Nightfall on Middle Earth
Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 2:52 pm
Greetings, all!
I'm sure most of you by now have heard me rant and rave about how awesome Blind Guardian is. They're an epic/symphonic metal band out of Germany, with a serious thing for Tolkien. One of their albums, Titled "Nightfall on Middle Earth", is just that. An entire album dedicated to Tolkien. Track one, War of wrath, is actually the last conversation between Sauron and Morgoth in the last great battle of the first age. The cover shows Luthien dancing before Morgoth.
The album retells the events in The Silmarillion, beginning at the end:
1 In "War of Wrath", Sauron advises his master Morgoth to flee the triumphant Valar in the War of Wrath. Morgoth sends him away and reflects on the events leading up to his defeat.
2 In "Into The Storm", Morgoth and Ungoliant, fleeing from Valinor after having destroyed the Two Trees, struggle for the possession of the Silmarils.
3 "Lammoth" is the scream of Morgoth with which he fights off Ungoliant.
4 In "Nightfall", Fëanor and his seven sons mourn the destruction wrought by Morgoth, including the slaying of Finwe, Feanor's father, and swear to get revenge on him, in spite to the Valar's disapproval.
5 "The Minstrel" most likely its about Maglor, son of Fëanor, who composed the song "The Fall of the Noldor" based on the Kinslaying.
6 In "The Curse of Fëanor", Fëanor expresses his wrath and anger and relates the misdeeds he commits, especially the Kinslaying, in pursuit of Morgoth.
7 In "Captured", Morgoth addresses the captive Maedhros, Fëanor's son, and chains him to the Thangorodrim mountains.
8 In "Blood Tears", Maedhros relates the horrors of his captivity and his deliverance by Fingon.
9 "Mirror Mirror" recounts how Turgon, in view of inevitable defeat, builds the city of Gondolin, aided by Ulmo ("The Lord of Water").
10 In "Face The Truth", Fingolfin reflects about the destiny of the Noldor.
11 In "Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)", Fingolfin recounts his Noldor army's passage from the icy waste of Helcaraxë, the prophecy by Mandos about the Noldor's fate and he reflects on his own and his people's guilt and foreshadows their ultimate defeat.
12 "The Battle of Sudden Flame" talks about the battle in which Morgoth breaks the Siege of Angband using his Balrogs and dragons.
13 "Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)" is about Fingolfin riding to the gates of Angband to challenge Morgoth to a duel. Fingolfin wounds Morgoth seven times but is eventually killed.
14 "The Dark Elf" refers to Eöl who seduced Turgon's sister and fathered Maeglin, who would eventually betray Gondolin.
15 In "Thorn", Maeglin reflects on his situation and decides to betray Gondolin to Morgoth.
16 "The Eldar" is Elven king Finrod's farewell to his people, dying from wounds received in saving his human friend Beren from a werewolf.
17 In "Nom the Wise", Beren mourns his friend Finrod. Nóm means "wise" and was the name given to him by Beren's forefather Bëor.
18 In "When Sorrow Sang", Beren sings about his love to the Elven princess Lúthien and his death at the teeth of Morgoth's wolf Carcharoth.
19 "Out on the Water" refers to the last dwelling-place of Beren and Lúthien.
20 In "The Steadfast", Morgoth curses his captive Húrin who steadfastly refused to reveal the secret of Gondolin.
21 In "A Dark Passage", Morgoth ponders his triumph in the fifth battle. The song also relates the origins of the kindred of men and Morgoth's curse on Húrin to be witness to his children's tragic fate.
22 "Final Chapter (Thus ends ...)" concludes the album, speaking of Morgoth's victory by the "treachery of man" but also of the hope for a new day.
23 "Harvest Of Sorrow" is the bonustrack on the remastered version of the album. Túrin mourns the loss of his sister Nienor.
I'm linking a youtube playlist which, I BELIEVE has the entire album listed. It's intended to be listened to basically all in one sitting, as the tracks all flow together when listened to on CD, but the flow won't be there as youtube'll have to jump from one track to the next, etc. At any rate, I hope you all enjoy my personal favorite metal album of all time, and are pleasantly reminded of your own trips through the silmarillion as you listen. I'd recommend pulling up the lyrics so it's easier to follow along. Also, not every track is heavy by any means, as they dabble in renaissance-influenced music for their ballads, so if you don't like the heavy stuff, jump forward in the tracks and you'll find some calm ones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOuu4Rp8 ... ety_mode=1
If you just want a taste of what they sound like, I'd recommend this, one of my favorite tracks, performed live (which includes the Sauron-Morgoth conversation from the War of Wrath!), Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlXZZIWN ... ety_mode=1
I'm sure most of you by now have heard me rant and rave about how awesome Blind Guardian is. They're an epic/symphonic metal band out of Germany, with a serious thing for Tolkien. One of their albums, Titled "Nightfall on Middle Earth", is just that. An entire album dedicated to Tolkien. Track one, War of wrath, is actually the last conversation between Sauron and Morgoth in the last great battle of the first age. The cover shows Luthien dancing before Morgoth.
The album retells the events in The Silmarillion, beginning at the end:
1 In "War of Wrath", Sauron advises his master Morgoth to flee the triumphant Valar in the War of Wrath. Morgoth sends him away and reflects on the events leading up to his defeat.
2 In "Into The Storm", Morgoth and Ungoliant, fleeing from Valinor after having destroyed the Two Trees, struggle for the possession of the Silmarils.
3 "Lammoth" is the scream of Morgoth with which he fights off Ungoliant.
4 In "Nightfall", Fëanor and his seven sons mourn the destruction wrought by Morgoth, including the slaying of Finwe, Feanor's father, and swear to get revenge on him, in spite to the Valar's disapproval.
5 "The Minstrel" most likely its about Maglor, son of Fëanor, who composed the song "The Fall of the Noldor" based on the Kinslaying.
6 In "The Curse of Fëanor", Fëanor expresses his wrath and anger and relates the misdeeds he commits, especially the Kinslaying, in pursuit of Morgoth.
7 In "Captured", Morgoth addresses the captive Maedhros, Fëanor's son, and chains him to the Thangorodrim mountains.
8 In "Blood Tears", Maedhros relates the horrors of his captivity and his deliverance by Fingon.
9 "Mirror Mirror" recounts how Turgon, in view of inevitable defeat, builds the city of Gondolin, aided by Ulmo ("The Lord of Water").
10 In "Face The Truth", Fingolfin reflects about the destiny of the Noldor.
11 In "Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)", Fingolfin recounts his Noldor army's passage from the icy waste of Helcaraxë, the prophecy by Mandos about the Noldor's fate and he reflects on his own and his people's guilt and foreshadows their ultimate defeat.
12 "The Battle of Sudden Flame" talks about the battle in which Morgoth breaks the Siege of Angband using his Balrogs and dragons.
13 "Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)" is about Fingolfin riding to the gates of Angband to challenge Morgoth to a duel. Fingolfin wounds Morgoth seven times but is eventually killed.
14 "The Dark Elf" refers to Eöl who seduced Turgon's sister and fathered Maeglin, who would eventually betray Gondolin.
15 In "Thorn", Maeglin reflects on his situation and decides to betray Gondolin to Morgoth.
16 "The Eldar" is Elven king Finrod's farewell to his people, dying from wounds received in saving his human friend Beren from a werewolf.
17 In "Nom the Wise", Beren mourns his friend Finrod. Nóm means "wise" and was the name given to him by Beren's forefather Bëor.
18 In "When Sorrow Sang", Beren sings about his love to the Elven princess Lúthien and his death at the teeth of Morgoth's wolf Carcharoth.
19 "Out on the Water" refers to the last dwelling-place of Beren and Lúthien.
20 In "The Steadfast", Morgoth curses his captive Húrin who steadfastly refused to reveal the secret of Gondolin.
21 In "A Dark Passage", Morgoth ponders his triumph in the fifth battle. The song also relates the origins of the kindred of men and Morgoth's curse on Húrin to be witness to his children's tragic fate.
22 "Final Chapter (Thus ends ...)" concludes the album, speaking of Morgoth's victory by the "treachery of man" but also of the hope for a new day.
23 "Harvest Of Sorrow" is the bonustrack on the remastered version of the album. Túrin mourns the loss of his sister Nienor.
I'm linking a youtube playlist which, I BELIEVE has the entire album listed. It's intended to be listened to basically all in one sitting, as the tracks all flow together when listened to on CD, but the flow won't be there as youtube'll have to jump from one track to the next, etc. At any rate, I hope you all enjoy my personal favorite metal album of all time, and are pleasantly reminded of your own trips through the silmarillion as you listen. I'd recommend pulling up the lyrics so it's easier to follow along. Also, not every track is heavy by any means, as they dabble in renaissance-influenced music for their ballads, so if you don't like the heavy stuff, jump forward in the tracks and you'll find some calm ones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOuu4Rp8 ... ety_mode=1
If you just want a taste of what they sound like, I'd recommend this, one of my favorite tracks, performed live (which includes the Sauron-Morgoth conversation from the War of Wrath!), Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlXZZIWN ... ety_mode=1