Tales from the Twilight World
Encyclopedia
Tales from the Twilight World is the third studio album that was released in 1990 by Blind Guardian
. The cover artwork was created by Andreas Marschall, who has drawn the artwork for some of Blind Guardian's other releases (Somewhere Far Beyond
, Nightfall in Middle-Earth
, etc.). It was remastered and re-released on 15 June 2007, with bonus tracks.
Note: the 2003 and 2007 re-release has "Run for the Night" bonus track, although it is not listed as such.
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...
. The cover artwork was created by Andreas Marschall, who has drawn the artwork for some of Blind Guardian's other releases (Somewhere Far Beyond
Somewhere Far Beyond
Somewhere Far Beyond is the fourth studio album by German power metal act Blind Guardian.It was released in 1992 and produced by Kalle Trapp...
, Nightfall in Middle-Earth
Nightfall in Middle-Earth
Nightfall in Middle-Earth is a concept album by Blind Guardian, released in 1998. It is also Blind Guardian's sixth studio album.The album is based upon J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, a book of tales from the First Age of Middle-earth, recounting the War of the Jewels. The album contains not...
, etc.). It was remastered and re-released on 15 June 2007, with bonus tracks.
Track listing
- "Traveler in Time" – 5:59
- "Welcome to Dying" – 4:47
- "Weird Dreams" – 1:19
- "Lord of the Rings" – 3:14
- "Goodbye My Friend" – 5:33
- "Lost in the Twilight Hall" – 5:58
- "Tommyknockers" – 5:09
- "Altair 4" – 2:26
- "The Last Candle" – 5:59
- Japanese Bonus Track
- 10. "Run for the Night" (Live) – 3:39
- 2003 Re-release Bonus Tracks
- 11. "Lords of the Rings" - 3:57
- 12. "To France" (Mike Oldfield's cover) - 4:39
- 2007 Re-release Bonus Tracks
- 11. "Lost in the Twilight Hall" (Demo Version)
- 12. "Tommyknockers" (Demo Version)
Note: the 2003 and 2007 re-release has "Run for the Night" bonus track, although it is not listed as such.
Lineup
- 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 and bass - 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 guitar & backing vocals - 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 & backing vocals - Thomas "Thomen" Stauch – drums
Guest appearances
- Kai HansenKai HansenKai Michael Hansen is a power metal guitarist and vocalist.Hansen is the founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray, and the co-founder and former member of German metal band Helloween. He is a prominent figure in power metal, and has sold millions of albums worldwide...
(Iron SaviorIron SaviorIron Savior is a German power metal band that formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1996. Following a period of several years working behind the scenes in music production, multi-instrumentalist and producer/engineer Piet Sielck joined with former Helloween bandmate Kai Hansen and then-drummer for Blind...
, HelloweenHelloweenHelloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
, Gamma RayGamma Ray (band)Gamma Ray is a power metal band from Hamburg, northern Germany, founded and fronted by Kai Hansen after his departure from the German power metal Helloween. Hansen is the current lead vocalist, guitarist as well as the chief songwriter of Gamma Ray. The band is known as one of the most prominent...
) - backing vocals, vocals on "Lost in the Twilight Hall" and guitar solo on "The Last Candle". - Piet SielckPiet SielckPiet Sielck is a power metal guitarist and vocalist. He is member of the power/speed metal bands Iron Savior and Savage Circus, as well as owner of the studio Powerhouse in Hamburg.-Early years:...
(Iron SaviorIron SaviorIron Savior is a German power metal band that formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1996. Following a period of several years working behind the scenes in music production, multi-instrumentalist and producer/engineer Piet Sielck joined with former Helloween bandmate Kai Hansen and then-drummer for Blind...
, Savage CircusSavage CircusSavage Circus is a German/Swedish power metal band originally created as a side project by Thomen Stauch before leaving Blind Guardian.-Biography:...
) - backing vocals & effects - Mathias Wiesner - effects
- Rolf KöhlerRolf KöhlerRolf Köhler was a German singer, musician and record producer.Rolf Köhler has been one of the most successful singers from Germany. His first success was on the 1970s under the Marc de Ville pseudonym...
, "Hacky" Hackmann and Kalle Trapp - backing vocals
Personnel
- Kalle Trapp - producing, mixing and recording
- Piet Sielck - second engineer
- Charley Rinne - executive producer
- Andreas Marshall - cover paintings and idea
- Buffo/Charley Rinne - pictures
Lyrical references
- "Traveler in Time" is based on Frank HerbertFrank HerbertFranklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
's DuneDune (novel)Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel... - "Welcome to Dying" is based on Peter StraubPeter StraubPeter Francis Straub is an American author and poet, most famous for his work in the horror genre. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award, placing him among the most-honored horror authors in...
's Floating DragonFloating DragonFloating Dragon is the seventh novel by author Peter Straub, originally published by Underwood-Miller in November 1982 and G.P. Putnam's Sons in February 1983.-Synopsis:... - "Lord of the Rings" is based on J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. TolkienJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in... - "Tommyknockers" and "Altair 4" are based on Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's The TommyknockersThe TommyknockersThe Tommyknockers is a 1987 horror novel by Stephen King. While maintaining a horror style, the novel is more of an excursion into the realm of science fiction for King, as the residents of the Maine town of Haven gradually fall under the influence of a mysterious object buried in the woods.In his... - "Goodbye My Friend" is inspired by the film E.T.E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
- "Lost in the Twilight Hall" is about the time spent "between worlds" by the wizard Gandalf the GreyGandalfGandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
after defeating the BalrogBalrogBalrogs are fictional demonic beings who appear in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Such creatures first appeared in print in his novel The Lord of the Rings, though they figured in earlier writings that posthumously appeared in The Silmarillion and other books.Balrogs are described as...
of MoriaMoria (Middle-earth)In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or 'mansions', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains...
before his reincarnation as Gandalf the White. - "The Last Candle" talks about places and events of Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance universe, specially from the "Chronicles" and the "Twins", the two main trilogies.