Battalions of Fear
| Battalions of Fear | ||||
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| Blind Guardian studio album | ||||
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Publication |
1988 |
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| Label (s) | Virgin | |||
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Title (number) |
8/9 (CD edition) |
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running time |
39:26 (CD edition) |
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| occupation |
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Kalle Trapp |
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Studio (s) |
October - November 1987 in the Karo Studio in Münster |
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Battalions of Fear is the debut album by the German metal band Blind Guardian . It was recorded in October and November 1987 in the Karo Studios in Münster with producer Kalle Trapp and released in 1988.
Emergence
After the two demo recordings Symphonies of Doom and Battalions of Fear under the name Lucifer's Heritage , work on their debut album began after the band was renamed Blind Guardian and the band members changed a few times.
All songs were composed and written by the guitarist André Olbrich and have already been released on the band's first demos. The new songs only include "Guardian of the Blind " , "The Martyr " and "By the Gates of Moria " . “Wizard's Crown” is a new version of the song “Halloween” from the Symphonies of Doom demo, the rest is from the Battalions of Fear demo. However, all songs were re-recorded.
The songs disappeared quickly from the band's live program after the follow-up albums; only "Majesty" was later played regularly and can also be heard on the live album Tokyo Tales from 1993.
Music genre
In terms of style, the album consists of raw speed metal songs, some of which can also be assigned to thrash metal . As such, the songs all have a very fast tempo that is seldom interrupted and is dominated by riffs and melodic sections. In the song “By the Gates of Moria ” , the theme of the 9th Symphony From the New World by Antonín Dvořák is quoted. The intro to “Majesty” can be rated as a further quotation, in which a melody based on Johann Strauss' waltz An der Schöne blau Donau is played to the sound of a barrel organ .
The lyrics are in the typical style of the band and relate to different topics. The songs "Majesty", "By the Gates of Moria" and the CD bonus "Gandalf's Rebirth" refer to JRR Tolkien's work The Lord of the Rings . "The Martyr" is about the ordeal of Jesus and "Guardian of the Blind" is about Stephen King's novel Es . With “Trial by the Archon”, “By the Gates of Moria” and “Gandalf's Rebirth” there are three instrumental songs on the album.
Track list
Initial release
- Majesty - 7:31
- Guardian of the Blind - 5:12
- Trial by the Archon - 1:45
- Wizard's Crown - 3:50
- Run for the Night - 3:36
- The Martyr - 6:16
- Battalions of Fear - 6:09
- By the Gates of Moria - 2:53
- Gandalf's Rebirth (CD bonus track) - 2:10
Re-release in 2007
In 2007 Battalions of Fear was re-released. The album was digitally restored ("remastered") by Charlie Bauerfeind and provided with the Symphonies of Doom demo. The new version also contains all of the lyrics from the album. These were previously only printed on the vinyl version of the album and on a rare CD press from No Remorse Records.
- Brian (demo version) - 2:53
- Halloween (demo version) - 3:38
- Lucifer's Heritage (Demo Version) - 5:00
- Symphonies of Doom (Demo Version) - 4:24
- Dead of the Night (Demo Version) - 3:45