A Night at the Opera (Blind Guardian album)
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| A Night at the Opera | ||
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| Studio album by Blind Guardian | ||
| Released | March 19, 2002 | |
| Recorded | October 2000-December 2001 at Twilight Hall Studios, Grefrath and Hammer Music Studios, Hamburg, Germany | |
| Genre | Speed Metal/Power Metal | |
| Length | 65:29 | |
| Label | Virgin/Century Media | |
| Producer(s) | Charlie Bauerfeind | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Blind Guardian chronology | ||
| Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998) |
A Night at the Opera (2002) |
A Twist in the Myth (2006) |
- Not to be confused with A Night at the Opera (Queen album).
A Night at the Opera is a 2002 album by the German power metal band Blind Guardian. The record is the subject of glowing reviews by several magazines and fansites devoted to the genre.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Precious Jerusalem" – 6:21
- "Battlefield" – 5:37
- "Under the Ice" – 5:44
- "Sadly Sings Destiny" – 6:04
- "The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight" – 5:30
- "Wait for an Answer" – 6:30
- "The Soulforged" – 5:18
- "Age of False Innocence" – 6:05
- "Punishment Divine" – 5:45
- "And Then There Was Silence" – 14:05
- Bonus Songs
- "Harvest of Sorrow" (Acoustic Version) – 3:39 (Japanese Bonus)
- "Mies del Dolor" – 3:39 (Spain/North American Bonus)
- "La Cosecha del Dolor" – 3:39 (Argentinean Bonus)
- "Frutto del Buio" – 3:39 (Italian Bonus)
- "Moisson de Peine" – 3:39 (French Bonus)
- "Harvest of Sorrow" has seven different versions in addition to two live versions: two in English, two in Spanish ("Mies Del Dolor, La Cosecha Del Dolor", one in Italian ("Frutto Del Buio") , one in French ("Moisson de Peine"), and one in a mix of all of the versions except the English acoustic and Italian.
[edit] Lyrical References
The album features the concepts and themes familiar to Blind Guardian fans, such as historical battles and religious references.
- "Precious Jerusalem" is based on the Christian Bible, as is the song "Sadly Sings Destiny".
- "The Soulforged" is based on the Dragonlance saga's tales of the mage Raistlin Majere.
- "Punishment Divine" is about Nietzsche's decline into insanity.
- "And Then There Was Silence" is inspired by the Iliad.
- "Under The Ice" may also have connections to the Iliad.
- "Age of False Innocence" is about Galileo Galilei.
- "The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight" is based on Tristan und Isolde.
- "Harvest of Sorrow" is based on Tolkien's tragic story of Túrin Turambar, which appears in the Silmarillion.
The album's title may be a reference to the film A Night at the Opera starring the Marx Brothers.
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Band
[edit] Guest Musicians
- Bass guitar: Oliver Holzwarth
- Keyboards: Matthias Wiesner
- Piano: Michael Schüren (Age of False Innocence)
- Keyboards and sound effects: Pad Bender, Boris Schmidt, Sascha Pierro
- Choir: Rolf Köhler, Thomas Hackmann, Olaf Senkbeil, Billy King
[edit] Technical Staff
- Charlie Bauerfeind - production, mixing, recording
- Nordin Hammadi Amrani - assistant engineer, additional recordings
- Clemens von Witte - recordings
- Detlef - recordings
- Paul Raymond Gregory - cover painting
- Dennis "Sir" Kostroman - booklet design
- Axel Jusseit - photos
[edit] External links
- "Harvest of Sorrow" (9 versions available for download)
| Blind Guardian |
| Hansi Kürsch | André Olbrich | Marcus Siepen | Frederik Ehmke |
| Thomas "Thomen" Stauch | Markus Dörk | Christoph Theissen | Hans-Peter Frey |
| Discography |
|---|
| Demo albums as Lucifer's Heritage: Symphonies of Doom | Battalions of Fear |
| Studio albums: Battalions of Fear | Follow the Blind | Tales from the Twilight World | Somewhere Far Beyond | Imaginations from the Other Side | Nightfall in Middle-Earth | A Night at the Opera | A Twist in the Myth |
| Live albums: Tokyo Tales | Live |
| Compilations: The Forgotten Tales |
| Singles: A Past and Future Secret | Bright Eyes | Mr. Sandman | Mirror Mirror | And Then There Was Silence | The Bard's Song (In the Forest) | Fly |
| Videos and DVDs: Imaginations Through the Looking Glass |
