A Night at the Opera (Blind Guardian album)

A Night at the Opera

Cover art by Paul R. Gregory

Studio album by Blind Guardian

Released

25 March 2002

Recorded

January–December 2001 at Twilight Hall Studios, Grefrath and Hammer Music Studios, Hamburg, Germany

Genre

Length

67:01

Blind Guardian chronology

Nightfall in Middle-Earth
(1998)

A Night at the Opera
(2002)

A Twist in the Myth
(2006)

Singles from A Night at the Opera

"And Then There Was Silence"
Released: November 12, 2001

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Exclaim!	favorable
Rock Hard	(9/10)

A Night at the Opera is a 2002 album by the German power metal band Blind Guardian. It is named after the 1975 Queen album of the same name, which is itself named after the Marx brothers film of the same name.

This album continues a stylistic change from power metal into a more progressive sound, with multiple overlaid vocals, choirs, orchestral keys and guitar leads and less emphasis on powerful guitar riffs and heavy rhythms. As a result, drummer Thomas Stauch would leave the group, citing dissatisfaction with the direction the group was going in.

There are seven different studio versions and two official live versions of "Harvest of Sorrow": 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 (also called "Harvest Of The World").

The song "Battlefield" is featured as the music in the heavy metal edition of the Adult Swim game, Robot Unicorn Attack.

All music written by Olbrich and Kürsch except where noted. All bonus tracks written by Marcus Siepen, Kürsch and Thomas "Thomen" Stauch. All lyrics written by Kürsch.

The album features the concepts and themes familiar to Blind Guardian fans, such as historical battles and religious references.

Album – Billboard (North America)

...
Wikipedia