You read that right, kiddos. Blind Guardian announced today that they would be hitting the roads of the purple mountains majesty this fall for the North American leg of their Sacred Words And Songs Divine 2010 tour. Accompanying the band along the trek will be California’s own Holy Grail and Floridian metallers Seven Kingdoms. 

Excited? Me too. Check out the dates and ticketing information after the jump.

I spent the better part of yesterday listening to Blind Guardian’s recently released (or soon to be released, depending on where you live) record At The Edge of Time and I couldn’t be more pleased. The album certainly will not disappoint BG fans and delivers on promises of being one of the bands most  epic efforts to date. The full symphony orchestra is a swell addition, the instruments are tight as can be, and Hansi Kursch’s vocals are as good as ever... if not better. 

If you live in Europe, get off your ass and down to your local record store where you might just find a copy of this magnum opus waiting for your eager ears. If you’re State-side... you will just have to wait but everybody can enjoy the video for A Voice In The Dark in the mean time. 

Cheesy? Yes. That’s just how Blind Guardian rolls. Deal with it.

I know I have touched on the subject of the art works of one Andreas Marschall more than once in the past but great artists deserve more than an honorable mention so here we go again.

This German-born illustrator got his start in the comic book industry but is now renowned for his realizations of heavy metal alum covers and the occasional film poster. Marschall has contributed to far to many covers for me to go over here but for a complete list you can visit this unofficial fan site. You can see many artists have turned to him as their go-to artist for multiple recordings, notably Grave Digger, Hammerfall, and Immolation among others. 

Marschall is also clearly favored a great deal by Blind Guardian as he has been selected to work on a total of eight of their studio albums not to mention various works for merchandise and promotional materials. The picture above is taken from the cover of BG’s 1993 album Somewhere Far Beyond. This album was largely responsible for slingshotting Blind Guardian into the international spotlight and paved the way to their first tour outside of their home country of Germany and to the far east. As you can see by our recent poll, Somewhere Far Beyond is a fan favorite, landing (for now at least) in second place of “Best Blind Guardian Album” falling just a few votes shy of the top spot behind Nightfall In Middle-Earth. 

On the cover is a band of ragged, traveling bards engaged is some sort of magical act. Given the nature of the cover and the acclaimed track The Bards Song featured within, Blind Guardian have long since used this term to describe themselves, their fans, and even in naming the now defunct fan club, Circle Of Bards. 

Don’t ask me what Conan has to do with anything, but congratulations are in order for Ulf (thanks for amusing us with the Nightfall reference) and John B., for they have each won a copy of Blind Guardian’s forthcoming album At The Edge of Time. Check your inboxes guys, you will be receiving an email from us soon. And for everyone else? Chins up, because we are giving away a copy of Iron Maiden’s The Final Frontier and you are all welcome to drop your name in the proverbial hat for a copy of that. Congrats again Ulf and John B, and better luck next time to the rest of ya. Thank’s for playing!

Well here we are. Our Blind Guardian giveaway is over, winners have been chosen (you’ll have to wait to see who they were) and Blind Guardian is offering three full length tracks from At The Edge Of Time streaming through their website. Could it possibly be shaping up to be a good Tuesday? 

Late last night Blind Guardian released the following statement: 

The long wait is almost over, At the Edge of Time will be released in Europe on July 30th.  You have all been so nice and patient, therefore we have decided to share 3 full length tracks from the album with you.  So, brush up a little on the writings of Michael Moorcock and George R.R. Martin and enjoy the following:

The “following” are the tracks Tanelorn (Into the Void), War Of The Thrones, and A Voice In The Dark. Head over to this location to check them out and when your done come on back and let us know what you think. Enjoy! 

Consider this your final notice -- if you want a chance to win a copy of Blind Guardian’s forthcoming album At The Edge Of Time leave us a comment here. We are announcing the winners tomorrow so after midnight tonight, that’s it. 

The video above is the sixth installment of trailers Blind Guardian has released in anticipation of their album. Featured in the trailer are the guys working with a full orchestra and choir, tracking the songs Wheel of Time and A Voice In The Dark. Just a few moments into this video it’s easy to realize this album is no small budget affair and BG are puling out all the stops to deliver what could quite possible the album of the year. What you you think?

At The Edge Of Time is slated for an August 24th North American release but if I’m not mistaken, we are sending out the import version to the lucky two that win the giveaway so they should receive it before then. 

If you are reading this, consider it your second to last warning to get your name in the hat of our Blind Guardian giveaway.  Two lucky readers will receive a copy of BG’s forthcoming record At The Edge Of Time and enjoy the envy of their peers. 

As if you needed another reason to enter to win, take a look at the fifth installment of album trailers Blind Guardian released today:

So you want a copy of Blind Guardian’s upcoming record At the Edge of Time but don’t want to shell out the 25 bucks to pre-order it, eh? Well, you might just be in luck because this month we are giving away not one, but two (2) copies of At The Edge of Time to two (2) lucky readers.

At everyone’s request this contest won’t involve anything more than leaving a comment on this post. If you are not a registered member make sure to include a real email address with your comment so we can get in contact to send you your prize. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere on earth (as long as you can receive US post) and the winner will be announced just before the album is released so we can try to get it to you on the day of.  Good luck to all and make sure you have your entry in before Monday the 26th!

As I’m sure many of you already know, Blind Guardian has a new album coming out this summer. Last I checked, July 30 to be exact. I think it is also safe to assume that many of you have heard their single A Voice in the Dark, which they released on June 25th.  What many of you probably don’t know is that you can hear samples of all the tracks off the forthcoming album in the video above.