A Twist in the Myth

A Twist in the Myth is the eighth studio album by the German heavy metal band Blind Guardian. It was originally set to be released on September 5, 2006 in Europe (which became the North American release date), but Nuclear Blast changed the release date to September 1, 2006.

A Twist in the Myth
Studio album by
Blind Guardian
ReleasedSeptember 1, 2006
RecordedSeptember 2005–April 2006, Twilight Hall Studios
Genre
Length51:31
LabelNuclear Blast
ProducerCharlie Bauerfeind
Blind Guardian chronology
A Night at the Opera
(2002)		 A Twist in the Myth
(2006)		 At the Edge of Time
(2010)
Singles from A Twist in the Myth
  1. "Fly"
    Released: February 24, 2006
  2. "Another Stranger Me"
    Released: May 4, 2007
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Sea of Tranquility[2]
Lords of Metal89/100[3]
Rock Hard8.5/10[4]

The album was released in several different formats: a normal version, a digipak version with a bonus track and bonus CD, and a limited edition book-version. The book contains the digipak, along with a guitar pick, booklet and certificate of authenticity and autographs, as well as a dragon-shaped seal and a bar of red sealing wax.

Track listing

All music written by André Olbrich and Hansi Kürsch. All lyrics written by Kürsch.

No.TitleLength
1."This Will Never End"5:07
2."Otherland"5:16
3."Turn the Page"4:19
4."Fly"5:46
5."Carry the Blessed Home"4:05
6."Another Stranger Me"4:37
7."Straight Through the Mirror"5:50
8."Lionheart"4:17
9."Skalds and Shadows"3:14
10."The Edge"4:30
11."The New Order"4:54
Digipack bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."All the King's Horses" (also in Japanese edition)4:12
13."Dead Sound of Misery"5:18
Digipack bonus CD
No.TitleLength
1."Interview"12:21
Double LP bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
1."Market Square" (Demo version)5:51
2."Interview" (English)12:21
  • "All the King's Horses" is also available on the single "Another Stranger Me".
  • "Market Square" is the demo version of "Straight Through the Mirror" and is only available on the Double LP and Limited Book versions of the album.

Lyrical references
  • "This Will Never End" is inspired by Walter Moers' A Wild Ride Through the Night and tells of a meeting between the young illustrator Gustave Dore and the Grim Reaper who begins to doubt the existence of a divine masterplan and thus his own purpose.
  • "Otherland" is based on Tad Williams' Otherland series of novels.
  • "Turn the Page" is about the Wiccan ritual of renewal and change of seasons, dealing with the Horned God and also contains references to the historical shift from Paganism to Christianity.
  • "Fly" contains references to Peter Pan and was inspired by the film Finding Neverland.
  • "Carry the Blessed Home" is about Roland the Gunslinger and Jake Chambers at the end of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.
  • "Another Stranger Me" is about a person with dissociative identity disorder who discovers his multiple personalities and tries to find a way out of his situation. [5]
  • "Straight through the Mirror" tells how dreams can change very quickly – it's about the importance of dreams in general too. Some claim it's about a person describing the experience and process of dying while in reality this person is just dreaming it all.
  • "Lionheart" is about Ulysses and how he travels through Hades, but in this song he doesn't find the way out. Hansi took inspiration from French artist Gustave Dore and his illustrations of Dante's Inferno, whose main character, Dante the Pilgrim, meets Ulysses during his tour of Hell.[6]
  • "Skalds and Shadows" is sung from the point of view of an Old Norse Skald with an allusion towards the Saga of the Volsungs (specifically the story of Sigurd and Brunhilde) at the end.
  • "The Edge" is about St. Paul and his faith in Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God and his belief in the imminent ending of the world ("This is the Edge now/It's all we're living for...")
  • "The New Order" deals with the necessity of changes.
  • "All the King's Horses" is based on Welsh folklore and the Arthurian cycle and features references to Taliesin and the Holy Grail.
  • "Dead Sound of Misery" is a darker version of "Fly" in a different key with alternate lyrics and vocal melodies portraying a mythological vision of the Apocalypse.

Personnel
Band members
Guest Musicians
  • Oliver Holzwarth – bass guitar
  • The Choir Company – Olaf Senkbeil, Rolf Köhler, Thomas Hackmann
  • Martin G. Meyer and Pat Benzner – keyboards
Production
  • Charlie Bauerfeind – producing, mastering, mixing and engineering
  • Blind Guardian – producing
  • Jan Rubach – engineering
  • Marc Schettler – assistant engineering
  • Anthony Clarkson – artwork
  • Axel Jusseit – photos
  • Nikolay S. Simkin – booklet design

Chart positions
  • Germany: #4
  • Sweden: #10
  • Austria: #19
  • Japan: #21
  • USA Billboard Top Independent Albums: #21
  • USA Billboard Top Heatseekers: #13
  • Switzerland: #27
  • Finland: #30
  • Norway: #38
  • Spain: #15
  • UK: #33 (independent chart)
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References
  1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Blind Guardian A Twist in the Myth review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
  2. Pardo, Pete (31 January 2007). "Blind Guardian: A Twist in the Myth". Sea of Tranquility.org. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
  3. "Blind Guardian - A Twist in the Myth". Lords of Metal.nl. Archived from the original on 2013-02-23. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
  4. Rensen, Michael. "Rock Hard". issue 232. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  5. Video on YouTube
  6. "Blind Guardian Interview". Metal Invader. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010.
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