Blind Guardian — Rock Hard Festival 2016
Recorded May 15, 2016
Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen · Gelsenkirchen · 
Germany
Setlist
Wrong timestamp?
Tour albumBeyond the Red Mirror2015 · Beyond the Red Mirror TourThe album driving the tour at the time, present in the show with The Ninth Wave and Prophecies.“To see Blind Guardian close Rock Hard 2016 in front of a packed amphitheater.”
Context
As night falls on May 15, the Gelsenkirchen amphitheater is full for the close of Rock Hard Festival 2016. Sunday is sold out, and Blind Guardian arrive in the Beyond the Red Mirror era. In the background, boats pass along the Rhine–Herne Canal as darkness takes over.
The Ninth Wave opens the show, and Prophecies keeps the recent album among songs from several decades. Hansi Kürsch leads the singing, surrounded by the guitars of André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen. Michael Schüren plays keyboards live; choirs and orchestra come from recordings. On The Bard's Song, the whole amphitheater takes over the vocals.
Mirror Mirror and Majesty close the sequence preserved by Rockpalast. The performance remains in WDR's audiovisual archive and also gets a release on record: in 2018, five tracks appear on the EP The Tides of War, distributed with Rock Hard magazine. That night's crowd singing carries across both formats.
- The Bard's Song - In the Forest turns the amphitheater into a collective choir.
Lineup at this show
The lineup of this performance — not necessarily the current one.
- Hansi KürschVocals
- Marcus SiepenGuitar and backing vocals
- André OlbrichGuitar
- Barend CourboisBass and backing vocals
- Michael SchürenKeyboards and backing vocals
- Frederik EhmkeDrums
Trivia
Five songs from this show appear on the EP The Tides of War - Live at Rock Hard Festival 2016, distributed with issue 377 of Rock Hard magazine in 2018.
The Bard's Song - In the Forest gets the whole amphitheater singing together.
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