The lead single from Ghostlights, this was chosen as a candidate for the German representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, along with nine other songs. The song was placed third out of the ten featured acts on "Unser Lied Für Stockholm," the competition that selected Germany's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. Frontman Tobias Sammet explained his reasons for getting involved: "It seemed like a quite unusual idea to compete with anyone in art, to play music against someone. It's still weird anyhow, to play music against each other like in the Olympic Games. Anyway, who am I to get in the way of a great promotional opportunity?! Three minutes to show millions that we exist?"
At 3:51, this doesn't last as long as the majority of Avantasia's other tracks. Frontman Tobias Sammet said: "Although 'Mystery Of A Blood Red Rose' is a rather short composition compared to most other Avantasia songs, I wanted to embellish and amplify it with flamboyance and all Avantasia trademarks. I wanted to make it a detailed piece of fantasy art, but at the same time it was a big challenge to make that painting look inherently consistent if you view it from the distance." The layered choirs took us forever to record and yet nothing distracts from the main theme and flow of the song," he added. "Every time you give it a listen, you will discover something else going on."
Ghostlights debuted at #2 on the German album chart, Avantasia's third consecutive long player to reach the runner-up spot. It meant the symphonic power metallers were still waiting for their first #1 album.
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