André Olbrich (born 3 May 1967) is a German musician, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of power metal band Blind Guardian, in which he serves as one of the main composers with other founder Hansi Kürsch. Olbrich was ranked number 76 out of 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time by Guitar World. He is also ranked number 64 in Joel McIver's The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists. Olbrich's guitar work often reflects vocalist Hansi Kürsch's singing. Olbrich's style is influenced by his favourite bands, which include Queen, Judas Priest, Metallica and Black Sabbath. Additionally, Olbrich relies heavily on staccato technique.

Equipment

Olbrich's gear He is believed to use Marshall amps for his distortion/lead riffs:

Trivia

In 2020, Russian malacologist Alexander Fedosov named four new species of Clavus canalicularis mollusk in honour of four rock guitarists. One of them, Clavus andreolbrichi, was named in honour of Andre Olbrich.