Legendary German prog-power metallers Blind Guardian played Wacken at midnight on Friday, August 5th and then jumped a plane to Montreal, to play their classic Imaginations From The Other Side in its entirety at this year's Heavy Montréal on the Sunday (August 7th) at Parc Jean-Drapeau’s Plaine Des Jeux! BraveWords sat with singer Hansi Kürsch and we talked about performing on both sides of the big pond within a 48 hour period, their current setlist focusing on an audience favorite, Uriah Heep influences and more!

Glenn Harveston, organizer for ProgPower USA, has unleashed a bit of news that will make older Blind Guardians in North America very happy. Throughout the band’s upcoming fall tour with Grave Digger, Hansi Kursch has confirmed that the Guardians will perform the Imaginations From The Other Side album in it entirety.

Before they start their fall tour, Blind Guardian will make a stop at ProgPower for a special performance on Thursday, September 9th. The following day they will kick-off their highly anticipated 19-date tour at The Orpheum in Tampa, Florida. Their trek will include one Canadian date as well as stops in Worcester, Milwaukee, and conclude on October 5th at The Fillmore in San Francisco.

Blind Guardian will be touring in support of their tenth album, Beyond The Red Mirror, which was the highest first-week US sales numbers for the band. It debuted at #132 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, and #6 on the Top Hard Music chart. In Canada, Blind Guardian nearly doubled their first-week numbers from 2010, resulting in Beyond The Red Mirror debuts at #49 on the Top 200 and #4 on the Top Hard Music charts.

Tour dates with Grave Digger:

September
9 - The Orpheum - Tampa, FL
10 - Revolution - Fort Lauderdale, FL
12 - Ziggy's By The Sea - Wilmington, NC
13 - Cats Cradle - Chapel Hill, NC
15 - Webster Hall - New York, NY
16 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA
19 - London Music Hall - London, ON
20 - The Crofoot - Pontiac, MI
22 - Sokol Auditorium - Omaha, NE
23 - The Rave II - Milwaukee, WI
24 - Pierre’s Entertainment Center - Fort Wayne, IN
26 - Warehouse Live - Houston, TX
27 - Gas Monkey Live - Dallas, TX
29 - The Summit Music Hall - Denver, CO
30 - The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT

October
1 - House Of Blues - Las Vegas, NV
2 - Observatory North Park - San Diego, CA
4 - The Fonda Theatre - Los Angeles
5 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA