Nightfall in Middle Earth

Blind Guardian | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 9, 1999)
• Original Release Date: February 9, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B00000HYXB
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (185 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,178 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. War of Wrath

2. Into the Storm

3. Nightfall

4. The Minstrel

5. The Curse of Feanor

6. Blood Tears

7. Mirror Mirror

8. Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)

9. Battle of Sudden Flame

10. Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)

11. Thorn

12. The Eldar

13. Nom the Wise

14. When Sorrow Sang

15. Out on the Water

16. A Dark Passage

17. Final Chapter (Thus Ends...)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Majestic, Epic Metal from Blind Guardian, August 20, 2000

By 

Lynnda J Williams (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nightfall in Middle Earth (Audio CD)

While Nightfall may not be Guardian's most consistently thrashy metal, it is perhaps their best ever released. It combines epic composition, more harmony, and more variation. It quite possibly is one of the best albums that I own. They are truly the masters of epic lyrics and epic songwriting. Here's the rundown.The War of Wrath: Battle noises, narrations. Utterly enjoyable.(9/10)Into the Storm: BAM! This track hits you without warning. Frantic and blister guitar riffs and keyboards!(9/10)Lammoth: Spooky wailing. Might have to read the book to understand its purpose.(7/10)Nightfall: Possibly the best sing-along chorus on the whole album.(8/10)The Minstrel: I really dig medieval fluting!(8/10)The Curse of Feanor: Some of the best lyrical content on here. Maybe not one of the most memorable songs.(7.5/10)Captured: Cool narrations.(7/10)Blood Tears: I don't know what instrument opens this song up, but it's damn cool! Great opener and a great song!(8.5/10)Mirror Mirror: Another great chorus. Is that surprising when talking about Blind Guardian? I think not.(8/10)Face the Truth: More narration.(7/10)Noldor(Dead Winter Reigns): Best song on here. Without a doubt. The opening is beautiful, very soulful. Another great chorus! (10/10)Battle of Sudden Flame: Another narration.(7.5/10)Time Stands Still(At the Iron Hill): The opening sounds like it could be used as music for a Squaresoft RPG. Then it blasts into more frantic guitars. A very catchy and fun chorus(with flutes!)(9/10)The Dark Elf: Monestary-esque chanting!(7.5/10)Thorn: A heavy track. Not as frantic as others, but pretty good. (8/10)The Eldar: Piano galore. Hansi shows his great vocal harmony on this one. But, I think I prefer him with some distortion.(7.5/10)Nom the Wise: Another narration.(7/10)When Sorrow Sang: The return of franticness! More great chorus!(8.5/10)Out on the Water: Nice, gentle vocals on this one.(8/10)The Steadfast: Another narration, instrumental(7/10)A Dark Passage: A fitting end song. More fantastic guitar and keyboards. Is anyone impressed yet? I am.(8.5/10)Final Chapter(Thus Ends...): Well, you knew it was coming. The end. Ending narration.(8/10)What a majestic, epic offering from Blind Guardian. We need more!

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blind Guardian's Masterpiece!, September 18, 2001

By 

The Wickerman (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nightfall in Middle Earth (Audio CD)

This is my second Blind Guardian album ("Somewhere Far Beyond" was the first), and each one I buy seems to bring me new levels of amazement. SFB was great, but this one is brilliance far beyond (no pun intended) that album. It's pretty different from anything the band has done before. It's not as consistently fast and hard as previous albums (although there is plenty of that), and there seems to be more melodic hooks, reminiscent of early Iron Maiden. There's also a keyboardist this time around, giving it a neo-classical, almost Dream Theater-ish sound. Basically, the music is unbelievably great. "Nightfall", "Blood Tears", "Thorn", and "Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)" will blow you away. I hate to whip out the cliches here, but they do apply. This is a concept album, based on JRR Tolkien's "The Silmarillion". There are several brief narrations along the way, that sort of aid you in following the story. This is especially helpful if you've never read the book. I haven't read any of the Hobbit series at this time, so I was completely lost. I will read the books sometime in the near future, as it sounds like a very bizarre and interesting story. I recommend this album to metal fans and Hobbit fans alike. Even if you've heard all of BG's previous releases, you have no idea what to expect here. If you haven't heard the band at all, you're really in for a surprise. I'd say this is probably their best album, and one of the best albums ever made. You just can't go wrong here.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maglor lives!, April 13, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Nightfall in Middle Earth (Audio CD)

Blind Guardian (particularly NFIME) is the perfect band for someone like me: a metal fan and a total Tolkien geek. This is definitely one of Blind Guardian's best albums, possibly their absolute best. Andre is an amazing guitarist and Hansi's vocals are unmatched. Blind Guardian blend metal with medieval and classical into perfection. The lyrics are just as astounding as the music. They beautifully document the first half or so of JRR Tolkien's masterpiece, the Silmarillion. Every track gets a 10/10 from me. Here are my comments on each song:

1. War of Wrath- A narration, opening with cool battle sounds. This is, as the title says, during the War of Wrath at the end of the Silmarillion. Morgoth is speaking with Sauron. The rest of the album is set before this.
2. Into the Storm- Great song. This is about the giant spider Ungoliant (for those of you who only know the LotR movies, Shelob's mother, who is much more evil and powerful) and her strife with Morgoth over the Silmarls.
3. Lammoth- A cry of pain. You will probably only understand the significance of this if you read the book. Echo.
4. Nightfall- One of my favourites. This is about the Noldor's anguish, and finally decision to leave led by Feanor, after the theft of the Silmarils and the murder of King Finwe. The part "Vala he is that's what you said... Finally you may follow me/ Farewell he said" is a great reference to the book, going back and forth between Feanor and those who oppose his decision to depart.
5. The Minstrel- A short medieval-sounding song. This is about Feanor speaking before the other Noldor. It is either from the point of view of Feanor or one of his sons, probably Maglor.
6. The Curse of Feanor- Another favourite. This is about, as the title says, Feanor, my favourite character in the Silmarillion, and is told from his point of view. Excellent references to the Oath. This song really captures Feanor's pain and vengeful determination. It shows a side of him that some may overlook.
7. Captured- A short narrative. Maedhros is capture and tortured by Morgoth.
8. Blood Tears- My absolute favourite. This is a very emotional song about Maedhros's rescue by his old friend Fingon. It has good, but somewhat subtle specific references, like "cut off you old friend's hand" and "It seems so clearly/ bent the bow/ cause life in me is gone".
9. Mirror Mirror- Another great one. Very high- energy. Ulmo, Lord of the Waters instructs Turgon to build the Hidden City, Gondolin. This song has an awesome sort of medieval- sounding main riff.
10. Face the Truth- Narration. This tells of the coming of Fingolfin's host to Middle-earth.
11. Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)- Another very emotional song. It captures the concept perfectly. This is about the fate of the Noldor. There are excellent refrences to the book, such as, "I know where the stars glow/ sky's unclouded/ sweet the water runs my friends" which refers to one of Feanor's speeches before they leave for Middle-earth. The "tears unnumbered..." part refers to the Nirnaeth Arnoediad (the Battle of Unnumbered Tears) and Mandos's speech which states the fate of the Noldor and foreshadows that battle.
12. The Battle of Sudden Flame- Another short song like to The Minstrel. An elf swearing loyalty to his lord, probably Fingolfin, before the Dagor Bragolloach (the Battle of Sudden Flame) in which the Elves suffered terrible defeat.
13. Time Stands Still (at the Iron Hill)- Amazing, epic song. Great guitar-work. This is about Fingolfin and his fall in a man to man battle with Morgoth. This song has an awesome bridge part.
14. The Dark Elf- A little one sentence chant. This is about Eöl, the Dark Elf, and leads into the next song.
15. Thorn- A dark song, one of my favourites. It tells the tale of Maeglin, the son of the aforementioned Eöl, and his internal pain and torment. The mentions of "betray" and "needless love" are very fitting with the books, as well as the "illgotten son" part. My favourite part of this song is the "Don't you think it's time... /come play the song of death." This really capture's Maeglin's mindset in the book.
16. The Eldar- Very good, but this is probably the one I listen to the least. This is the tale of Beren and Luthien, from Luthien's point of view, if I'm not mistaken.
17. Nom the Wise- A narration about the death of Finrod Felagund after he tried to help Beren.
18. When Sorrow Sang- Another great song. This one is also about the tale of Beren and Luthien, but this time, I believe, it is from Beren's point of view most of the time.
19. Out on the Water- Another song like The Minstrel or The Battle of Sudden Flame. It is the end of Beren and Luthien's tale.
20. The Steadfast- A narration. Morgoth proclaims his power.
21. A Dark Passage- Another one of my favourites. This is just before the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. It switches back and forth between Morgoth and his servants' point of view and the Noldor's point of view. It shows Morgoth's confidence in his power and the Noldor's desperation. This song has a really cool outro with great percussion that sounds like they really are going into battle.
22. Final Chapter (Thus ends...)- A narration closing up the album. It tells of the outcome of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and the setup of the events to come. If you want to know what happens after that READ THE SILMARILLION.