Nightfall in Middle-Earth is the sixth studio album by the German power metal band Blind Guardian. It was released on 28 April 1998 through Virgin Records. It is a concept album based on J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, a book of tales from the First Age of Middle-earth, recounting the troubled history of Beleriand as the Elves battle with the Dark Lord Morgoth. The album contains not only songs but also spoken parts narrating parts of the story. The cover depicts a scene from The Silmarillion, the elf Lúthien dancing in front of the Dark Lord Morgoth.
Horror Show is the sixth studio album from the American heavy metal band Iced Earth, released June 26, 2001. It is a concept album based on classic monsters and horror-movie icons, including Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Phantom. It was the first Iced Earth album to feature drummer Richard Christy, and the only album to feature Steve Di Giorgio on bass, though he did not tour with the band. Horror Show is usually considered Iced Earth's only straightforward power metal release, as little of the thrash metal influence from the band's earlier works is present. This album also featured more prominent usage of Matt Barlow's multi-layered vocals as a center point for the songs.
Damage Done is the sixth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. Here, the band returns to a more classic style while holding the changes made in their albums Haven and Projector, especially in the keyboards, but this is the first record since The Mind's I that does not feature clean vocals. Martin Henriksson started doing some "lead guitar riffs" on the record, so the band showed influences from The Gallery in the duality of lead guitars. Mikael Stanne said that the lyrics on this album are about the frailty of life.
Somewhere Far Beyond is the fourth studio album by the German power metal band Blind Guardian. It was released in 1992 and produced by Kalle Trapp. The cover artwork was created by Andreas Marschall, who also drew the artwork for other Blind Guardian's releases. The album saw the band creating its own original sound, while still employing most of their speed/power metal techniques.
Poets and Madmen is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 2001. It was their last album before their 12-year hiatus, which lasted from 2002 to 2014. The album has a loose concept inspired by the career and death of journalist Kevin Carter, but has much less narrative in the lyrics than the previous two rock operas penned by Paul O'Neill. Everything said in the album is fiction, except with regards to what is sung about Carter. The album is also noted as it is the only Savatage album to not feature a title song from the album, although the title was taken from lyrics to the track "Symmetry" from the band's 1994 album, Handful of Rain.
Battalions of Fear is the debut studio album by the German power metal band Blind Guardian, released in 1988. The album is a raw and unpolished speed metal effort that touches on thrash metal. It lacks many of the stylistic flourishes that would mark the band's music in later years, focusing more on speed and aggression. The opening track "Majesty" remains a fan favorite and is often featured in the band's live performances. This album was remastered, remixed and re-released on 15 June 2007, with the whole first demo tape, Symphonies of Doom, of the band as part of the bonus tracks. The album was again re-released as part of the A Traveler's Guide to Space and Time boxset with minor adjustments to the mixing and with new mastering.
Masquerade in Blood is the seventh studio album by German thrash metal band Sodom, released on 1 June 1995 via Steamhammer/SPV. Musically, Masquerade is often seen as the band's rawest and heaviest record, and continues in the same vein as that of their previous album, but in a more post-thrash fashion.
Made Me Do It is the second studio album by Swedish metal band The Haunted, released on 30 June 2000. It was re-released in 2001 with the live album Live Rounds in Tokyo as a bonus CD.
Acid Drinkers are a Polish thrash metal band formed in September 1986 in Poznań. Acid Drinkers were formed on 21 September 1986 consisting of Tomasz "Titus" Pukacki and Robert "Litza" Friedrich. The band's style is thrash metal, with influences of heavy metal and hardcore punk. Acid Drinkers are rated as one of the most important bands in the Polish thrash and heavy metal world.
Metal Heart is the sixth studio album by German heavy metal band Accept, released in 1985. Although the group had recorded before at Dierks-Studios, this was the first album produced by Dieter Dierks himself. It marked the return of guitarist Jörg Fischer after a two year absence, with Herman Frank having been his replacement. This album was a cautious attempt to crack the lucrative American market with more accessible songcraft and emphasis on hooks and melodies. Although critically panned at the time, today Metal Heart is often considered by fans as one of the band's best records. It contains several of their classic songs such as "Metal Heart" and "Living for Tonite". The band also makes a detour into jazz metal territory with the unusual song "Teach Us to Survive".
In Sorte Diaboli is the seventh studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released in 2007. It is the band's first concept album. A site on the Nuclear Blast website was created for In Sorte Diaboli, in which a new promotional photo can be seen and an audio sample can be heard. This would be the last album by Dimmu Borgir to feature ICS Vortex, Hellhammer and Mustis.
Verses of Steel is the twelfth studio album by the Polish thrash metal band Acid Drinkers. It was released on 7 July 2008 in Poland through Mystic Production. It is the only album to feature Alex "Olass" Mendyk due to his death in late November 2008.
La part du diable is the thirteenth studio album by Polish thrash metal band Acid Drinkers. It was released on 17 October 2012 through Mystic Production. It is the first album to feature Wojciech "Jankiel" Moryto.
Amor Louco is the fourth studio album by Brazilian post-punk band Fellini. It was released on February 15, 1990, by now-defunct independent record label Wop-Bop Records and re-released in CD form in 2001 by another independent label, RDS. It was originally Fellini's last album, due to their break-up in the following year; however, they reunited in 2001 and released another album, Amanhã É Tarde. After his absence from the previous album, Jair Marcos returned as the guitarist, thus having Fellini's original line-up once more.
Old Mornings Dawn is the seventh full-length album by the Austrian atmospheric black metal band Summoning. The album was released on June 5, 2013, through Napalm Records. The cover art is based on George Hetzel's painting, Rocky Gorge. Silenius commented on the album's title: "Old Mornings Dawn is no concept album, but this time we mostly experienced the stories and legends of Eärendil the mariner: half man half eldar, ancestor of the kings of Númenor, with the Silmaril of his forehead he became an immortal star. 4 songs are dealing with this topic. The lyrics of another two songs come from the poems City of Present Sorrow and Town of Dreams, two very old poems by J. R. R. Tolkien written at a time when the first world war was raging. The rest of the lyrics came from unknown writers or are written by myself and as ever are closely woven to the Tolkien universe".
Rock Is Not Enough is the eleventh studio album by Polish thrash metal band Acid Drinkers. It was released on 24 May 2004. It is the only album to feature Tomek "Lipa" Lipnicki.
Kołysanki is the fifth studio album by Polish band Lux Occulta. The album was released on March 13, 2014. It is the first album released by the band in 13 years, as well as the first since the ending of the band's hiatus, making it the longest gap between the band's albums.
Broken Head is the ninth studio album by Polish thrash metal band Acid Drinkers. It was released on 2 October 2000. The album was mixed at Larronerma Recording Institute in Poznań.
Acidofilia is the tenth studio album by Polish thrash metal band Acid Drinkers. It was released on 13 May 2002. The album was mastered at High-End Studio by Grzegorz Piwkowski. It was rereleased in 2008 by Metal Mind with a bonus video for the song "Acidofilia". It is the final album to feature Przemek "Perła" Wejmann.
Gothica is the thirteenth studio album by British hard rock band Ten. The album was released on 7 July 2017. The album was mixed and mastered by Dennis Ward, while the cover was illustrated by Stan W. Decker. The first single from the album, the track "Paragon", was released on 26 May, while the second one "La Luna Dra-Cu-La", was released on 23 June. The first official music video for "Gothica", was for the track "Travellers", on the 3rd of July 2017, while "Jekyll And Hyde", the second official music video from the album, was released on the 1st of August, 2017. The album proved to be another successful release for the band, reaching the 11th position on BBC's Rock Albums Charts.
