AOL MUSIC Debuts BLIND GUARDIAN's Newest Album

In the first listening party partnership between Nuclear Blast Records and AOL Music, BLIND GUARDIAN's new release, "A Twist In The Myth", will be available for streaming in its entirety for seven days beginning Monday, September 4 at 12 midnight pacific / 3 a.m. Eastern at this location.

This event is a chance for die-hard BLIND GUARDIAN fans to get a sneak preview of the band's first studio album in four years, which is scheduled for North American release on September 5.

AOL Music's BLIND GUARDIAN premiere comes on the heels of a successful promotional trip for "A Twist In The Myth" in New York City which included lead-singer Hansi Kürsch's helicopter ride over Manhattan with a Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles journalist in honor of their hit single "Fly"; a stop at Guitar World magazine headquarters to film an upcoming "Betcha Can't Play This" CD-Rom feature with guitarist André Olbrich; and an impromptu 40-second song recording by Hansi and André for Revolver magazine's "Adventures Of The Unit". The trip was capped off with a packed night at New York's Lit Lounge where fans had the chance to meet the power metal legends and get their first taste of "A Twist In The Myth". Metal-Rules.com was on hand covering the event that night and has posted pictures and a track-by-track review of the album here.

To celebrate BLIND GUARDIAN's new album and their upcoming North American tour with LEAVES' EYES (which launches November 8),Nuclear Blast Records has teamed up with Gibson Guitars to give away a black Les Paul autographed by the band members. Enter the contest by clicking here. Deadline for entries is November 30, 2006.

The band recently completed a video for "Another Stranger Me". When asked about the different sound and style of that particular track, vocalist Kürsch responded, "Perhaps there are one or two choruses in there that still have the vocal layers, and André's solo is pretty much BLIND GUARDIAN, but leaving that out, it delivers a completely new style. I was anxious to see the reaction of the people, and surprisingly enough, a good amount of people consider that song to be one of the strongest songs on the album. I'm happy that this is the case and I hope that the more 'traditionalist' types of fans will find some attraction to this song as well. We feel it has a lot of potential, and I think it's one of the most mainstream songs at the same time."

The video can be viewed at this location.

Greatly inspired by life experience, world myths, and legends, BLIND GUARDIAN was founded in 1984 in Krefeld, Germany. Known for combining majestic orchestral sequences with quieter, Renaissance-styled acoustic arrangements, the merits of the band's emotion-packed music quickly spread via word-of-mouth and laid the foundation for a very rabid fan base that has continued to support the band throughout their career. This year alone, BLIND GUARDIAN's "Fly" single charted #1 in Japan, #4 in Spain & Hungary, #29 in Sweden, #32 in Germany, #34 in Italy, #52 in Austria, and #94 in Switzerland.