At the Edge of Time
Encyclopedia
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 8 tracks. The artwork for the album was created by Colombian artist Felipe Machado Franco. The album was released in Europe on July 30, 2010. A music video for "A Voice in the Dark" was released on August 3, 2010.
/Hansi Kürsch
. All lyrics by Kürsch/Olbrich.
An edited version of the original song 'Sacred,' which has a new orchestral intro and outro. It was written by Blind Guardian for the video game Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.
Based on Michael Moorcock
's Eternal Champion
series.
Based on Peter S. Beagle
's The Innkeeper's Song.
Based on Robert Jordan
's Wheel of Time
series.
(Hansi: "An introduction to the main characters, the Dragon Reborn and the Dark Lord Ba'alzamon.)
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.
Inspired from Norse mythology, especially Valkyries, as well as the perception of time.
Based on John Milton
's Paradise Lost
.
Based on George R. R. Martin
's A Song of Ice and Fire
series.
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.
Based on Robert Jordan
's Wheel of Time
series.
Guest Musicians
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in the mid-1980s in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres...
. A two CD version of the album was released, with the second disc containing 8 tracks. The artwork for the album was created by Colombian artist Felipe Machado Franco. The album was released in Europe on July 30, 2010. A music video for "A Voice in the Dark" was released on August 3, 2010.
Track listing
All music by André OlbrichAndré Olbrich
André Olbrich is the lead guitarist of the German power metal band Blind Guardian. He is one of the band's founders together with vocalist Hansi Kürsch, and serves as one of its main songwriters....
/Hansi Kürsch
Hansi Kürsch
Hans Jürgen Kürsch, better known as Hansi Kürsch is a German musician, the lead vocalist and lyricist of power metal band Blind Guardian. Together with André Olbrich, he is also the principal songwriter for the band. He was also the bassist in Blind Guardian until the 1998 album Nightfall in...
. All lyrics by Kürsch/Olbrich.
- "Sacred WorldsSacred Worlds"Sacred Worlds" is the first track from German power metal Blind Guardian's ninth studio album At the Edge of Time. At 9:17 minutes it is the longest track on the album. An edited version of the original song 'Sacred,' with a new orchestral intro and outro, was used...
" — 9:17 - "Tanelorn (Into the Void)" — 5:58
- "Road of No Release" — 6.30
- "Ride into Obsession" — 4.46
- "Curse My Name" — 5:52
- "Valkyries" — 6:38
- "Control the Divine" — 5:26
- "War of the Thrones" — 4:55
- "A Voice in the DarkA Voice in the Dark"A Voice in the Dark" is a single by Blind Guardian from their ninth studio album, At the Edge of Time. It was released on June 25, 2010 in Germany and July 6, 2010 in North America.- Track listing :# "A Voice in the Dark" – 5:45...
" — 5:41 - "Wheel of Time" — 8:55
- "Curse My Name (Original)" (Japanese bonus track) — 5:13
- "Valkyries (Extended)" (Japanese bonus track) — 6:51
- Digipack Bonus CD
- "Sacred Worlds (Pre-production Version)" — 6:49
- "Wheel of Time (Orchestral Version)" — 8:55
- "You're the VoiceYou're the VoiceAs a lead promotion for their first live album Rock the House Live! in 1991, US rock band Heart released their live version of "You're the Voice" as a single. It was captured during the US leg of their Brigade world tour in November 1990...
" (Radio Edit) (John FarnhamJohn FarnhamJohn Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
cover) — 3:36 - "Tanelorn (Into the Void)" (Demo Version) — 5:58
- "Curse My Name" (Demo Version) — 4:42
- "A Voice in the Dark" (Demo Version) — 5:40
- "Sacred" (Video Clip)
- A Journey to the Edge of Time (Studio Documentary)
Reception
Album of the month August by Germany's Metal HammerMetal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
Song Information
- 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 video game Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.
- Tanelorn (Into the Void)
Based on Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
's Eternal Champion
Eternal Champion
The Eternal Champion is a fictional creation of the author Michael Moorcock and is a recurrent feature in many of his novels.-About the Eternal Champion:...
series.
- Road of No Release
Based on Peter S. Beagle
Peter S. Beagle
Peter Soyer Beagle is an American fantasist and author of novels, nonfiction, and screenplays. His most notable works include the novels The Last Unicorn, A Fine and Private Place and Tamsin, and the award-winning story "Two Hearts".-Career:Beagle won early recognition from The Scholastic Art &...
's The Innkeeper's Song.
- Ride Into Obsession
Based on Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr. , under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.-Biography:Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina...
's Wheel of Time
Wheel of time
The Wheel of time or wheel of history is a concept found in several religious traditions and philosophies, notably religions of Indian origin such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which regard time as cyclical and consisting of repeating ages...
series.
(Hansi: "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
The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates
The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates is a book by John Milton, in which he defends the right of people to execute a guilty sovereign, whether tyrannical or not....
, a political writing by John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
where he legitimizes the killing of a king who didn't carry out his duties.
- Valkyries
Inspired from Norse mythology, especially Valkyries, as well as the perception of time.
- Control the Divine
Based on John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
's Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
.
- War of the Thrones
Based on George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...
's A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the series in 1991 and the first volume was published in 1996. Originally planned as a trilogy, the series now consists of five published volumes; a further two...
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.
- Wheel of Time
Based on Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr. , under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.-Biography:Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina...
's Wheel of Time
Wheel of time
The Wheel of time or wheel of history is a concept found in several religious traditions and philosophies, notably religions of Indian origin such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which regard time as cyclical and consisting of repeating ages...
series.
Personnel
- Hansi KürschHansi KürschHans Jürgen Kürsch, better known as Hansi Kürsch is a German musician, the lead vocalist and lyricist of power metal band Blind Guardian. Together with André Olbrich, he is also the principal songwriter for the band. He was also the bassist in Blind Guardian until the 1998 album Nightfall in...
– vocals - André OlbrichAndré OlbrichAndré Olbrich is the lead guitarist of the German power metal band Blind Guardian. He is one of the band's founders together with vocalist Hansi Kürsch, and serves as one of its main songwriters....
– lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars - Marcus SiepenMarcus SiepenMarcus Siepen is one of two guitarists in the power metal band Blind Guardian. For the biggest percentage of Blind Guardian's songs, particularly in more recent years, he has almost strictly played rhythm guitar, with most lead and solo work being performed by André Olbrich.-Personal:Siepen is...
– rhythm guitar - Frederik Ehmke – drums, percussion, flute and bagpipes
Guest Musicians
- Oliver HolzwarthOliver HolzwarthOliver Holzwarth is a German bass guitarist. He was born in Munich, Germany. He plays bass in Rhapsody of Fire along with his brother, drummer Alex Holzwarth. Oliver has been the live/studio bass player for Blind Guardian since 1998...
– bass guitar
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
Certification | Sales/ shipments |
|---|---|---|---|
| German Albums Chart | 2 | - | - |
| Greek Albums Chart | 4 | - | - |
| Croatian Albums Chart | 7 | - | - |
| European Albums Chart | 7 | - | - |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 9 | - | - |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 14 | - | - |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 18 | - | - |
| Italian Albums Chart | 19 | - | - |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 22 | - | - |
| Slovenian Albums Chart | 25 | - | - |
| Japanese Albums Chart | 29 | - | - |
| French Albums Chart | 48 | - | - |
| Spanish Albums Chart | 47 | - | - |
| Belgian Albums Chart | 67 | - | - |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 108 | - | - |
| US Billboard 200 | 108 | - | 14,000 (December 2010) |
| UK Albums Chart | 197 | - | - |
Release history
| Country | Release Date |
|---|---|
| Russia | |
| Europe | |
| United States | |
| Japan |
External links
- Samples of all tracks at Blind Guardian's website.