''At the Edge of Time'' is the ninth studio album by the German
power metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
band Blind Guardian. A two-CD version of the album was released, with the second disc containing eight tracks. The artwork for the album was created by Colombian artist Felipe Machado Franco. The album was released in Europe on 30 July 2010. A music video for " A Voice in the Dark" was released on 3 August 2010.
Track listing
Reception
The album was named as "Album of the Month" in the August 2010 issue of Germany's ''
Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
'' magazine.
''At the Edge of Time'' was the first album in the band's history to climb to second place in the
German Media Control Charts
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustr ...
. It kept its place among the Top 10 for three straight weeks.
The album was particularly successful in the United States. Not only did it debut in the 108th position of the Billboard Top 200 chart but also became the No. 1 song on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. This marks the highest position that a Blind Guardian album had reached until then in the United States.
The album debuted at No. 18 on the Top Hard Music Albums chart and No. 108 on the Top 200 chart in Canada.
Song information
* Sacred Worlds
An edited version of the original song "Sacred", which has a new orchestral intro and outro. It was written by Blind Guardian for the 2008 video game '' Sacred 2: Fallen Angel''.
* Tanelorn (Into the Void)
Based on Michael Moorcock's '' The Eternal Champion'' series.
* Road of No Release
Based on
Peter S. Beagle
Peter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American novelist and screenwriter, especially of fantasy fiction. His best-known work is ''The Last Unicorn'' (1968), a fantasy novel he wrote in his twenties, which ''Locus'' subscribers voted the ...
's ''The Innkeeper's Song''.
* Ride into Obsession
Based on Robert Jordan's ''
The Wheel of Time
''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in a ...
'' series.
(Hansi Kürsch: "An introduction to the main characters, the Dragon Reborn and the Dark Lord Ba'alzamon.")
* Curse My Name
Based on '' The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates'', a political writing by
John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
where he legitimizes the killing of a king who didn't carry out his duties.
* Valkyries
Inspired by Norse mythology, especially
Valkyries
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...
, as well as the perception of time.
* Control the Divine
Based on
John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
's ''
Paradise Lost
''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...
''.
* War of the Thrones
Based on
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
's ''
A Song of Ice and Fire
''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...
'' series.
* A Voice in the Dark
Based on George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series. It tells the story of Bran Stark, a key character in the series. This track was the first single from the album, and it is a small comeback to the band's original
speed metal
Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...
style.
* Wheel of Time
Based on Robert Jordan's ''The Wheel of Time'' series, focusing on (and through the viewpoint of) Rand al'Thor, the protagonist of the series.
Personnel
;Blind Guardian
*
Hansi Kürsch
Hans Jürgen "Hansi" Kürsch (born 10 August 1966) is a German singer, songwriter and former bass guitarist, best known as a member of the power metal band Blind Guardian. One of the founders of the band, he has been its lead vocalist since its ...
– vocals
*
André Olbrich
André Olbrich (born 3 May 1967) is a German musician, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of power metal band Blind Guardian, in which he serves as one of the main composers with other founder Hansi Kürsch.
Olbrich was ranked num ...
– lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
*
Marcus Siepen
Marcus Siepen (born 8 September 1968) is a German guitarist, best known as the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of power metal band Blind Guardian. For the biggest percentage of Blind Guardian's songs, particularly in more recent years, he ...