A Night at the Opera | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 25 March 2002 | |||
Recorded | January–December 2001 at Twilight Hall Studios, Grefrath and Hammer Music Studios, Hamburg, Germany | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 67:01 | |||
Label | Virgin/Century Media | |||
Producer | Charlie Bauerfeind | |||
Blind Guardian chronology | ||||
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Singles from A Night at the Opera | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Exclaim! | favorable[1] |
Rock Hard | 9/10[3] |
A Night at the Opera is the seventh studio album by the German power metal band Blind Guardian, released in 2002. 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.[4]
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.[5] As a result, drummer Thomen Stauch would leave the group, citing dissatisfaction with the direction the group was going in.[6]
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 lyrics are written by Hansi Kürsch; all music is composed by André Olbrich and Kürsch, except bonus tracks by Marcus Siepen, Kürsch and Thomen Stauch
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Precious Jerusalem" | 6:22 |
2. | "Battlefield" (Olbrich, Kürsch and Stauch) | 5:37 |
3. | "Under the Ice" | 5:44 |
4. | "Sadly Sings Destiny" | 6:04 |
5. | "The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight" | 5:30 |
6. | "Wait for an Answer" | 6:30 |
7. | "The Soulforged" (Olbrich, Kürsch and Stauch) | 5:18 |
8. | "Age of False Innocence" | 6:05 |
9. | "Punishment Divine" | 5:45 |
10. | "And Then There Was Silence" | 14:06 |
No. | Title | Length |
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11. | "Age of False Innocence (Preproduction Mix 2018)" | 5:42 |
12. | "Under the Ice (Preproduction Mix 2018)" | 5:40 |
No. | Title | Length |
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11. | "Harvest of Sorrow (Acoustic Version)" (Japanese bonus) | 3:39 |
12. | "Mies del dolor" (Spain/North American bonus) | 3:39 |
13. | "La cosecha del dolor" (Argentine bonus) | 3:39 |
14. | "Frutto del buio" (Italian bonus) | 3:39 |
15. | "Moisson de peine" (French bonus) | 3:39 |
The album features the concepts and themes familiar to Blind Guardian fans, such as historical battles and religious references.
Album – Billboard (North America)
Year | Chart | Position |
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2002 | Top Independent Albums | #37 |
Blind Guardian
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