In 1986 A. Olbricht (lead guitar), Hansi Kursch (vocals & bass), Thomas Stauch (drums) and Marcus Doerk (rhythm guitar) published, with the name Lucifer's Heritage the first demo, the title was Symphonies Of Doom, but it didn't get them the hoped contract. This one, in fact, came only with the second Demo Battalions Of Fear (1987), after a line-up change: instead of Thomas Stauch succeeded Hans-Peter Frey, while Christoph Theissen had the rhythm guitar.
The contract at "No Remorse Records" brought to the first official studios album (1988), with the line-up that we know today, which sees, near Andre and Hansi, again Thomas "Thomen" Stauch at drums and Marcus "Magnus" Siepen at rhythm guitar.
As the second Demo, the album was entitled Battalions Of Fear and it offered, farther on the new songs, also the old demonstrative pieces, including the song Wizard's Crown, which is possible to find out in the first Demo with the title Halloween.
Since al the beginning of their history, Blind Guardian specialised in Fantasy themes and in Science Fiction, inspiring themselves particularly at Ronald Reuel Tolkien's tales.
Just a year after their second work appeared, with the title Follow the Blind, to it - as to the next one - also the friend Kai Hansen took part.
Slowly but inexorably the band was cutting out a place in their fans' heart and in the Speed-Metal Olympus.
The third Album Tales From The Twilight World (1991) gave us not only a milestone in the German Speed-Metal, but also let to Blind Guardian broke through the International field. While in the previous albums the graphic person in charge was the "van Waay Design", a new tag brought also a new draughtsman.
After the death of the No Remorse Record, our four heroes passed to the major "Virgin", and the new cover created by Andreas Marshall's pencils, a veteran of German Metal-Bands' covers (for example: Running Wild, Grave Digger, Kreator, Sodom).
But also the fourth album Somewhere Far Beyond (1992) open a new chapter in the Blind Guardian history, and it is a step in the musical development of the band against the following works.
Beyond the enormous success get in Germany, a big tour in Japan ensured even the first place in the hit parade of Rising Sun. The productor, Kalle Trapp, worked also this time for the production in "big style", with even 24 traces and a lot of orchestral effects. Not expected, the following year, was published the live album Tokyo Tales, in which we find, perfectly recorded, the live versions of all Blind Guardian's classics played during the Japan Tour.
We arrive then at the album Imaginations From The Other Side (1995), which was seen by someone as an overproduction, and by others as a further development of the previous. In fact, in it was possible to notice some more massive use of tuner. But the production house was in part responsible about this fact. There was also an always growing of the complexity in the composition and in the melodies, and Hansi exploited at maximum gifts of his voice. For this album was publicised also the first Blind Guardian's Single, entitled A Past And Future Secret.
Loved by fans of Speed-Metal, the Cover-Album of the following year, The Forgotten Tales", is able to prove another time the 4 boys' of Krefeld musical qualities. Near covers of some favourites by the band, as Uriah Heep, Mike Oldfield or the Beach Boys, Blind Guardian propose also acoustic and classic versions of song like Mordred Song or Lord Of the Rings. Also in this case, in 1996, there was a single, titled Mr. Sandman.
Finished some tours, about Blind Guardian it was possible to know few or nothing, till 1998, with the publication of the new single Mirror, Mirror, part of the new concept-album about "Silmarillion", loved J.R.R. Tolkien's work.
Some times after, the album appeared and the title was Nightfall In Middle-Earth. Before that time costs of production were never be so high, for this production was called Charlie Bauernfeind, while was entrusted for the mixing Flemming Rassmussen, who cured the mix also in mega-events like Metallica.
This time were foreseen 128 traces, for the big orchestra and for vocal effects, even if, another time, it wasn't used a real orchestra, but the loved (and hated) tuner. Moreover Hansi left definitively the bass for dedicating completely to voice, the bass was taken -during the registrations and also in concerts -by Oliver Holzwarth.
Hansi joined his friend Jon Schafer from Iced Earth for a new project, with the name Demons And Wizards, which let unify Jon's riff with Hansi's voice.
