond the Red Mirror’, and it subsequently being a sequel of sorts to ‘Imaginations…’. “Actually, it hadn’t been planned to be a concept album from the beginning,” Marcus pointed out. “That’s something that happened along the way. We started, like with any album, by writing new stuff. Hansi [Kürsch] just writes what comes to his mind. The lyrics don’t really matter [at that stage], what matters is the melody line, and the rhythmic [timing] of the word. [Hansi] only writes the final lyrics once the song is completely done. At some point he came up with the idea [for the album] and presented it as this concept idea, one that continued the story from the ‘Imaginations…’ album, and we liked it! I like the fact that there is this link to the ‘Imaginations…’ album, set however many years later, and the concept sounded perfectly fine to us. And thus, that was the moment when it turned into this concept album!”

I went on to mention how, having listened through the full album myself, it marks quite a dynamic shift musically. With a far more orchestral approach at its rear, the album manages to a build an epic type of ambiance throughout. Yet as tracks such as “The Holy Grail” demonstrate, ‘Beyond the Red Mirror’ even hints towards speed metal elements of Blind Guardian’s early years. I asked how Marcus would describe the album: “It covers a bit of everything. It has the old school melodic speed metal approach, like with “The Holy Grail”. “Sacred Mind” also comes to mind. It starts as this semi-ballad that after about a minute or so picks up speed and gets much faster; heavier; aggressive. It has the old stuff, definitely the epic orchestral stuff that we’ve made so far. So it has a bit of everything that Blind Guardian stands for, and that’s something that I love about the album. Because all those elements are part of Blind Guardian and being able to have them all in one album is a good thing, I think.” He then went on to note, “It would not be doing it justice to the album to just limit it to the orchestral stuff, you know? There is obviously a lot of orchestral stuff going on there, but behind that there is so much more. It’s good that people see that, and not say, ‘oh, that’s just orchestral’. They see there’s more going on, as well!” [laughs]

‘Beyond the Red Mirror’ out January 30 via Nuclear Blast Records

Marcus Siepen has been with Blind Guardian since almost the very beginning, and today Blind Guardian stand as one of the more revered bands in the power metal genre. I asked how this journey has been for Marcus over the years, and what it’s been like watching their music grow. “It is awesome! I mean, when we started back in the middle of the ‘80s when we were still called Lucifer’s Heritage, the music was kind of the same, but we have always had a pretty good self-confidence, I would say. [laughs] We knew that we wanted to do the best that we could possibly do at that time, and we knew that we were always willing to invest all the work we had to succeed in our goals. We were definitely aiming at a long time career. We didn’t just want to put down an album and then disappear again. But 30 years later, we’re still here and bigger than ever before, and it puts a smile on our faces – just seeing this appreciation coming from the fans.”

One of the reasons I’ve always loved Blind Guardian as a band is the connection they share with their fans. I noted how, having seen live videos of theirs performing the likes of “The Bard’s Song (In the Forest)”, Blind Guardian could all go silent on the vocal front and instead just listen as a sea of fans all sang their lyrics in harmony. The energy and emotion in that alone would be unparalleled, I felt. “Definitely!” Marcus agreed. “I mean, without this connection to the fans, I don’t think we’d be here anymore. A good concert will only turn into a great concert if this connection between band and fans happens. It takes everything to a completely different level. That’s the most important thing.”

With the release of ‘Beyond the Red Mirror’ on the horizon, I asked what Marcus was looking most forward to with its unveiling. “Touring. Very short and very clear answer, touring. [laughs] I love working in the studio, I love writing new stuff and seeing it grow once it’s recorded, but the highlight – the best part about being a musician for me – is going on stage and performing for the fans.” I then snuck in a quick question about a potential tour of Australia this year. “We will be back in Australia this year. There’s no fixed date yet, our booker’s working on that part of the tour at the moment. But it seems that we will be back sometime in September or October, around that time. So as soon as the dates are confirmed, we will put them on the website. So people should have an eye on this, but we will be back [in 2015] for sure!” I for one cannot wait!

As our interview drew to a close, I asked if Marcus had any last words he’d like to offer his fans? “Yes, I want to thank all our Australian fans for the support over all those years, and, you know, we’ve only toured Australia twice in the past, but we can’t wait to come back. Especially the last time, I remember we came from South America, flew to Sydney, and had four days off until we were due to actually start playing in Australia. We had four days of pure fun and joy and exploring in Sydney. It was amazing, and we can’t wait to come back and play for you guys!”

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