BLIND GUARDIAN Release Tenth Studio Album ‘Beyond The Red Mirror’
January 30th, 2015
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Krefeld, Germany-based power metal group Blind Guardian issued tenth full-length studio album Beyond The Red Mirror on January 30th, 2015 in Europe (excluding the United Kingdom) through Nuclear Blast Records. The label scheduled United Kingdom release for February 2nd, and North American release for the 3rd of that month.
The outing was cut at Twilight Hall Studio in Grefath, Germany, and produced by Charlie Bauerfeind. Blind Guardian collaborated with three different classical choirs for Beyond The Red Mirror, the choirs hailing from the Czech Republic (Prague), Hungary (Budapest), and the United States (Boston). Two grand orchestras – each featuring 90 musicians – also lent their services to the effort.
Beyond The Red Mirror’s storylines revolve around a young protagonist featured in the April 1995 compositions ‘Bright Eyes’ and ‘And The Story Ends’, included on fifth outing Imaginations From The Other Side. That album chronicled two worlds, worlds whose fortunes take a turn for the worse in Beyond The Red Mirror. Storywise, there were formerly several passages between the two worlds, but only one gate subsequently existed: The Red Mirror.
Cover artwork duties fell to longtime collaborator Felipe Machado Franco.
Beyond The Red Mirror was made available in the following formats; jewelcase (ten songs), limited edition digibook (11 songs), double LP gatefold vinyl (11 songs), earbook (12 songs plus illustrations, photos, and liner notes), and Nuclear Blast mailorder earbook (12 songs plus illustrations, photos, liner notes and bonus ten-inch).
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The track listing was as follows;
01. ‘Ninth Wave’
02. ‘Twilight Of The Gods’
03. ‘Prophecies’
04. ‘At The Edge Of Time’
05. ‘Ashes Of Eternity’
06. ‘Distant Memories’ (bonus track on limited editions and vinyl)
07. ‘Holy Grail’
08. ‘The Throne’
09. ‘Sacred Mind’
10. ‘Miracle Machine’
11. ‘Grand Parade’
Blind Guardian’s recording line-up was as follows;
Hansi Kürsch (vocals)
André Olbrich (guitar)
Marcus Siepen (guitar)
Frederik Ehmke (drums)
Barend Courbois (session bass)
An official lyric video was released for inaugural single ‘Twilight Of The Gods’, which can be viewed below. A mini-CD affair, the single includes two live tracks recorded at 2011’s Wacken Open Air festival in Germany and can be pre-ordered as a digipack or in blue or white vinyl.
Ninth studio record At The Edge Of Time was released in July 2010 via Nuclear Blast.
