SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND

Power metal is a genre that I've had a lot of back and forth interactions with. There have been many points in time where I've decided to give it another shot only to be met with the same reality every time, I'm just not a huge fan of it. Over time I've come to realise why I haven't completely dropped this pursuit, and the answer is pretty simple, I don't like the idea of completely dismissing a genre, but also, Blind Guardian absolutely rules. Somewhere Far Beyond marks a bit of a middle ground in in the band's style, taking from a lot of those speed metal elements from their earlier material, yet also leaning really hard into these dramatic, soaring melodies more reminiscent of regular power metal from their later era, and this is where I feel like a lot of their appeal stems from to me. This more aggressive take on the genre without abandoning the core elements of it leads to this having a certain bite to it that gives its grandiose, wonderfully excessive nature so much more impact, all while backing it up with some consistently catchy and effective songwriting.

Time What is Time kicks off the album and is one of the all time great metal songs from my perspective. The song erupts with energy very quickly after its fun acoustic intro and basically doesn't slow down at all. The way this escalates so intensely is electrifying, doing it at such a rapid pace that it hits the point of having a certain erratic quality to it, but it also knows the perfect point to peak and ground the song with the chorus, stopping it from feeling a bit too full-on. The chorus itself really seals the deal as well, it's incredibly fun, with Hansi's vocal performance bringing so much conviction to it all. While the album follows a pretty similar pattern for the most part, the majority of these songs do something distinct and interesting enough to differentiate themselves from the pack. Examples include the more consistent pacing of Theatre of Pain combined with its orchestral flourishes, the folky sounds of The Bard's Song - The Hobbit or the mournful tone of Ashes to Ashes. All of these varying directions taken contribute to Somewhere Far Beyond having a lot of personality without sacrificing any of its defining traits, the melodies remain grandiose, and the riffs remain incredible.

Despite all of what's been said, I feel that the thing that truly elevates this to something even greater is the was it can slow down once in a while without feeling like a low point in the experience. Both the Quest for Tanelorn and The Bard's Song - In the Forest are perfect pace breakers that keep the epic imagery and atmosphere going strong, both being able to pain vivid pictures of this rich, detailed fantasy world. Overall this is just a consistently great album without much of a lull in its quality, bringing in a certain aggression that makes the incredibly dramatic nature of it feel way more appealing to me. While I feel like Somewhere Far Beyond ends up being a bit long winded, with this sort of dense music all blending together a bit by the end, even with the aforementioned pace breakers alleviating this issue to a degree, I cannot deny that every song has its place here, and that Somewhere Far Beyond is an excellent showcase of Blind Guardian's talent.