Editing Nightfall in Middle-Earth (section)

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{{Infobox album
| name        = Nightfall in Middle-Earth
| type        = studio
| artist      = [[Blind Guardian]]
| cover       = NFoME.jpg
| caption     = Cover art by Andreas Marschall<br/>of [[Lúthien and Beren|Lúthien]] dancing before [[Morgoth]],<br/>from ''[[The Tale of Beren and Lúthien]]''
| alt         = Painting in modern style of a scene from Tolkien's legendarium
| released    = 28 April 1998
| recorded    = July 1997 – January 1998
| venue       =
| studio      = Twilight Hall Studios<br/>Karo Studios<br/>Sweet Silence Studios<br/>Vox Studios<br/> Air-Edel Studios
| genre       = {{hlist|[[Power metal]]|[[progressive metal]]|[[speed metal]]|[[symphonic metal]]<ref name="metalhammerlist"/>}}
| length      = 65:29
| label       = [[Virgin Records|Virgin]]/[[Century Media]]
| producer    = [[Flemming Rasmussen]], Blind Guardian
| prev_title  = [[Imaginations from the Other Side]]
| prev_year   = 1995
| next_title  = [[A Night at the Opera (Blind Guardian album)|A Night at the Opera]]
| next_year   = 2002
| misc        = {{Singles
| name        = Nightfall in Middle-Earth
| type        = studio
| single1     = Mirror Mirror
| single1date = 7 February 1998
}}
}}

'''''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 in Middle-earth|Elves]] battle with the Dark Lord [[Morgoth]].<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/nightfall-in-middle-earth-mw0000047851 |title=Nightfall in Middle-Earth - Blind Guardian |last=Jeffries|first=Vincent|website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=December 30, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AOS74uZTasYC&pg=PA134 |title=Middle-earth Minstrel: Essays on Music in Tolkien |last=Eden |first=Bradford Lee |author-link=Bradford Lee Eden |date=2010 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |isbn=9780786456604 |page=134}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72r0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA185 |title=Middle-earth Envisioned: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: On Screen, On Stage, and Beyond |last1=Robb |first1=Brian J. |last2=Simpson |first2=Paul |date=2013 |publisher=Race Point Publishing |isbn=9781627880787 |page=185}}</ref> 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]].

''Nightfall in Middle-Earth'' is widely regarded as one of Blind Guardian's best-known and best-received albums in their discography.<ref name="Sputnik">{{cite web |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/14758/Blind-Guardian-Nightfall-in-Middle-Earth/ |title=Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth (album review 2) |last=Ward |first=Kyle |date=December 30, 2007 |website=Sputnikmusic |access-date=December 30, 2016}}</ref> It is also the first album with Oliver Holzwarth as guest musician, playing bass guitar instead of [[Hansi Kürsch]].

It was the first album by Blind Guardian to be released in the United States. The sales encouraged [[Century Media Records|Century Media]] to release their entire back catalog in the US in 2007, at which point it was remastered and re-released, with a bonus track.