- A Night at the Opera (Blind Guardian album)
Infobox Album
Name = A Night at the Opera
Type = studio
Artist =Blind Guardian
Released =March 4 ,2002
Recorded = October 2000-December 2001 atTwilight Hall Studios ,Grefrath andHammer Music Studios ,Hamburg ,Germany
Genre =Power metal Symphonic metal Progressive metal
Length = 65:29
Label = Virgin/Century Media
Producer =Charlie Bauerfeind
Reviews =
* [http://soundofmetal.se/ Sound Of Metal] rating|9.5|10 [http://soundofmetal.se/index.php?page=blindguardiananightattheoperareview link]
*Allmusic rating|2.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:by5j8qfpbtm4 link]
* "Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles " (9.5/10) [http://www.bravewords.com/hardwares/1000324 link]
* "Hard Radio " (9/10) [http://www.hardradio.com/reviews/reviews012299.html link]
* "Lords of Metal " (100/100) [http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=1164&lang=en link]
* "MetalReviews.com " (100/100) [http://www.metalreviews.com/reviews/detail.php3?id=872 link]
* "Metal-Rules " (4.0/5 & 4.9/5) [http://www.metal-rules.com/review/viewreview.php?band=Blind%20Guardian&album=&post_by=&rating=&month=&year=&pos=0 link] [http://www.metal-rules.com/review/viewreview.php?band=Blind%20Guardian&album=&post_by=&rating=&month=&year=&pos=1 link]
* "Tartarean Desire " (9.5/10 & 7/10) [http://www.tartareandesire.com/reviews/bg_opera.html link] [http://www.tartareandesire.com/reviews/bg_opera2.html link]
* "The Metal Observer " (9.5/10) [http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=1&id=800 link]
Last album = "Nightfall in Middle-Earth "
(1998)
This album = "A Night at the Opera"
(2002)
Next album = "A Twist in the Myth "
(2006)"A Night at the Opera" is a 2002 album by the German
power metal bandBlind Guardian . The album has been highly praised by many a reviewer and fans alike.Fact|date=June 2008 There was some backlash to the album regarding theproduction of the album, however it was still held in high praise. Metal-Rules.com named this the best metal album of 2002. [ [http://www.metal-rules.com/polls/index.php?id=5 Metal-Rules.com ] ]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 (Argentine 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.
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 final days of
Jesus of Nazareth
* "Battlefield" is based of the "Hildebrandslied ", an old German tale of a father and son who find themselves in a duel to the death.
* "Under The Ice" has connections to the "Iliad," focuses onCassandra and what happened to her after theTrojan War , particularly from "The Oresteia ".
* "Sadly Sings Destiny" based on the religious aspect of the Messiah in the Old Testament, and tells of the crucifixion of Jesus from the point of view of a fictional character who reluctantly helps fufill the prophecy, by doing such things as biulding the cross and weaving the Crown of Thorns.
* "The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight" is about the story of "Tristan und Isolde ".
* "Wait for an Answer" is a story Hansi wrote about hope, but also about war.
* "The Soulforged" is based on the "Dragonlance " saga's tales of the mageRaistlin Majere .
* "Age of False Innocence" is aboutGalileo Galilei . [http://www.milan-skoda.cz/blindguardian/rozhovor518.htm]
* "Punishment Divine" is about Nietzsche's decline into insanity.
* "And Then There Was Silence " is inspired by the "Iliad ", the "Odyssey ", and the "Aeneid ".
* "Harvest of Sorrow" is based onTolkien 's tragic story ofTúrin Turambar , which appears in the "Silmarillion ".The album's title is a reference to the
Marx Brothers ' 1935 film "A Night at the Opera", and Queen's 1975 album "A Night at the Opera".Chart positions
Album - Billboard (North America)
Personnel
Band
*
Hansi Kürsch - lead and backing vocals
*André Olbrich - lead, rhythm and acousticguitar s
*Marcus Siepen - rhythmguitar
*Thomas "Thomen" Stauch - drums & percussionGuest musicians
* Bass guitars:
Oliver Holzwarth
* Keyboards & orchestral stuff:Matthias Wiesner
* Piano:Michael Schüren ("Age of False Innocence")
* Keyboards and sound effects:Pad Bender ,Boris Schmidt ,Sascha Pierro
* The Choir Company:Rolf Köhler ,Thomas Hackmann ,Olaf Senkbeil ,Billy King 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
*André Olbrich - front cover concept
*Dennis "Sir" Kostroman - booklet design
*Axel Jusseit - photosExternal links
* [http://www.curufin.com/bg/harvest/ "Harvest of Sorrow"] (9 versions available for download)
References
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