HANSI KÜRSCH: 'I Would Be Very Surprised' If There Was No New BLIND GUARDIAN Album Before 2027

In a new interview with Australia's Metal Roos, Hansi Kürsch of German metallers BLIND GUARDIAN was asked if he thinks there will be "a shorter turnaround time" for the band's next studio album, considering that 2022's "The God Machine" was the first regular studio LP from BLIND GUARDIAN in seven years. The singer responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm pretty sure it's going to be…. I'm not sure how it will look like exactly. We did the re-recordings for 'Somewhere Far Beyond' for the anniversary album, and we did the live recordings in 2022, so this is something certainly to come up very soon. But we're talking about new material. That is still on hold then, because after that we do some acoustic playings, which we also worked on because we had to kill some time. And then, yeah, after Wacken [Open Air] and after these shows we're going to play within this year, we keep our focus on regular songwriting. And I don't know — I would be very surprised to find out that there's no new BLIND GUARDIAN album before '27, which is an accomplishment already, but I'm hoping for either late '25 or '26."

Asked how he and his BLIND GUARDIAN bandmates keep their songwriting fresh after all this time, Hansi said: "You gain a bit of expertise over the years. This is helpful. And then in addition, it's a passion on one hand, it's a profession on the other hand, which makes it a bit easier. And the excitement is still there. I believe maybe that's the central point in BLIND GUARDIAN. Everyone is feeling completely relieved because we have accomplished so much. But everyone is also focused because we build up a market in [a country like] Australia and we still see a development into the right direction. So that's encouragement, motivation, and we have plenty of that. What I have to say is I don't see the moment where we are running out of ideas."

BLIND GUARDIAN's "The God Machine" North American 2024 tour will commence on April 18 at The Fillmore in Silver Springs, Maryland and will make its way to Dallas, Seattle, and Toronto before the final performance at Milwaukee Metalfest on May 17. Joining the band as support is NIGHT DEMON.

"The God Machine" was released in September 2022 via Nuclear Blast. The cover artwork for the CD was designed by Peter Mohrbacher.

Prior to "The God Machine"'s arrival, BLIND GUARDIAN's latest release was the all-orchestral album "Twilight Orchestra: Legacy Of The Dark Lands", which came out in November 2019 via Nuclear Blast. To create the concept, lead guitarist André Olbrich and Kürsch worked alongside German bestselling author Markus Heitz, whose novel "Die Dunklen Lande" was released in March 2019. The book is set in 1629 and contains the prequel to "Legacy Of The Dark Lands".

BLIND GUARDIAN's previous "regular" studio album, "Beyond The Red Mirror", was issued in 2015. It was the band's first LP since 2010's "At The Edge Of Time", marking the longest gap between two studio albums in BLIND GUARDIAN's career. It was also the group's first album without bassist Oliver Holzwarth since 1995's "Imaginations From The Other Side".

BLIND GUARDIAN's core trio consists of Kürsch, lead guitarist André Olbrich and rhythm guitarist Marcus Siepen. Drummer Frederik Ehmke has been with the group since 2005.

Drummer Thomen Stauch played on BLIND GUARDIAN's first seven albums before being replaced by Ehmke. Frederik made his recording debut with BLIND GUARDIAN on 2006's "A Twist In The Myth".