A Night at the Opera (Blind Guardian album)

A Night at the Opera
Cover art by Paul R. Gregory
Studio album by
Blind Guardian
Released25 March 2002
RecordedJanuary–December 2001 at Twilight Hall Studios, Grefrath and Hammer Music Studios, Hamburg, Germany
Genre
Length67:01
LabelVirgin/Century Media
ProducerCharlie Bauerfeind
Blind Guardian chronology
Nightfall in Middle-Earth
(1998) 		A Night at the Opera
(2002) 		A Twist in the Myth
(2006)
Singles from A Night at the Opera
  1. "And Then There Was Silence"
    Released: 12 November 2001
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Exclaim!favorable[1]
Rock Hard9/10[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]

  1. ^ a b Stewart-Panko, Kevin (June 2002). "Aggresstive Tendenacies: Metal & Hardcore review: Blind Guardian – A Night At The Opera". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
  2. ^ a b "A Night at the Opera - Blind Guardian | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Rensen, Michael. "A Night at the Opera review". issue 187. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  4. ^ Heim, Frank. "A Night At The Opera". Blind Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  5. ^ W, Bear (25 March 2022). "(2002) Blind Guardian – A Night At the Opera: Anniversary Special". Tuonela Magazine. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Exclusive Thomen Stauch interview". Drummerszone. Retrieved 28 October 2022.