And Then There Was Silence

"And Then There Was Silence" is a song by German power metal band Blind Guardian. It was released in November 2001 as the lead single from their album A Night at the Opera.

"And Then There Was Silence"
Single by Blind Guardian
from the album A Night at the Opera
Released	12 November 2001
Recorded	Twilight Hall Studios (Grefrath, Germany)
Genre	Power metal progressive metal[1] symphonic metal
Length	14:06
Label	Virgin
Songwriter(s)	Hansi Kürsch, André Olbrich
Producer(s)	Charlie Bauerfeind
Blind Guardian singles chronology
"Mirror Mirror" (1998) "And Then There Was Silence" (2001) "The Bard's Song (In the Forest)" (2003)

Written by singer Hansi Kürsch and composed by Kürsch and guitarist André Olbrich, the song is based on The Iliad by Homer and on the Aeneid by Virgil, and narrates the final days of Troy, as foreseen by Cassandra, daughter of the king of the destroyed city who foresaw the event.

The song required as much production time as the rest of A Night at the Opera combined due to its length, intricacy, and number of audio tracks. At over 14 minutes, it is the longest track recorded by Blind Guardian. A new version was recorded in 2012 and included as part of the compilation album Memories of a Time to Come.

Track listing

1. "And Then There Was Silence" – 14:06
2. "Harvest of Sorrow" – 3:40
3. "Born in a Mourning Hall" (multimedia track) – 5:17

Personnel

• Hansi Kürsch – vocals and backing vocals
• André Olbrich – lead, rhythm and acoustic guitar
• Marcus Siepen – rhythm guitar
• Thomen Stauch – drums and percussion

Production

• Anry Nemo – cover art

Charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Germany (GfK)[2]	41
Spain (AFYVE)[3]	1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[4]	41

Year-end charts

Chart (2001)	Position
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[5]	143