Nightfall in Middle-Earth

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Nightfall in Middle-Earth
Painting in modern style of a scene from Tolkien's legendarium
Cover art by Andreas Marschall
of Lúthien dancing before Morgoth,
from The Tale of Beren and Lúthien
Studio album by
Blind Guardian
Released28 April 1998
RecordedJuly 1997 – January 1998
StudioTwilight Hall Studios
Karo Studios
Sweet Silence Studios
Vox Studios
Air-Edel Studios
Genre
Length65:29
LabelVirgin/Century Media
ProducerFlemming Rasmussen, Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian chronology
Imaginations from the Other Side
(1995) 		Nightfall in Middle-Earth
(1998) 		A Night at the Opera
(2002)
Singles from Nightfall in Middle-Earth
  1. "Mirror Mirror"
    Released: 7 February 1998

Nightfall in Middle-Earth is the sixth studio album by the German power metal band Blind Guardian. It was released on 28 April 1998 through Virgin Records. It is a concept album based on J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, a book of tales from the First Age of Middle-earth, recounting the troubled history of Beleriand as the Elves battle with the Dark Lord Morgoth.[2][3][4] The album contains not only songs but also spoken parts narrating parts of the story. The cover depicts a scene from The Silmarillion, the elf Lúthien dancing in front of the Dark Lord Morgoth.

Nightfall in Middle-Earth is widely regarded as one of Blind Guardian's best-known and best-received albums in their discography.[5] It is also the first album with Oliver Holzwarth as guest musician, playing bass guitar instead of Hansi Kürsch.

It was the first album by Blind Guardian to be released in the United States. The sales encouraged Century Media to release their entire back catalog in the US in 2007, at which point it was remastered and re-released, with a bonus track.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference metalhammerlist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Jeffries, Vincent. "Nightfall in Middle-Earth - Blind Guardian". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  3. ^ Eden, Bradford Lee (2010). Middle-earth Minstrel: Essays on Music in Tolkien. McFarland. p. 134. ISBN 9780786456604.
  4. ^ Robb, Brian J.; Simpson, Paul (2013). Middle-earth Envisioned: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: On Screen, On Stage, and Beyond. Race Point Publishing. p. 185. ISBN 9781627880787.
  5. ^ Ward, Kyle (30 December 2007). "Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth (album review 2)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 30 December 2016.