Hansi Kürsch, frontman of German power metal titans Blind Guardian, has issued a lengthy update on the groups long awaited 10th studio album, due for release in 2014, and their plans to perform in the upcoming year.
The quartet, from Krefeld, Germany have not released an album of new material since 2010’s, ‘At the Edge of Time’, and have not performed since last summer, announcing their intent to retreat to their Twilight Hall studio in Grefrath and develop a new record. Kürsch broke the silence today in a statement on the bands official website, to announce a special ‘best-of’ show at next summer’s Out and Loud Festival in Geiselwind, and released some details of the upcoming album.
Kursch stated that the songwriting process was, ‘almost finished’, and that the band will start final production next week, and would continue until the festival in May. Two song titles from the album have already been released, ‘Encrypted Time’ and ‘Holy Grail’, and several more were released in todays update: ‘Winters Coming’ – described as a ‘90’s orientated speed/thrash song’, ‘Outcast’ – said to be a ‘rollercoaster ride through three decades of metal’, and ‘Song 9’, as well as an ‘epic orchestral track’ entitled, ‘Irish Hill’.
Formed in 1984, Blind Guardian’s blend of speed guitars and bombastic vocals with folk instruments and literary influences have made them a cornerstone of the power metal circuit. Last year saw the release of, ‘Memories of a Time to Come’, a two disc compilation of the bands greatest hits.
Kürsch’s full statement can be read on the bands official website (www.blind-guardian.com). The title of the album has not yet been revealed.
Check out one of their earlier classics, ‘Nightfall’, from the Silmarillion inspired, ‘Nightfall in Middle Earth’ below:
