Promising to be one of the most ambitious projects in metal's history, BLIND GUARDIAN's upcoming release will be well worth the wait. The idea to record an orchestral album originally formed in the minds of the two leading lights of the BLIND GUARDIAN universe — guitarist André Olbrich and singer Hansi Kürsch — during the 1990s when BLIND GUARDIAN started to use orchestral elements to enhance their opulent sound.

In recent years, the giant project started to take shape, and parallel to epic sound cascades, the lyrical concept was developed. For this, BLIND GUARDIAN was able to find support in German best-selling author Markus Heitz, whose new novel, "Die Dunklen Lande", is being released today (March 1). The book is set in 1629 and contains the prequel to BLIND GUARDIAN's opus "Legacy Of The Dark Lands", which will be released November 1.

The first trailer is available below.

"It's incredible that after 20 years we can actually finish this really exciting project," states Kürsch. "I am so happy and more than satisfied with it. Every single track unveils spectacular worlds and tells its very own story. With this album, our biggest creative dream finally becomes reality."

Kürsch's favorite author was equally excited about the collaboration. "It's really crazy: as pen-and-paper role players, we used to listen to BLIND GUARDIAN whilst playing," Heitz recalls. "And years later, I get to work together with the band, which was incredible. It's amazing, the things that can happen sometimes. Of course, I immediately agreed to join! This creative collaboration is very special for me."

The two protagonists have actively cultivated their creative exchange over the last five years.

"Markus is a great story teller; with 'Die Dunklen Lande', he created the perfect setting and with the mysterious Nicolas the perfect character for our complex works," Kürsch says. "His inventiveness seems to be almost infinite. Absolutely impressive and very inspiring."

Both sides tell in their own way the story of the mercenary Nicolas and his involvement in the Thirty Years' War. Heitz starts the story off in his book and BLIND GUARDIAN follows suit with "Legacy Of The Dark Lands".

What is the secret surrounding Nicolas? Will he be able to cast off the chains of war and how will his loved ones fare? On "Legacy Of The Dark Lands" via BLIND GUARDIAN'S TWILIGHT ORCHESTRA, Olbrich and Kürsch fulfill their longtime wish of emphasizing imposing choral singing and classical orchestral arrangements. It promises to be an opus unlike any other that the German quartet has ever released, or rather an opus as has never been heard ever before.