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.