In '81 I discovered Metal, when I heard 'Purgatory' on the radio, and I immediately became a metalhead."
W (Nando Machado) : How was the process of choosing which songs would be part of the compilation “The Best Of” that will be released in January?
Marcus Siepen (MS) : That was actually very difficult, because we would have had to put more songs on the album, but obviously there's a limited number, otherwise we would have had to put all 5 or 6 CDs on it. So, we made our lists, gave suggestions, and obviously there were some songs that we had to put on "The Best Of"; for example, we couldn't release the album "The Best of Blind Guardian" without putting "The Bard's Song," the fans would crucify us, because that's ONE of Blind Guardian's songs, if not THE song. But we also wanted to put some songs that we ourselves rediscovered while going through our old catalog. Songs from "Follow the Blind" ended up on the album, for example, and also from "Somewhere Far Beyond," which are songs that we kind of forgot about in our own long history. They weren't really present for us, and as we went through the old albums we rediscovered them, rediscovered their qualities. And that's why we ended up with the songs that are on the double album, and as I said, it's a difficult choice because we would have loved to have put more songs on the album, songs that didn't end up there. For example, sometimes we made a choice like… we had “And Then There Were Silence” on the album and we also have “Sacred Worlds,” so we didn't choose “Wheel of Time” because we would have had a third, quite long, very epic, and very orchestrated song, so we thought that this aspect of our music was already demonstrated in those two songs. That's why we put “Ride Into Obsession,” for example, which represents a completely different side of Blind Guardian, a very straightforward Speed Metal side, you know? The band's old roots.
W (NM) : So, the bards will be playing in Brazil soon, and there will be a show with Grave Digger in São Paulo. What is your relationship with other German Power and Speed Metal bands?
MS : Ah, we have a very good relationship with practically all the bands we've met over the years, and also a great relationship with Helloween, Gamma Ray, Rage, Kreator, Sodom, Grave Digger, obviously. I think the only band we've never had any relationship with is Running Wild, because we've never met at shows or festivals. But we have a very, very good relationship with all these people I mentioned, and it's always great when we play at festivals and meet one or another band; we always have a good time.
W (NM) : So, as you're saying, there are so many great Metal bands coming out of Germany, I think Germany is probably right up there with the United States and England as one of the most important countries when it comes to Heavy Metal. Have you guys from Blind Guardian ever thought about doing a tour like the "Big Four" did, bringing together all the major Metal bands from Germany in one show?
MS : Actually, we've talked about this several times. I remember sitting backstage at some festival, talking to Mille from Kreator, and we were saying, "We should do a US tour together," "Yeah, let's do it someday." And talking to the guys from Gamma Ray about it, and the guys from Helloween. The problem is that, in the end, schedules have to be coordinated; it only makes sense if all the bands release an album at the same time and are available to tour. That's the tricky part. I'd love to do something like that because I think it would be a very special package for the fans if we did a "Big Four" of German Metal, and I think it would also be a lot of fun for us because it would be a bunch of friends together on the road, so to me it sounds like a lot of fun. And I can perfectly imagine that it will happen someday.
W (NM) : Changing the subject, there are many Brazilian bands that were influenced by German Power Speed Metal. What do you know about older bands like Viper, Angra, Shaman, and the singer Andre Matos? Have you ever listened to this type of music?
MS : First of all, yes, I've heard the music and we've played with several of them. We toured with Angra in Japan in… 2007, I think. We toured together and became friends with the guys. Andre Matos, of course, we know from his time in Angra, and I've always been a big fan of Sepultura, who play a different kind of music, of course, but yes, we know Brazilian metal bands, there are some very, very good ones.
W (NM) : We have a classic question on our show. If you could choose one song that makes you lose your mind wherever you are, maybe from another band, a song that, wherever you hear it, you go crazy and want to headbang, what song would it be? The band can be played on the show.
MS : I would choose Purgatory by Iron Maiden, because that song came to mind this morning when I was doing an email interview and they asked me what song got me into Metal, and this was, in fact, exactly the song that made me a metalhead. I heard it in '81 when I was still a kid and the album Killers was released. I heard something on the radio and lost my mind; after that day it was my favorite Iron Maiden song and I simply love that song, so whenever I hear it, I think of Metal.
When I first heard Metallica's 'Ride the Lightning,' I didn't quite understand what the hell was going on. It blew my mind.
W (NM) : Speaking of the beginning of your career, how did you start listening to Metal? And how did you start thinking about playing guitar?
MS : Actually, playing guitar came before listening to Metal, in my case. A short time before, because when I was 10 or 11 years old my parents wanted me to learn an instrument of my choice and I chose the guitar, as it was what I liked most among the options. My mother suggested piano, clarinet or violin and I said, “No, guitar, please.” I started learning classical guitar at a music school here and, as I said, in '81 I discovered Metal when I heard “Purgatory” on the radio and it immediately made me a metalhead. I recorded that song from the radio and from that day on I spent all my allowance on albums. I went to the nearest record store the next day and brought home everything I could find by Maiden and from then on I discovered all the other great bands, like Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Motörhead, Priest, everything that was playing at the time, Rainbow, Purple, Uriah Heep, and then, of course, I listened to everything that came out, like Metallica, Slayer in their early years, all the great bands. So, Maiden turned me into a metalhead and, of course, that brought about change. I lost interest in classical guitar, bought a Flying V, and then wanted to be a metal guitarist. That came along with my devotion to metal.
W (NM) : Tell me a little about what you remember of the Heavy Metal or music scene in Krefeld, a small town in Germany.
MS : It was a great scene in the '80s, we had a lot of friends. There was a metal pub we went to at least three times a week, I think it was Thursday, Friday and Saturday, when we all met up at this pub and listened to music all night and had a good time. We went to shows together, we saw all the big shows. I remember we went to the Master of Puppets show in '85, I think, we went there with 40 guys. We had six or seven cars. We went to all the shows together, it was a lot of fun, we went to festivals, like "Monsters of Rock" or "The Dynamo Open Air" in the Netherlands, we went out of here. It was a great camaraderie, everyone played new bands for the other guys, a guy would buy an album and that's how we discovered new bands. It was a very good time.
W (NM) : What do you remember about the period when Power and Speed Metal were being created? Do you recall anything particularly special happening, or was it something that came naturally?
MS : It was very exciting. As I said, “Purgatory” was quite a fast and aggressive song by Maiden standards. But I remember when I first heard Metallica’s ‘Ride the Lightning,’ I didn’t quite understand what the hell was going on. It was so fast and intense, so heavy, it blew my mind. It definitely influenced me as a musician and it definitely influenced Blind Guardian, because obviously we started as a melodic speed metal band. We were very fast, we just wanted the melodies in there, but the speed and all the excitement in the music was also present.
W (NM) : What are your best memories from the time you served in the military with André?
MS : Actually, neither André nor I went into the army. Here in Germany, you have the choice of serving in the army or…
W (NM) : Community service.
MS : Yes, yes. I worked in a nursing home, which was quite difficult at times, but it was a very good experience because the funny thing was… obviously I had long hair, I had my leather jacket, I was a typical metalhead at the time. And all the elderly people and I would tease the well-dressed guys who worked there. We would make fun of them and they would laugh with me, which was something I found very cool, because many people think that elderly people would never accept a long-haired guy with earrings, a black leather jacket, tight jeans, etc. But they were quite open-minded, some of them even asked me to play my music for them; they didn't really like it, but they were open to it and that was very cool.
W (NM) : Changing the subject again, can you tell us a little about the orchestral project for "The Lord of the Rings"?
MS : Yes, the most important information: it's no longer about "The Lord of the Rings." We never fixed the lyrics beforehand; we were considering different options. "The Lord of the Rings" was an option, obviously, but there are many copyright issues involving the work, and we have to deal with Tolkien's family, etc. So, in the end, a different opportunity opened up for us. There's a very good writer in Germany called Markus Heitz, who is one of the best fantasy authors in Germany, and it turns out he's a Blind Guardian fan. And we'll be doing a collaborative theme for this album; he'll write a novel for this album, on which the song lyrics will be based. So he can create the universe for this album, which is very special for us, obviously, since we're big fans of this guy. And about the music, it's typical Blind Guardian music, just without the metal band, so you'll have the melodic lines, all the arrangements played, but by a classical orchestra and with Hansi singing. So, it sounds like Blind Guardian on one hand, but on the other hand it sounds completely different, but it's very exciting for us, it's awesome, we've already recorded five or six songs and we're also thinking about doing a heavier version later, involving the band. We have to see if we can adapt it for a metal band as well, but first we're going to do something purely classical with Hansi singing, as I said.
W (NM) : So, let's choose a song again. Could you choose a Blind Guardian song that you're very proud to have been a part of, so we can play it on the show now?
MS : Yes, I would say “Somewhere Far Beyond,” as it was my first rediscovered song. We were looking for music to put on the album “The Best Of,” and I knew, I always knew, that I liked this song, but when we went through the recordings and I listened to our old stuff, I really rediscovered how good this song is. I think it has one of our best lyrics, and musically, in my opinion, it's one of the highlights of our career.
One of the highlights for everyone in Blind Guardian was playing in Brazil.”
W (NM) : You've always had a strong career in Brazil. What was your relationship with the country like?
MS : The best moments have always been when we managed to play in Brazil. I remember when we played in Brazil for the first time in '98, we had no idea what to expect, none of our friends had played in Brazil. So we had no idea what was going to happen, and at the first show we played, I think it was in São Paulo, there were six or seven thousand people. But they went crazy, singing all the songs along with the band. And the energy coming from the audience was exhilarating, and since then, that has been one of the highlights for everyone in Blind Guardian, playing in Brazil. Because the fans are so devoted and so enthusiastic and also very friendly, when we meet people outside of shows, walking around the city, or when we sit in a café, have a drink, etc. Whoever we meet is always great! We chat a bit, take some photos, give autographs, and everyone is always in a good mood, which is a really cool thing. Besides, my wife is Brazilian, so I have a very special relationship with the country anyway.
W (NM) : Seriously, where is she from?
MS : From João Pessoa.
W (NM) : João Pessoa? Cool.
MS : It's actually a shame that our tours are only in the south, in São Paulo, Rio, and Porto Alegre. I think it would be great if we could spread our shows more throughout Brazil. The problem is that Brazil is a huge country, and all the equipment transportation, I think that's what causes the problem. But we were happier to be able to play more in the north of Brazil now.
W (NM) : Okay, changing the subject completely again, how's your skateboarding going?
MS : I have to clear this up once and for all because there are the craziest rumors on the internet about me and skateboarding. I was never a skateboarder. I skateboarded once in my life for two hours and everything went smoothly until I broke my leg in five places, and that was the last time I touched a skateboard. I don't plan on starting it again; I would never skateboard again because, to be honest, I would be terrified. I've been skiing since I was three years old, I do it very well, I've never been hurt. I'm also very good at rollerblading, I've always done it since I was a child, and I've never been hurt. Skateboarding was just a stupid idea because my son had a skateboard and he was riding it around the house and one day he said, "Don't you want to join me?" and I said, "Why not?" So we went to town, I bought a damn skateboard, we came home, I rode for two hours and fell off that thing and broke my leg. I would never do that again.
W (NM) : So, where do you live now?
MS : Still in Krefeld.
W (NM) : Oh, you still live in East Germany, right?
MS : Yes, the whole band still lives in Germany. Hansi, André, and I are from Krefeld and we still live here. Only Frederik isn't from this region; he's from an area near Wiesbaden, which is further south, about two and a half hours from here.
W (NM) : Could you send one last message to the Brazilian fans and invite them to see Blind Guardian at Metal Open Air in São Luís and at the show in São Paulo with Grave Digger on April 21st?
MS : Of course, I'd like to thank everyone for their support all these years. The first time we went to Brazil was thirteen years ago, and every time we go back it's the best thing ever for us. We just went to Brazil a few months ago and it was great. I hope to see you all when we play at Metal Open Air and also at the show in São Paulo with Grave Digger. We're going to have a great party again and I hope to see you soon.
W (NM) : Okay, thank you, Marcus Siepen. Thank you very much for your time.
MS : You're welcome.
W (NM) : Bye, bye.
