"I think a double CD for the price of one is a real value for money," said guitarist/keyboardist/composer Lanvall. "For our longtime fans, we have a lot of songs they might not know and for new people we have the best of, which is a good overview of what we have done the past years."

The Austrian act, whose music has been described as "angelic bombast," let its fans choose their favorite tracks to be included on the best of compilation through it website. The rarities disc was culled from unreleased recordings, freshly-written songs, and bonus tracks from international releases.

"Thin Red Line" and "Silent Wake" were originally written during the "Arcana" time period but did not fit on the album. "For Your Eyes Only" is a cover of the James Bond theme that previously appeared on a single. The single version of "Shine," the European bonus from "Shine," "On Sacred Ground," and the Japanese bonus track, "Anthem," are included, as well as several other European and Japanese bonus tracks. "Images in the Sand" is a brand piano/orchestra piece.

"I think it's a great product," said Lanvall. "It's got a nice booklet that captures the band's career from the beginning with a lot of liner notes, old unreleased photos, and so on."

Both CDs were remastered by Andy Horn (Halford, Rob Rock, Cage, Wolf). The cover art was provided by Katja Piolka (Leaves Eyes, Rebellion, Primal Fear).