"And Then There Was Silence" is a song by German

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

band

Blind Guardian Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres. Nine musicians have been part of the band ...

. It was released in November 2001 as the lead single from their album '' A Night at the Opera''. Written by singer

Hansi Kürsch Hans Jürgen "Hansi" Kürsch (born 10 August 1966) is a German singer, best known as a member of the power metal band Blind Guardian. One of the founders of the band, he has been its lead vocalist since its creation in 1984, and also acted as ...

and composed by Kürsch and guitarist

André Olbrich André Olbrich (born 3 May 1967) is a German musician, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of power metal band Blind Guardian, in which he serves as one of the main composers with other founder Hansi Kürsch. Olbrich was ranked n ...

, the song is based on '' The Iliad'' by

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

and on the ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'' by

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

, and narrates the final days of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, as foreseen by

Cassandra Cassandra or Kassandra (; , , sometimes referred to as Alexandra; ) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecy, prophecies but never to be believed. In modern usage her name is e ...

, 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

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

Personnel

– vocals and backing vocals *

– lead, rhythm and acoustic guitar *

Marcus Siepen Marcus Siepen (born 8 September 1968) is a German guitarist, best known as the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of power metal band Blind Guardian. For the biggest percentage of Blind Guardian's songs, particularly in more recent years, he ...

– rhythm guitar * Thomen Stauch – drums and percussion

Production

* Anry Nemo – cover art

Charts

Year-end charts

References

2001 singles Blind Guardian songs 2001 songs Virgin Records singles Songs based on poems Songs written by Hansi Kürsch Songs written by André Olbrich Works based on the Iliad Works based on the Aeneid Music based on works by Homer Music based on works by Virgil Cassandra {{Metal-song-stub