Remastered
Charles | San Diego, CA | 08/26/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Blind Guardian remastered 8 of their albums that came before "A Night At The Opera" and they're all worth hearing. "Somewhere Far Beyond" was an album that didn't really need remastering but the remastered edition gives the volume a boost so you don't have to turn it up as loud to get the prefered loudness - it sounds much more full. I'm giving it 5 stars for the album's content - the Blind Guardian music on this album gave them a more sophisticated and more epic sound to their first 3 albums but still not loosing their original speed metal roots. They're adding more melody and Hansi Kursch's vocals are improving as he hits more notes that are higher than what he sung on their first albums more often. Diversity is also noted on this album with power speed songs like "Journey Through The Dark" and "Somewhere Far Beyond" with epic songs like "Time What Is Time" and "The Quest For Tanelorn" and the well known all-acoustic ballad "The Bard Song (In The Forst)" which is a live classic. "Somewhere Far Beyond" is a step up from "Tales From The Twilight World" and their music eventually grows into "Imaginations From The Other Side." This CD deserves a spot in your collection and I recommend the remastered version if you can pull out a few extra bucks to get this import. You get a few demos as well if you're interested in listening to the rough mix of a few of the songs before they were recorded officially for the album. You also get an expanded booklet with liner notes and fancier pages for the lyrics as well. 5 Stars overall."
