Nightfall in Middle-Earth

The book underneath it is J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, which covers the First Age of Middle-earth: the history of Beleriand and the war of the Elves against the Dark Lord Morgoth. The album does not follow that in songs alone; spoken passages narrating the story sit between them, and a good number of the twenty-two tracks are those narrations. The sleeve shows a scene from the same book, the elf Lúthien dancing before Morgoth. The bass is played not by Hansi Kürsch but by Oliver Holzwarth as a guest — the first time he appears on one of the band's records. Fast, melodic guitar runs under flutes, strings and other folk instruments, with choral parts stacked over them. Metal Hammer called it a banquet of medieval and folk music, speed and power metal and Queen-like vocal twists, with interludes to carry the plot. It was also the first Blind Guardian album released in the United States. The running order here is the original's as printed.