Blind Guardian's 10th Album, "Beyond the Red Mirror"

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Freak666 · #501 Post by **Freak666** » 16 Nov 2014 23:33

Sure we will get the sample tomorrow! Can't wait!

Between: I just found out, that the "red mirror" is the center of the TOTG-Single Cover if you look close. Think it's a pretty cool cover now and even better than the albums cover artwork!

http://www.nuclearblast.de/de/produkte/ ... -gods.html

Ryu · #502 Post by **Ryu** » 16 Nov 2014 23:54

Freak666 wrote:Sure we will get the sample tomorrow! Can't wait!

Between: I just found out, that the "red mirror" is the center of the TOTG-Single Cover if you look close. Think it's a pretty cool cover now and even better than the albums cover artwork!

http://www.nuclearblast.de/de/produkte/ ... -gods.html

Upon closer inspection, the TOTG cover is borderline acceptable BG material! Hot damn.

wade-newb · #503 Post by **wade-newb** » 17 Nov 2014 11:34

This wait for the sample is excruciating.

Ryu · #504 Post by **Ryu** » 17 Nov 2014 11:40

wade-newb wrote:This wait for the sample is excruciating.

Yeah, their trolling has been legendary lately

Gandalf de Grijze · #505 Post by **Gandalf de Grijze** » 17 Nov 2014 14:25

indeed

I fear I will have to wait untill i get back home from work in order to listen to the sample... IF one will be given at all today...

Blackened · #506 Post by **Blackened** » 17 Nov 2014 15:51

Blackened wrote:
Freak666 wrote:On november 17th for example the new rock hard issue will be in stores with a large interview. than hopefully we will be much wiser. I will translate it asap of course!
I think the interview will be in a later issue, maybe mid December.
The article said "more about the concept etc. in one of the next issues", I guess November is too early but we'll see.

Nothing about BG in the new issue.
They are also not listed in the preview for the Mid-December issue.

So I guess the big article will be - just in time for the album's release - in the 02/15 issue out mid January.

Feanor l'invincible · #507 Post by **Feanor l'invincible** » 17 Nov 2014 19:06

Ok guys what do you think?.. too early to give impressions!

Sounds epic as usual!!

ErHaO · #508 Post by **ErHaO** » 17 Nov 2014 19:24

Sounds awesome! The sample delivers

wade-newb · #509 Post by **wade-newb** » 17 Nov 2014 20:04

It's so IFTOS-sounding! Fucking great. I love it so much.

Guardian'86 · #510 Post by **Guardian'86** » 17 Nov 2014 20:25

ErHaO wrote:Sounds awesome! The sample delivers

Yes, absolutely Amazing !!!!!!! Can't wait for the new single !!! I'm pretty excited !

blindgfan · #511 Post by **blindgfan** » 17 Nov 2014 21:09

Feanor l'invincible wrote:Ok guys what do you think?.. too early to give impressions!

Sounds epic as usual!!

The question is what's the chorus of "Sacred Worlds" doing in the trailer?

Ryu · #512 Post by **Ryu** » 17 Nov 2014 21:46

Well it's definitely more upbeat than I predicted

There's a very "HAIL TO THE GUUUN" vibe to "THE KING IS GOOONE" in the beginning. Was trying to put my finger on it.

The lead from 0:27 is very reminiscent of "When Sorrow Sang", at least imo. Getting sort of sped-up Sorrow Sang vibes overall here.

Andre's guitar sound is surprisingly stripped down. I'm sure he's saved his real madness for those 9:30 tracks..

I'm pumped. But I feel the nearly two month wait once this single drops is going to feel worse than waiting all of autumn for this one song.

On that note, more and more people on last.fm seem to have BTRM, all with the same track lengths.

Freak666 · #513 Post by **Freak666** » 17 Nov 2014 21:54

Sounds good. I'm somehow suprised that it really deals with northern mythology.

Traveller in Time · #514 Post by **Traveller in Time** » 17 Nov 2014 22:36

Beginning of the sample reminds me stronlgy on one BG song...
Could it be Another stranger me?

Sounds really awesome like a mix between ATEOT and IFTOS.
Hansi screaming , yeah!!!

so my status at the moment:
Happiness is not good enough i demand euphoria!!!

bestpike · #515 Post by **bestpike** » 17 Nov 2014 22:40

it sounds very nice, although isn't the chorus a bit not at BG level? Im talking about 0:56 and onwards.

bard_92 · #516 Post by **bard_92** » 17 Nov 2014 22:45

Ryu wrote:
On that note, more and more people on last.fm seem to have BTRM, all with the same track lengths.

What are you talking about, where did you found those things...please, make a copy/paste here

ent · #517 Post by **ent** » 17 Nov 2014 23:06

Great sound, IFTOS-sounding little. I hope that to sound so the whole album.

#518 Post by **Led Guardian** » 17 Nov 2014 23:15

wade-newb wrote:It's so IFTOS-sounding! Fucking great. I love it so much.

Yeah, I'm definitely getting an IFTOS meets ATEOT, with a dash of D&W thrown in. Combine that with the bombastic orchestral promises, and you can color me excited to hear this album. They seem to be changing less between ATEOT and this album than they have between albums since the very early days, but this sample at least gives me the impression that they've still got what it takes to keep putting out good stuff.

Feanor l'invincible · #519 Post by **Feanor l'invincible** » 17 Nov 2014 23:28

In addition of the IFTOS vibes; am I the only one who has ANATO feeling when the chorus starts.. "we miss the twilight of the gods.. will they ever return"

ErHaO · #520 Post by **ErHaO** » 17 Nov 2014 23:40

Led Guardian wrote:
wade-newb wrote:It's so IFTOS-sounding! Fucking great. I love it so much.
Yeah, I'm definitely getting an IFTOS meets ATEOT, with a dash of D&W thrown in. Combine that with the bombastic orchestral promises, and you can color me excited to hear this album. They seem to be changing less between ATEOT and this album than they have between albums since the very early days, but this sample at least gives me the impression that they've still got what it takes to keep putting out good stuff.

Yeah, I get the same vibe. And I am very happy with that.

As for songwriting I think there will still be enough new elements. This is their catchy "statement" single that they are back and those song description a while back mentioned some things that I cannot place at the older albums. Also, this time around they fully embrace the usage of choirs and orchestras. It will be interesting to hear them exploring the possibilities further on that end. They stated to want to try new things and push themselves.

I will not be dissapointed by an ATEOT 2 in any way though, as that album was kind of like a best of featuring songs that fit in different BG era's on top of some completely new elements.

Feanor l'invincible wrote:In addition of the IFTOS vibes; am I the only one who has ANATO feeling when the chorus starts.. "we miss the twilight of the gods.. will they ever return"

It does have that grand sound to it, I do hear what you mean.

Traveller in Time · #521 Post by **Traveller in Time** » 18 Nov 2014 00:36

Does anybody know the exact lyrics?

I have this so far:

The King is gone
There is war wherever i roam
Gods will come and gods will go, the spinning wheel keeps turning
now get up, lay down, the ancient fate
We're the chosen ones
Come feel the change
choir:???

let me show a new way
when you're gonna walk with me
bow down and surrender
the old god
black or white
for me it's grey
choir: a sign of evil
blame(?) all this non-believers

We miss / Witness (?) the twillight of the gods
will they ever return
....... take....us under/ cassandra(?)

totally lost with rest, maybe someone can help

Gandalf de Grijze · #522 Post by **Gandalf de Grijze** » 18 Nov 2014 01:14

all I can say now is this:
AWESOMENESSSSS!!!!!

Nerhegeb · #523 Post by **Nerhegeb** » 18 Nov 2014 02:46

Hi everyone. Well, I'm intrigued to say the least.
I took a shot at the lyrics as well:

Traveller in Time wrote:

The King is gone
There is war wherever I roam
Gods will come and gods will go, the spinning wheel keeps turning
now get up, lay down, your ancient fate
We're the chosen ones
Come feel the change
choir:???a way/ away?

let me show a new way
when you're gonna walk with me
bow down and surrender
the old gods
black or white
to me it's grey
choir: a sign of evil
hail all these non-believers

Witness the twillight of the gods
will they ever return
a storm will take us, and then wipe us out their story?

Regarding the cover art of Beyond the Red Mirror and Twilight of the Gods i'd like to add, that they both show the exact same scenery from two different viewpoints. One being propably the Antagonist who is trying to close the portal to the realm of imagination/the gods, while the other one shows the gods assembling in front of the mirror. Therefore I think it has to be "hail all this non-believers" in the lyrics as well, since he tries to diminish their influence. But it might be a bit to early to start analysing.

I actually think BtRM would have quite a decent artwork, if someone else had coloured it. At least it resembles the topic of the album quite well, from all that I can tell. And as a bonus there is the hooded guy-mascot in the upper left corner next to the mirror (blue cover).

Angus · #524 Post by **Angus** » 18 Nov 2014 07:27

I wasn't very impressed by that sample especially the chorus (assuming it was actually in there).

Edit: The opening chords sounded lower tuned than Eb. Can someone with better pitch hearing confirm this?

Edit: I think the lyrics end with "there's no retreat".

Ryu · #525 Post by **Ryu** » 18 Nov 2014 10:11

Angus wrote:I wasn't very impressed by that sample especially the chorus (assuming it was actually in there).

Edit: The opening chords sounded lower tuned than Eb. Can someone with better pitch hearing confirm this?

Edit: I think the lyrics end with "there's no retreat".

The chorus seemed to be a little under halfway done. I'm sure it gets better/more memorable. Imagine only getting "Hear the voice in the dark (be aware now) believe in -" *fade* from AVITD, for example. Just doesn't cut it.

Twister · #526 Post by **Twister** » 18 Nov 2014 10:53

I've listened to the sample just once. Hansi's never sounded so good since ANATO, I believe, which is good. On the other hand I just don't like the most recent drum sounds that Bauerfeind adopts - and that means not only with BG. That sound is just so… flat. Also, aren't Marcus' guitars a bit lacking of something??
Anyway, now THIS is something promising.
It may easily turn out something better than ATEOT!!!

Just a few weeks away!!!

Wizard's Crown · #527 Post by **Wizard's Crown** » 18 Nov 2014 11:24

Twister wrote:I've listened to the sample just once. Hansi's never sounded so good since ANATO, I believe, which is good. On the other hand I just don't like the most recent drum sounds that Bauerfeind adopts - and that means not only with BG. That sound is just so… flat. Also, aren't Marcus' guitars a bit lacking of something??
Anyway, now THIS is something promising.
It may easily turn out something better than ATEOT!!!

Just a few weeks away!!!

EXACTLΥ!!Listen to the guitar sound in Imaginations from the other side...it's a harsh and aggresive yet FULL sound that destroys everything in its path..here we have a sound that lacks of this..it's aggresive but it's flat..and the drums are so boring and uninspired (a straight copy from a voice in the dark)..it's clear that Frederik can't fill the hole that Thomen left when he exited the band..About the song it starts promising (at best) but when it gets to the chorus something does not fit..but we will see in 3 weeks..

bard_92 · #528 Post by **bard_92** » 18 Nov 2014 11:56

It sound's perfect to me!!! I really like the production, it's like ATGTSAT, which is Amazing !!! Hansi's operatic vocals are just perfect and very clean!!! From what I've heard, I absolutely prefer it than AVITD(btw, I truly hope for a remixed version of ATEOT, it will be interesting with a clear production like this one

!
I'm very interested how the chorus continues, hope it will be a little more bombastic

The only problem right now is - 3 WHOLE WEEKSSSSS... :/

Ryu · #529 Post by **Ryu** » 18 Nov 2014 12:08

Traveller in Time wrote:

The King is gone
There is war wherever I roam
Gods will come and gods will go, the spinning wheel keeps turning
now get up, lay down, your ancient faith
We're the chosen ones
Come feel the change
choir:???a way/ away?

let me show a new way
when you're gonna walk with me
bow down and surrender
the old gods
black or white
to me it's grey
choir: a sign of evil
hail all these non-believers

Witness the twillight of the gods
will they ever return
a storm will take us, and then wipe us out there's no retreat..

Only things I think needed to be changed are in red.

I'm also realizing now Song 9 could well have become TOTG.

bard_92 · #530 Post by **bard_92** » 18 Nov 2014 12:26

Ryu wrote:
I'm also realizing now Song 9 could well have become TOTG.

YES, absolutely agree with you !!!

Guardian'86 · #531 Post by **Guardian'86** » 18 Nov 2014 12:57

Oh my God the wait for the new single is too long yet...I don't know if I can wait until december 5th.....but I have to !!!!!

Twister · #532 Post by **Twister** » 18 Nov 2014 13:03

Wizard's Crown wrote:EXACTLΥ!!Listen to the guitar sound in Imaginations from the other side...it's a harsh and aggresive yet FULL sound that destroys everything in its path..here we have a sound that lacks of this..it's aggresive but it's flat..and the drums are so boring and uninspired (a straight copy from a voice in the dark)..it's clear that Frederik can't fill the hole that Thomen left when he exited the band..About the song it starts promising (at best) but when it gets to the chorus something does not fit..but we will see in 3 weeks..

Heh, did you know that on the old Savage Circus forum Fred was called "The Thomen Clone"?

In fact, I was just complaining about the sound of the drums, not the drumming itself...
Of course you can't be a clone of somebody else and the original band members will stay forever in our hearts, but I'm very happy with Fred, he plays more than fine songs pre-ATITM, to me!

Still, let's hope the rhythm guitars can sound a bit better!!!

Andreas · #533 Post by **Andreas** » 18 Nov 2014 13:27

Great to hear some new BG material, finally! I like speed of the song, Hansi's vocals and André's guitars. But at the same time, I expect more. Maybe I shouldn't listen to the sample but just buy the single ASAP.

Wizard's Crown · #534 Post by **Wizard's Crown** » 18 Nov 2014 16:24

Twister wrote:
Wizard's Crown wrote:EXACTLΥ!!Listen to the guitar sound in Imaginations from the other side...it's a harsh and aggresive yet FULL sound that destroys everything in its path..here we have a sound that lacks of this..it's aggresive but it's flat..and the drums are so boring and uninspired (a straight copy from a voice in the dark)..it's clear that Frederik can't fill the hole that Thomen left when he exited the band..About the song it starts promising (at best) but when it gets to the chorus something does not fit..but we will see in 3 weeks..
Heh, did you know that on the old Savage Circus forum Fred was called "The Thomen Clone"? In fact, I was just complaining about the sound of the drums, not the drumming itself...
Of course you can't be a clone of somebody else and the original band members will stay forever in our hearts, but I'm very happy with Fred, he plays more than fine songs pre-ATITM, to me!

Still, let's hope the rhythm guitars can sound a bit better!!!

Yes I know that you spoke about the sound...and definately Fred plays excellent the old stuff because he is an exceptional drummer..all Im saying is that he's not as creative as Thomen (listen to the best power metal drums ever recorded in ANATO)..

Rokubota · #535 Post by **Rokubota** » 18 Nov 2014 17:12

This happens because you had too much hype. Just keep that shit in check and you will be enjoying the sample way more, like myself. I'd been listening to this sample all night and this morning.

I knew that nothing ground breaking was coming from them. The production is once again very thin, no aggression or balls but that's how it is. I like the melodies that Hansi was singing so far but the chorus is uninspired.

Some guy in the blind Guardian facebook said something that's true. Blind Guardian doesn't have that "bite" in their records anymore. This band lost the roughness in their sound, maybe thomen was a big part of that because they have a very sterile sound now.

bard_92 · #536 Post by **bard_92** » 18 Nov 2014 18:26

Are we sure that this is the chorus...I mean that this might be the pre-chorus ???

bestpike · #537 Post by **bestpike** » 18 Nov 2014 19:23

bard_92 wrote:Are we sure that this is the chorus...I mean that this might be the pre-chorus ???

It's not quite up to the level is it? :/ who knows, maybe after hearing the whole song it might fit better.

blindgfan · #538 Post by **blindgfan** » 18 Nov 2014 19:25

bard_92 wrote:Are we sure that this is the chorus...I mean that this might be the pre-chorus ???

I hope so. Otherwise it will be just like any other song.

"“Twilight of the Gods” is a “neck breaker” in the true tradition of Blind Guardian “that will captivate you with the most epic and catchy chorus we’ve ever written,” says Kürsch."

bard_92 · #539 Post by **bard_92** » 18 Nov 2014 19:48

Don't get me wrong, I like it. But just can't believe that this is all from it. Especially from the description of the single, I think that there have to be more

Traveller in Time · #540 Post by **Traveller in Time** » 18 Nov 2014 19:53

Thanks to Nerhegeb and Ryu, now the lyrics make more sense.
I really like them.

I am not disappointed in the sample, but i know what you guys are talking about. Maybe Thomen was more caring for the drums to sound rough.

Let's see Thomen's debut album with his new founded band Serious Black "battles" with BG's new outcome (16th of January) so only 14 days before BG.

Great start for 2015

Twister · #541 Post by **Twister** » 18 Nov 2014 20:17

I don't know people, I don't mind this loss of "roughness". Could be because I hardly listen to any more new metal music at all, with a few exceptions (see Unexpect, amazing talent there) and apart from Blind Guardian.
I just think that when you get past the 40s maybe it's more honest to play a different kind of music than the one full of the rage of your 20s. You could just end like a cover band of yourself. And the music's quality would suffer of it.

That's it, I love Thomen's work in ANATO.

Oh, and didn't know about this new band with him in. Did they really call the band with what everyone would recognize a Harry Potter oriented name?

Ryu · #542 Post by **Ryu** » 18 Nov 2014 21:31

Ah the punditry.. we've heard about 1/70th of the album so far and we've got people claiming they know their aim and that they've "lost" it.

The sensible approach to commenting on how this sample "sounds" (in terms of production value) is to reserve judgment. The sample is more than likely heavily compressed and not intended to be digested by audiophiles. We clamored for any kind of noise from them and they delivered. ATGTSAT and MOATTC both sounded better than this so there's no chance they'll let it slip.

As for aggression, "bite" and "balls" - what about ambition? Does that matter as much? As for all three we still can't say. Fred's drumming is arguably at a low point here as some have said, but we know what he's capable of. Some of the fills on ATEOT were very crucial to me and help drive the aggressive songs. I don't think a power metal act can top ANATO in terms of technicality, of course, but when I listen to songs like Punishment Divine live in the Thomen era, he does not perform it nearly as well as Fred does nowadays. He drops the maddening double bass in the latter half of the chorus entirely, for example, and completely rewrites parts of the performance. Hoping to top ANATO would be a foregone conclusion, anyway.

They were touting either TOTG or some other track having deliriously complex drum patterns. I forgot which was the case - still, this presents us with a "wait and see" situation. Not every second of ANATO was heartpoundingly delirious in terms of drums.

As for this being the chorus, well, all signs point to this being the case. The lead-in "hail all these non-believers" has the typical drama and cadence Hansi tends to employ right before a chorus, and you can see this as well in AVITD. They're very similar in how they build to the chorus. That being said, we have a rather weak snippet of this chorus, and more importantly a short one. It is catchy but not what we were expecting. I believe it will deliver, as there is no BG chorus worth judging without knowing the whole of it. Imagine judging Battlefield on the first four seconds of its chorus. The song is entirely transformed.

We're impatient and thirsty with (some of us) high expectations. They're attempting to continue a story they began in 1995; a holy period for them and the fanbase. Currently we have less than a minute of a song which very well sounds as if it could be the successor to this story, this theme, this sound. I'm fairly confident the full track will win any nonbelievers

over.

Light of Eärendil · #543 Post by **Light of Eärendil** » 18 Nov 2014 22:58

You can't judge a song based on only a minute of listening and with youtube compression on top of that... I'm sure there's more to it and it was just the beginning... To me it sounds promising...

Guardian'86 · #544 Post by **Guardian'86** » 18 Nov 2014 23:31

Light of Eärendil wrote:You can't judge a song based on only a minute of listening and with youtube compression on top of that... I'm sure there's more to it and it was just the beginning... To me it sounds promising...

I totally agree....

Rokubota · #545 Post by **Rokubota** » 19 Nov 2014 00:37

ATITM sounded like shit in the CD version and it was the same band and the same producer. You can argue all you want but at the end of the day this is a METAL band and this kind of music needs BALLS, Hansi also said that this album was going to show the more agressive side of Blind Guardian.

I agree that is too soon to have a objective opinion about the production but I don´t trust in their criteria in that deparment at all. This is a neck breaker song if you believe what Hansi said, so the sample must be the slow and light part.

thanandar · #546 Post by **thanandar** » 19 Nov 2014 02:36

Am I the only one who feels a noisy beep just before Hansi starts to sing? 0:16 aprox.
I hope it is a youtube compression fail. Please look over that. Don´t repeat "Curse my name" mistake anymore.

by the way, awesome spoiler

Ryu · #547 Post by **Ryu** » 19 Nov 2014 02:49

Rokubota wrote:ATITM sounded like shit in the CD version and it was the same band and the same producer. You can argue all you want but at the end of the day this is a METAL band and this kind of music needs BALLS, Hansi also said that this album was going to show the more agressive side of Blind Guardian.

I agree that is too soon to have a objective opinion about the production but I don´t trust in their criteria in that deparment at all. This is a neck breaker song if you believe what Hansi said, so the sample must be the slow and light part.

The sample is plenty fast and pretty fucking heavy right at the beginning. I really feel like the youtube compression/the production itself may not be doing it justice, let's hope it's the former. As someone on youtube said, "I was hoping for a larger sound". That's my prime issue, I just want something... fuller.

As for ATITM's production.. I'd be very, very surprised if they attempted a repeat of that. They acknowledge the scorn that album has received openly. It baffles the mind to think they could rerecord Valhalla, Silence, and the Bard's Songs and make them sound perfect and then potentially flub like this. We'll see. You could be right but I hope not. With nice headphones and the song turned up loud, I really get in to it, but it just has to be.. inordinately loud to immerse me.

Beeps, I haven't heard any, but I'll try again later with headphones in

blindgfan · #548 Post by **blindgfan** » 19 Nov 2014 05:42

thanandar wrote:Am I the only one who feels a noisy beep just before Hansi starts to sing? 0:16 aprox.
I hope it is a youtube compression fail. Please look over that. Don´t repeat "Curse my name" mistake anymore.

by the way, awesome spoiler

I thought that was "Under the ice" mistake?

Blackened · #549 Post by **Blackened** » 19 Nov 2014 09:33

I haven't listened, yet.
This time I try to wait for the 7'' to arrive...just like the old days.

Let's see if I fail...it's really damn hard

thanandar · #550 Post by **thanandar** » 19 Nov 2014 10:29

blindgfan wrote:
thanandar wrote:Am I the only one who feels a noisy beep just before Hansi starts to sing? 0:16 aprox.
I hope it is a youtube compression fail. Please look over that. Don´t repeat "Curse my name" mistake anymore.

by the way, awesome spoiler
I thought that was "Under the ice" mistake?

I'm talking about the background noise in the irish dancer's section. What was under the ice mistake?

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