Imaginations Through the Looking Glass

Blind Guardian intended to record a DVD since early 1998, however, due to the band's high requirements, no existing metal festival had been considered suitable. Instead, Blind Guardian decided to create their own festival, back in their homeland. The First Blind Guardian Festival was held in Coburg, Germany, at June 16/17, 2003. It lasted 2 days, with the band playing during both nights. The entire show has been professionally recorded and subsequently released on a DVD entitled Imaginations through the Looking Glass in June 14th, 2004.

Content

The show had been very well prepared for the recording, with complex lightning and pyrotechnic effects set up to assist the musicians in creating the atmosphere. Blind Guardian's performance is generally considered excellent, and the degree of the audience's involvement was surprising even to the band members themselves. This is especially visible when the crowd continued to sing the chorus of "Valhalla" after the song was well over. The setlist was partly based on a poll conducted on the band's website, which (combined with the amount of time the band had) led to a varied set with classics like "The Bard’s Song (in the Forest)" but also some rarerly played songs such as "Somewhere Far Beyond". There are two (two-layer) DVD discs in the release; the first one contains the show itself, with 20 tracks and approximately 125 minutes of running time. Disc 2 contains extra material, including an interview with the band and 4 bonus songs, recorded in previous tours. The set has a typical Blind Guardian fantasy-style artwork painted by Leo Hao, mixed with photos from the show, with several humorous elements included such as a picture of Legolas and Gollum buying tickets for the concert.

Trivia

• At approx. 50:20 on the first DVD, Andre inadvertently crushes what appears to be a moth during a short solo.

Line-up

• Hansi Kürsch - lead singer
• André Olbrich - guitars
• Marcus Siepen - guitars
• Thomen Stauch - drums
• Oliver Holzwarth - bass (touring member)
• Michael "Mi" Schüren - keyboards (touring member)

Track listing

Disc 1

1. War of Wrath
2. Time Stands Still
3. Banish from Sanctuary
4. Nightfall
5. The Script for my Requiem
6. Valhalla
7. A Past and Future Secret
8. Punishment Divine
9. Mordred's Song
10. The Last Candle
11. Bright Eyes
12. Lord of the Rings
13. I'm Alive
14. Another Holy War
15. And then there was Silence
16. Somewhere Far Beyond
17. The Bard's Song (in the Forest)
18. Imaginations from the other Side
19. And the Story Ends
20. Mirror Mirror

Disc 2

1. Interview with Blind Guardian
2. Slideshow
3. The Making of The B.G. Festival Coburg 2003
4. Bonus Songs:
   • Majesty
   • Into the Storm
   • Welcome to Dying
   • Lost in the Twilight Hall

Trailer

• Imaginations Through the Looking Glass DVD - recorded and edited by Münsterland Film