A Night at the Opera (Blind Guardian album)

A Night at the Opera
Studio album by Blind Guardian
Released	March 4, 2002
Recorded	October 2000-December 2001 at Twilight Hall Studios, Grefrath and Hammer Music Studios, Hamburg, Germany
Genre	Power metal Progressive metal
Length	65:29
Label	Virgin/Century Media
Producer	Charlie Bauerfeind
Blind Guardian chronology
Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998) A Night at the Opera (2002) A Twist in the Myth (2006)

A Night at the Opera is a 2002 album by the German power metal band Blind Guardian.

Metal-Rules.com named this the best metal album of 2002.

This album continues a stylistic change from power metal into a more progressive sound, with multiple overlayed 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.

Track listing

All music written by Olbrich/Kürsch except track 2 and 7 written by Olbrich/Kürsch/Stauch and bonus track 1-5 written by Siepen/Kürsch/Stauch. All lyrics written by Kürsch.

1. "Precious Jerusalem" – 6:22
2. "Battlefield" – 5:37
3. "Under the Ice" – 5:45
4. "Sadly Sings Destiny" – 6:05
5. "The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight" – 5:30
6. "Wait for an Answer" – 6:30
7. "The Soulforged" – 5:18
8. "Age of False Innocence" – 6:06
9. "Punishment Divine" – 5:46
10. "And Then There Was Silence" – 14:06

• Bonus Songs

1. "Harvest of Sorrow" (Acoustic Version) – 3:39 (Japanese Bonus)
2. "Mies del Dolor" – 3:39 (Spain/North American Bonus)
3. "La Cosecha del Dolor" – 3:39 (Argentine Bonus)
4. "Frutto del Buio" – 3:39 (Italian Bonus)
5. "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 (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.

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 and his temptation in the desert.
• "Battlefield" is based on Song of Hildebrandt, 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 on Cassandra and what happened to her after the Trojan War, particularly from The Oresteia.
• "Sadly Sings Destiny" is 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 character who reluctantly helps fulfil the prophecy, by doing such things as building the cross and weaving the Crown of Thorns.
• "The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight" is based on an episode from the story of Tristan und Isolde.
• "Wait for an Answer" is a story Hansi wrote about an unusual friendship between a hare and a fox. They both have to avoid the genocide created by a tribe of crows who are a kind of racist nation in a story about hope and war.
• "The Soulforged" is based on the Dragonlance saga's tales of the mage Raistlin Majere.
• "Age of False Innocence" is about Galileo Galilei.
• "Punishment Divine" is about Nietzsche's decline into insanity where he imagines himself being judged by a court of saints.
• "And Then There Was Silence" is about Cassandra's visions of the coming Trojan War. It was inspired by Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid.
• "Harvest of Sorrow" is based on Tolkien's tragic story of Túrin Turambar, which appears in the Silmarillion.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Exclaim!	favorable
Metal Temple
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Chart positions

Album – Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
2002	Top Independent Albums	#37

Personnel

Band

• Hansi Kürsch – lead and backing vocals
• André Olbrich – lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
• Marcus Siepen – rhythm guitar
• Thomas "Thomen" Stauch – drums & percussion

Guest musicians

• Bass guitars: Oliver Holzwarth
• Keyboards & orchestral arrangements: 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 – photos

External links

• "Harvest of Sorrow" (9 versions available for download)