Blind Guardian "The God Machine (Russia, Soyuz Music, SZCD 8464-22)"

The God Machine is the twelfth studio album by the German power metal band Blind Guardian, released on 2 September 2022 through Nuclear Blast. This is the band's first regular studio album in seven years, following Beyond the Red Mirror (2015), marking the longest gap between two Blind Guardian studio albums (although a previous album was released three years earlier under the name "Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra").

The album's cover art was illustrated by American artist Peter Mohrbacher as part of the Angelarium project.

Production of The God Machine took place throughout the global COVID-19 pandemic; however some of the songs were written before 2020. Frontman Hansi Kürsch feared unforeseeable individual and social consequential damage from the pandemic. "For us, however, it was good from a creative point of view because we were able to take our time. We could think: What do we actually want? It has to represent us and it has to represent the time", Kürsch confirms the influence. "For me it could have been even a bit heavier. During the pre-production I was even involved in death metal at times. But the other band members vetoed that."

"We didn't want to rehash our qualities from 1995, but didn't want to continue down this complex path forever either. The God Machine is a new beginning for us. We've set a new course and gone back to certain things that we've neglected a bit on the last few albums", Kürsch told music publications in May 2022.

Marcel Rapp of powermetal.de praised the album, comparing it to 1990s Blind Guardian records: "Is The God Machine the best album after Nightfall in Middle-Earth? Possibly, because you haven't heard the Krefeld band so determined, heavy and direct since 1998."

Travis Green of My Global Mind wrote: "Fans of any of the band's previous works should find a lot to love here, while any fan of the genre who somehow hasn't discovered the band yet would do no better than to start with this album, as it's one of the band's finest efforts to date!"

• "Deliver Us from Evil" is about Arthur Miller's play The Crucible.
• "Damnation" is about The Kingkiller Chronicle, a fantasy series written by Patrick Rothfuss.
• "Secrets of the American Gods" references Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel American Gods.
• "Violent Shadows" is about Kaladin Stormblessed and his life as a bridgeman in Brandon Sanderson's fantasy novel series The Stormlight Archive.
• "Life Beyond the Spheres" is about the creation of the universe, (The Big Bang specifically) the first moments after the beginning of everything, and the evolution of space and time.
• "Architects of Doom" references the science fiction franchise Battlestar Galactica.
• "Let It Be No More" deals with the death of frontman Hansi Kürsch's mother, as well as The Leftovers.
• "Blood of the Elves" references the first novel in The Witcher series, Blood of Elves, written by Andrzej Sapkowski.
• "Destiny" is inspired by the tale The Ice-Maiden written by Hans Christian Andersen.

Track listing

All tracks are written by André Olbrich and Hansi Kürsch.

1. "Deliver Us from Evil" 5:22
2. "Damnation" 5:21
3. "Secrets of the American Gods" 7:29
4. "Violent Shadows" 4:18
5. "Life Beyond the Spheres" 6:03
6. "Architects of Doom" 6:21
7. "Let It Be No More" 4:49
8. "Blood of the Elves" 4:38
9. "Destiny" 6:47

Total length: 51:08

Official music videos:

- Deliver Us from Evil

- Secrets of the American Gods

- Violent Shadows

- Blood of the Elves

- Architects of Doom

- Life Beyond the Spheres

Recording information:

Co-produced by Blind Guardian.

Recorded and engineered from March 2020 to March 2021 at the Twilight Hall Studios, Grefrath-Oedt, Germany.

Mixed in July 2021 at Sandlane Recording Facilities, The Netherlands.

Mastered in August 2021 at Virtalähde Mastering, Finland.

Blind Guardian "Beyond The Red Mirror (Japan, Victor Entertainment, VICP-65291)"

Beyond the Red Mirror is the tenth studio album by the German power metal band Blind Guardian, released on 30 January 2015 through Nuclear Blast.

A concept album and a sequel to Imaginations from the Other Side's two tracks, "Bright Eyes" and "And the Story Ends", Beyond the Red Mirror has been described by singer Hansi Kürsch as "a story between science fiction and fantasy. [...] The two worlds described have changed dramatically for the worse since then. While there used to be several passages between the worlds, there is only one gate left now: The Red Mirror. It has to be found at any cost."

It is their first album without former session member Oliver Holzwarth on bass guitar since 1998's Nightfall in Middle-Earth, with Barend Courbois replacing him. "Twilight of the Gods" was released as a single to promote this album.

Beyond the Red Mirror has received positive reviews. Ray Van Horn Jr. of Blabbermouth.net, who gave the album a rating of nine-and-a-half out of ten stated, "Previewing their tenth album Beyond the Red Mirror with the previously-released Twilight of the Gods single, German power-symphonic metal maestros Blind Guardian capitalize on a long break with an encompassing and magical effort. For Beyond the Red Mirror, the band worked with three different worldwide choirs from Budapest, Prague and Boston, along with two full-scale orchestras bearing 90 members apiece. The results are as larger-than-life as the band intended, fleshing out a sci-fi and fantasy piece bridged to their 1995 album, Imaginations from the Other Side."

Tracklist:

1. The Ninth Wave 09:28   
2. Twilight of the Gods 04:50   
3. Prophecies 05:26   
4. At the Edge of Time 06:54  
5. Ashes of Eternity 05:39
6. Distant Memories 05:51   
7. The Holy Grail 05:59  
8. The Throne 07:54  
9. Sacred Mind 06:22  
10. Miracle Machine 03:03
11. Grand Parade 09:28   

Time:  01:10:54  

Separated into 8 parts:

I. The Cleansing of the Promised Land (tracks 1-2)

II. The Awakening (tracks 3-4)

III. Disturbance in the Here and Now (track 5)

IV. The Mirror Speaks (track 6)

V. Disturbance in the Here and Now (Reprise) (track 7)

VI. The Descending of the Nine (track 8)

VII. The Fallen and the Chosen One (tracks 9-10)

VIII. Beyond the Red Mirror (track 11)

Recording information:

Recorded, mixed and mastered between October 2012-October 2014 at Twilight Hall Studios in Grefrath-Oedt, Germany.

Orchestral and choir recordings:

• Budapest: TomTom Studio D in Budapest, Hungary between June-August 2014.

• Prague: Rudolfinum, Dvorak Hall in Prague, Czech Republic in January 2014.

• Boston: Futura Productions in Boston, MA, USA in August 2014.

Piano recordings on track "Miracle Machine" at Funkhaus Studio in Berlin, Germany in May 2014.

Additional recordings at MAZ Tonstudio in Stuttgart, Germany.

Blind Guardian "Twilight Of The Gods (Single & Video, Digipak, Germany, Nuclear Blast, 27361 33990)"

"Twilight of the Gods" is a single by the German power metal band Blind Guardian, released in 2014. It was released as the first single from their 2015 studio album Beyond the Red Mirror.

Track listing

1. "Twilight of the Gods" – 4:51
2. "Time Stands Still (at the Iron Hill)" (live in Wacken 2011) – 5:15
3. "The Bard's Song (in the Forest)" (live in Wacken 2011) – 3:40

Time:  13:46

All music written by Olbrich/Kürsch.

All lyrics written by Kürsch.

Published by BG Publishing (track 1 & 2) and Musik-Edition Discoton / Warner Chappell (track 3).

Recording information:

Track 1 recorded and mixed at Twilight Hall Studios between May 2014 and October 2014.

Tracks 2-3 recorded live in Wacken, Germany, on August, 4, 2011 mixed at Twilight Hall Studios in October 2014.

Blind Guardian "At The Edge Of Time (Limited Edition Digipak, Enhanced CD, Germany, Nuclear Blast, NB 2287-0/27361 22870)"

At the Edge of Time is the ninth studio album by the German power metal band Blind Guardian. A two-CD version of the album was released, with the second disc containing eight tracks. The artwork for the album was created by Colombian artist Felipe Machado Franco. The album was released in Europe on 30 July 2010. A music video for "A Voice in the Dark" was released on 3 August 2010.

The album was named as "Album of the Month" in the August 2010 issue of Germany's Metal Hammer magazine.

At the Edge of Time was the first album in the band's history to climb to second place in the German Media Control Charts. It kept its place among the Top 10 for three straight weeks.

The album was particularly successful in the United States. Not only did it debut in the 108th position of the Billboard Top 200 chart but also became the No. 1 song on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. This marks the highest position that a Blind Guardian album had reached until then in the United States.

The album debuted at No. 18 on the Top Hard Music Albums chart and No. 108 on the Top 200 chart in Canada.

Sacred Worlds

An edited version of the original song "Sacred", which has a new orchestral intro and outro. It was written by Blind Guardian for the 2008 video game Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.

Tanelorn (Into the Void)

Based on Michael Moorcock's The Eternal Champion series.

Road of No Release

Based on Peter S. Beagle's The Innkeeper's Song.

Ride into Obsession

Based on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series.

(Hansi Kürsch: "An introduction to the main characters, the Dragon Reborn and the Dark Lord Ba'alzamon.")

Curse My Name

Based on The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, a political writing by John Milton where he legitimizes the killing of a king who didn't carry out his duties.

Valkyries

Inspired by Norse mythology, especially Valkyries, as well as the perception of time.

Control the Divine

Based on John Milton's Paradise Lost.

War of the Thrones

Based on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.

A Voice in the Dark

Based on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. It tells the story of Bran Stark, a key character in the series. This track was the first single from the album, and it is a small comeback to the band's original speed metal style.

Wheel of Time

Based on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, focusing on (and through the viewpoint of) Rand al'Thor, the protagonist of the series.

Track listing

All music is composed by André Olbrich and Hansi Kürsch, except "You're the Voice" on the bonus CD, which was written by Andy Qunta, Keith Reid, Maggie Ryder and Chris Thompson.

CD 1

1. "Sacred Worlds" 9:19
2. "Tanelorn (Into the Void)" 5:58
3. "Road of No Release" 6:30
4. "Ride into Obsession" 4:47
5. "Curse My Name" 5:49
6. "Valkyries" 6:34
7. "Control the Divine" 5:25
8. "War of the Thrones" 4:55
9. "A Voice in the Dark" 5:41
10. "Wheel of Time" 8:56

Total length: 63:54

CD 2

1. "Sacred Worlds (Pre-production Version)" 6:49
2. "Wheel of Time (Orchestral Version)" 8:55
3. "You're the Voice (Radio Edit)" (John Farnham cover) 3:35
4. "Tanelorn (Into the Void) (Demo Version)" 5:58
5. "Curse My Name (Demo Version)" 4:41
6. "A Voice in the Dark (Demo Version)" 5:40
7. "Sacred (Video Clip)"  
8. "A Journey to the Edge of Time (Studio Documentary)"  

Total length: 35:38

Video material in MP4 format, viewable on PC and Mac.

Comes with an exclusive code giving access to downloadable content on www.nuclearblast.de/edgeoftime.

The online content includes three different versions of album songs in MP3 format (192 kbps).

The album is dedicated to Rolf Köhler.

Official music video:

—"A Voice in the Dark"

Recording information:

Recorded, mixed and mastered in Twilight Hall Studios/Grefath-Oedt, Germany, between November 2007 and April 2010.

Orchestral recordings in Rudolfinum, Dvorak Hall/Prague, Czech Republic, between August 2009 and January 2010.

Additional recordings:

MAZ Tonstudio/Stuttgart, Germany, Rothrecording Studios/Burghaslach, Germany, Bürgenmeister-Smidt-Gedächtniskirche/Bremerhaven, Germany, Neverland/Dreamtone Studio/Istanbul, Türkiye, between January 2010 and April 2010.

Online and DVD filming and editing:

Matthias Knézy Bohm, Felix Kasike, Robert Goesch, Benedikt von Scherr-Thoss, Vi-Dan Tran, Joshua Bohm, Linda Gasper, Daniela Schwegler, Nina Ulmer,

Oganalp Canatan and Guney Ozsan.

Additional percussion samples on "Wheel of Time" taken from Ayez Saidawi's "Arabic Beat Loops".