On June 4th, Germany's WDR Rockpalast livestreamed Blind Guardian's full show at Rock Hard Festival 2022 in Gelsenkirchen. Check out the pro-shot footage below.

The setlist was as follows:

"Into The Storm"
"Welcome To Dying" 
"Nightfall"
"Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill)"
"Time What Is Time"
"Journey Through The Dark"
"Black Chamber" 
"Theatre Of Pain"
"The Quest For Tanelorn" 
"Ashes To Ashes" 
"The Bard's Song - In The Forest" 
"The Bard's Song - The Hobbit"
"The Piper's Calling" 
"Somewhere Far Beyond"
"Valhalla" 
"Mirror Mirror"

A distant mechanical sound is getting louder from afar and heralds the arrival of exciting happenings - throwing their shadows on this fateful day of September 2. It's the day that the metal legend Blind Guardian will release their eleventh studio album, The God Machine, via Nuclear Blast and erects a new monument of their outstanding career.

Hansi Kürsch comments, “We didn't want to rehash our qualities from 1995, but didn't want to continue down this complex path forever either. The God Machine is a new beginning for us. We’ve set a new course and gone back to certain things that we’ve neglected a bit on the last few albums.”

The God Machine marks another pinnacle in Blind Guardian’s impressive discography by not attempting to pretend it is still the nineties yet instead successfully relying on the muscle memory of this period. It is a gripping, addictive, and brilliantly arranged album in the tradition of records with which Blind Guardian reached for the stars in the 90s; yet, by no means, is it a throwback. The God Machine represents the heart and soul of Blind Guardian’s timeless metal in the here and now, unifying the bards’ past, present, and future secrets in one consistent, well-thought-out masterpiece.

Pre-order the album here.

Together with the announcement, the band shares a video for their new raging single, "Blood Of The Elves", a galloping anthem that is destined to become a live staple.

Singer Hansi Kürsch comments: "'Blood Of The Elves' features a pretty heavy side that the avid fan of Blind Guardian hopefully enjoys. More than enjoys, I'd guess. Instrumentally, the track has some kind of an early nineties appeal that blends well into the vocal parts of the opera/twist era and catapults both epochs into a new era for the band. A perfect hybrid. The chorus has some very strong sing-along vibes, despite its complexity. What else do you need? Inspired by the 'The Witcher' computer game series, the lyrics even reinforce the power of this banger and the clip by Dirk Behlau fits perfectly to the whole setting. Let me tell you: The God Machine has even more to offer. And that's no promise - that's the ultimate truth. Stay tuned."

Watch the video below.

Tracklisting:

“Deliver Us From Evil”
“Damnation”
“Secrets Of The American Gods”
“Violent Shadows”
“Life Beyond The Spheres”
“Architects Of Doom”
“Let It Be No More”
“Blood Of The Elves”
“Destiny”

“Blood Of The Elves” video:

“Secrets Of The American Gods” video: