Hansi Kürsch

Hansi Kürsch (born August 10, 1966 in Lank-Latum, Germany) is the lead vocalist of metal band Blind Guardian. He was also the bassist in Blind Guardian until the 1998 album Nightfall in Middle-Earth. He is considered by many to be one of the best vocalists in heavy metal. He had a slight lisp on some of Blind Guardian's earlier work, but this is because he is German. Many people have agreed that his lisp benefited his singing.

One of the things that is perhaps most impressive about Kürsch's singing is his practice of layering his own voice innumerable times in complex, overlapping harmonies on his recordings, effectively creating the atmosphere of a huge choir. His vocal range is formidable - for example, the track "Chant" on the first Demons & Wizards album is comprised of vocals only, in the style of a traditional Gregorian Chant. Hansi's is the only voice on the song.

Over the years, Hansi has developed his harmonizing and layering techniques more and more, to the point that some fans of Blind Guardian admitted the vocals could be a bit overwhelming at times (particularly on the 2002 release A Night At The Opera, although that album featured several guest vocalists). However, Blind Guardian's newest release, A Twist In The Myth, has toned the complexity down a bit for the sake of making the songs more suitable for playing live (As stated by the band in the audio interview bonus track on the album).

He is married and has a son named Jonas.

Hansi has done guest vocals on the following albums, in the following songs (listed chronologically):

* Gamma Ray - Land of the Free - Farewell (1994)
* Grave Digger - Tunes of War (1996, backing vocals only)
* Nepal - Manifiesto - Besando La Tierra, Estadio Chico (1997)
* Iron Savior - Iron Savior - For The World (1997)
* Edguy - Vain Glory Opera - Out of Control, Vain Glory Opera (1998)
* Grave Digger - Excalibur (1999, backing vocals only)
* Therion - Deggial - Flesh of the Gods (2000)
* Rage - Unity (2002, backing vocals only)
* Angra - Temple of Shadows - Winds of Destination (2004)
* The Arrow - Lady Nite - Never Say Never
* Ljósálfar - Ljósálfar - Forevermoor
* Aneurysm - TBA
Hansi has also recorded two albums for his side project with Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth, Demons & Wizards.

* Demons & Wizards - Demons & Wizards (2000)
* Demons & Wizards - Touched by the Crimson King(2005)

André Olbrich

André Olbrich (born May 3, 1967 in Düsseldorf, Germany) is the lead guitarist of the German Power Metal band Blind Guardian. Together with vocalist Hansi Kürsch, André is the founder and main songwriter of the band.


Personal

André is Hansi's school friend. He is known to be a very sociable person and likes to meet his fans and chat with them after concerts. He is married.

André's favorite books are Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. His favorite game is Baldur's Gate II. His dream is to create the orchestral rock-opera for The Lord of the Rings. His favorite bands are Judas Priest, Megadeth and Ozzy.

A running joke on Blind Guardian's official forum declares that André, due to never posting on the boards or giving interviews, doesn't actually exist and is in reality a hologram.