And Then There Was Silence [SINGLE] [LIMITED EDITION]

Blind Guardian

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 11, 2001)
• Original Release Date: December 11, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Single, Limited Edition
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B00005T7K0
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #203,198 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. And There Was Silence

2. Harvest Of Sorrow

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic and HUGE., February 2, 2002

By	Lord Chimp (Monkey World) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I wouldn't really consider myself a Blind Guardian fan. Still, I really admire what they do. Definitely a unique band, they combine speedy power metal, symphonic keyboards, medieval melodies, and the folk-influenced vocals of Hansi Kursch.

This disc is something else, though. The 14-minute title track is amazing! It's not really very heavy or fast, but it's so HUGE! And the overall sound is even more epic than Nightfall in Middle-Earth. The heavy use of choirs puts even Rhapsody to shame. Truly, the real star is Kursch's multitracked voice. It's SO powerful...it sends chills up and down my spine. The song is apparently about the Trojan War, but I haven't even checked the lyrics. The music is so epic (there's that word again!) and dramatic that it's impossible not to get swept along, whatever it's about. It goes through reams of melody shifts, some melodic metal guitar driven passages to quieter folk-ish movements. And all throughout are Kursch's massive vocals. I read that 50 vocal tracks were used when recording this, and I definitely believe it. Also, rather than an obnoxious abuse of double bass drum that one might expect from a power metal group, the drums here are very symphonic, including cool and very fitting "marching snare" during the chorus. To say this song is intense is an gross understatement.

And the chorus...I didn't recognize it the first few times the song played, because it's done with the omnipresent Kursch Power Choir™, but when you become familiar with it, you'll be slaughtered by its energy. I hope you have a good sound system...there's nothing like being inundated in those HUGE, pervasive harmonies and having the room around you quiver with its majesty.

Whether you're a fan or Blind Guardian or not...heck, whether you're a fan of power metal or not...you _have_ to hear this song!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best song ever written !, January 14, 2002

By	Randolph R. Mckinney "Metal God" (Mooresville, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is TRUE METAL my friend ... See, this would never play on TRL because it is TRUE METAL of the highest quality and not the MTV bred teeny rock corporate America sells our kids! The radio rap-rock he clearly listens to. This band plays on a musical level the bands he mentioned (Linkin Park,Limp Bizkit,Drowning Pool, Kid Rock, Korn and Papa Roach<--- FALSE METAL) could never even dream of. And it is the best 14 minutes you'll ever spend listening to a song. And for his information, the garbage he listens to wouldn't even know about heavy guitar if it weren't for the ORIGINAL TRUE METAL BANDS. Blind Guardian are so ahead of there time it's scary. To take operatic vocals and classically influenced musicianship to this level is almost beyond comprehension. I agree, you should buy their earlier albums and work your way up to this so you can see the magnificent progression this amazing band has went through. This is a POWER METAL masterpiece for which all symphonic metal shall be judged. ALL HAIL BLIND GUARDIAN. Radio

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Fantasy Interpreter, March 30, 2004

By	"ecthelion_of_the_fountain" (Goleta, CA United States) - See all my reviews

There's already been so much to say about the first song, And Then There Was Silence. I love it, too. However, the second song is more touching for me, Harvest of Sorrow, a song for Tolkien's The Silmarillion, for Turin and his sister Nienor. This is the English version of Mies Del Dolor in Night At the Opera. I cannot express my feeling in a precise way, but when I heard "She closed her eyes / And she called out my name / She was never ever seen again", it seemed that there was a flick of blade on my heart. I've never imagined the sorrow of Turin and Nienor could be illustrated so well. With my favorite BG album Nightfall in Middle-earth, I really want to say they are one of the best Tolkien interpreter in music.