Marcus Siepen of Blind Guardian "...looking back, I would not change a thing."

Blind Guardian is a significant and very important metal band who has not only taken a huge part in the initial power metal movement in Europe, rising from the German heavy metal scene since their inception in the mid-80s, but also an outfit who has created its own niche, becoming known as the traveling Metal Bards.

The legendary power metallers are returning to our shores this September, and for the first time are venturing beyond Melbourne to Sydney - and I for one can’t wait! So I was delighted to have had a chance to speak with rhythm guitarist Marcus Siepen prior to their forthcoming tour to talk about the band’s past and roots, their influence on the metal scene globally, as well as their future.

Looking back at the start of your career with the founding of Lucifer’s Heritage did you realise that you were at the cutting edge of a new movement in heavy metal or was it a very natural and innocent development?

Marcus Siepen: It was just a natural thing, a band playing the music that as band we liked. From here things grew and changed as we wanted to do something different. We had no idea of a movement or anything like that it was all very innocent and exciting.

What were your early influences as a musician? What metal bands do you listen to today?

Marcus Siepen: In the beginning we had our influences, for me it was Black Sabbath and Toni Iommi, he was the reason for me actually playing guitar and I still look up to him. Another band was Iron Maiden, who brought me into metal with the release of “Killers” in 1981 [and] bands like Rainbow, Thin Lizzy and of course Metallica.

Today, basically I listen to all kinds of stuff - Fates Warning, Rainbow, Nevermore and Sanctuary – I actually saw two of their shows recently and they were awesome! I don’t think in categories with music, it's just music I like and music I don’t like.

From these influences we tried to be unique and developed something into what we are in Blind Guardian and something fresh and new. Everything else just naturally developed into what we are doing now, no master plan or anything.

What bands and albums within the European power/progressive scene do you respect?

Marcus Siepen: From Europe - Masterplan, I like them a lot, one of my favourite bands at the moment. We do lose track a bit as we are on tour, on the road, and we miss new things. Sometimes people give us CD’s and a guy in Hamburg gave me two Pyromaze discs and I love this stuff. I knew about them with Matt Barlow singing with them but I hadn’t heard it.

Looking back at your early recording career, what are your fondest memories of recording your first few albums? Listening back now what would you change if you had the opportunity?

Marcus Siepen: The whole process was pure magic. When you start as a young band and rehearse with a tape recorder and develop songs it was great. But once we got a deal, we went in to a real studio and “Battalions Of Fear” [1988] was recorded in three weeks; an incredibly long time for us at the time. It was just magic, everything was so professional suddenly and that whole period was magic. Having a producer took us to a new level and we learnt about recording, setting sounds, a great time.

Looking back on the albums they would sound so different if we recorded them now, but looking back, I would not change a thing as both albums show what Blind Guardian was about at this time, BL in 1988 is what you hear on “Battalions of Fear”. All albums represent a certain phase that the band went through and this first one is still a fresh album that sounds great. We can play better than back then and we have become better song writers but this doesn’t take away from the album.

As a band you have worked with some amazing producers including Charlie Bauerfeind and Flemming Rasmussen what have they as individuals brought to the Blind Guardian sound? Is there any other renowned producer that you would love to work with?

Marcus Siepen: The good thing is that we have learnt a lot from all of the producers we have worked with, as when we started we could hardly even play. So when we worked with them we learnt a lot.

With Flemming he taught us how to play on the point and in time and the tightness of the music to make it powerful. He made us do three or four or six rhythm guitars at times and this was difficult for us but it took the whole band to a new level. Charlie is very strict and he did something very special for us, he understands what our music is about and he immediately understood what we needed to do and how to make our music even stronger and gave advice in the right direction. This is precious because when you work on a song for a long time you lose focus and get lost in it and he gives us input that we normally wouldn’t have. We are perfectly happy with Charlie so we don’t want anyone else in mind.

Listening to records I do hear sounds that I like, for example the new Alice In Chains album [Black Gives Way to Blue, 2009], I don’t know who produced it but I love that sound. Also with Alterbridge I love their sounds so they would be an option for me but no intention to change at the present.

A Night At the Opera [2002] was the first Blind Guardian album that really moved me and made me look at the band beyond the “metal bard” label. It is such a complex album full of epic pieces, orchestration and layered vocals - there is a lot to digest. Was your approach to this album very different from the classic albums that precede it?

Marcus Siepen: We wanted to do something different on purpose, before this was “Nightfall” [Nightfall in Middle-Earth, 1998] and it was so successful. People expected us to do a Nightfall No. 2, but we try to avoid repetition.

André [Olbrich, lead guitar] had this idea for the orchestration and we developed it as a band. So it became a very complex album and it was on purpose, something that was different and a bit, hard to swallow. We didn’t want it to be easy listening and you can always discover something new when listening to it. This for me is better than listening to an album twice and nothing new happens. So it is a hard album to listen to but that is exactly what we wanted to do. When we released it a lot of people said that we can’t play this stuff live, so we did! We will do whatever we want!

“And Then There Was Silence” on A Night At The Opera is an amazing epic piece of work, how was this track written and arranged?

Marcus Siepen: Actually, it started very differently for us, because of the orchestration. Normally we initially start songs as a metal band and just put orchestration in later, but this way was different, as we have orchestration first. André programmed it first on a key board and it grew from here. With this we didn’t have to deal with a real orchestra as we had the keyboard.

Blind Guardian has kept an extremely stable line-up for most of your career. What do you attribute this to?

Marcus Siepen: We still have the same vision and goals and we love the music that we play. We are good friends, but like all bands we have our arguments and issues - but we look for solutions about problems. No secrets, we want the same things and if there is a problem we work through. This has not changed throughout our career, but the problems themselves change.

Generally, music direction is the issue, everybody has their own vision and if you bring something to the table and the other members change it, it is difficult to accept, but this is something that every musician has to learn. These are the type of fights that we have, not serious stuff but riffs and sounds.

Why does it take Blind Guardian so long to record albums? Or, maybe more accurately, why is there such a big break between albums?

Marcus Siepen: Actually the break is not that big, when the band finishes an album we are on tour and whilst on tour we do not write. We only write once we are home. The writing process takes around about a year to eighteen months, so three years pass and then we record for six to eight months. For the rest of the time record companies take time for promotion.

We are not sitting at home doing nothing. Writing periods depend on the songs, some work out quickly and the others take months, it differs from song to song. The most difficult would be the first ones, to get in the writing mode again after touring and then things get better. There is no golden rule to this you take it as it comes.

How did the Blind Guardian two day festival come about? Were you instrumental in deciding the bill for this event and is this something that you will do again?

Marcus Siepen: The idea came because we have played almost all of the festivals in the world and with this you always have to compromise even when you headline. So when recording a DVD we wanted to do our own thing with no compromises and set it up. This was new and we got a lot of help, but in the end it worked very well.

Yes we suggested bands for the bill but some were in the studio and some on the road. We want to do it again, but we don’t know when, we loved it but it is a lot of work and at this time we don’t have the time.

Are there any plans to record a live DVD at the moment or a documentary DVD of Blind Guardian?

Marcus Siepen: Actually we are recording very much everything audio wise. Wacken two weeks ago was fully recorded audio and video. We are thinking about this but no decision has been made, we don’t know yet and we would have to listen to all of the tapes and go from there. But we are thinking about it.

At the Edge of Time [2010] is the latest offering from the band, how is this different from A Twist in The Myth [2006] to you and what excites you the most about it?

Marcus Siepen: It was something we approached differently; we took a month off totally this time. We immediately started writing and we had so much energy and enthusiasm from our shows. We actually even interrupted the writing process to play festivals and this brought back the energy and excitement. So what excites me the most is it captures the spirit of Blind Guardian, as it has a bit of everything - it has epic and straight forward stuff and mid tempo and new stuff with an oriental feel and this is what I love the most about it.

Unfortunately, the interview was cut short due to Marcus’ other promotional commitments, but it was a pleasure to speak with him and get an insight into a very important and influential metal band!

Blind Guardian is touring Australia this September and October for a run of three dates. For further information, follow this link.