Blood of the Elves is a new song by Blind Guardian. For the lyrics, the band took a lot of inspiration from The Witcher.
A quick question to start with: What do you think of when you hear the title Blood of Elves? Maybe the first Witcher novel by Andrzej Sapkowski, which was published after the Witcher short stories. And soon, perhaps, Blind Guardian.
The German metal band released their new song Blood of the Elves these days, the name of which was not chosen by chance. The band members were inspired by The Witcher and you can hear that too:
A text about Geralt and Ciri
What at first glance sounds like a rather classic song by Blind Guardian turns out in the lyrics to be quite a deep understanding of the Witcher story. Although it avoids naming exact names, you quickly understand that this song is about Geralt and Ciri.
For example, Geralt’s alias White Wolf is mentioned or the lyrics speak of a predestined child – Ciri. This is made clear by the fact that the song also talks about a graceful lioness. Here the band probably refers to Calanthe, Ciri’s grandmother, who was also known as the Lioness of Citra.
And if that is not clear enough, the lyrics go on to say that there is a source inside her who is hard to bind. A clear reference to Ciri’s magical powers, which are notoriously difficult to control.
Geralt is not neglected either. The witcher’s attitude, regardless of dualistic thinking, to do a job as long as it pays, is made quite clear with the words Black or white, just pay me.
More allusions: There are certainly more allusions to the Witcher series hidden in the text of Blood of the Elves, but classifying them here would go a bit beyond the scope. Moreover, the fantasy reference is not entirely new to Blind Guardian – and the band is also known to be quite open to video games.
Blind Guardian and the video games
15 years ago, Blind Guardian should have caught the eye of many non-metal fans. As part of a side quest, an in-game concert by the band could be unlocked in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.
The proximity to video games is not too much of a surprise for Blind Guardian. The band members already expressed in previous interviews that they themselves partly play games like World of Warcraft or Diablo. And the obvious fantasy reference is also well known, given the band’s discography.
