It has been years, but I am stilling riding high from the two times I went to Germany to see Avantasia. Hamburg, Germany, is a fun city, I highly recommend visiting.
Avantasia is my band. It is the only band I have talked about, every single album they have on this blog. Last year, Avantasia unleased their ninth studio album “A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society.” I am not going to lie; I am a little surprised the momentum behind the super group has lasted nine albums now. I have always assumed that a serious amount of time and effort went into each Avantasia album, because how could it be any different? There are so many vocalists, presumably with different schedules, and there are always additional guest singers and other musicians, and several songs are always over eight minutes and all the songs are complicated. I guess what I am trying to say is, I am impressed with Tobias and friends output. I was impressed from the beginning, so things are working out great as far as I am concerned.
There were moments when I was unsure what more I could say about Avantasia, but thankfully Sammet’s choice of song writing is happily perfectly in tune with my personal tastes, so I always have something positive remark to add. This time around, I am very fond the of the principal track, or not quite title tack, “The Moonflower Society.”
Sometimes a song needs no assistance becoming forever memorable in my mind. I really like “The Moonflower Society” the song as it stands alone, but I am also very fond of the music video. I do not believe Sammet ever tells us the actual story behind his metal operas, which I both respect and enjoy. I respect the “show don’t tell” approach to story telling, and when this is done, it allows myself, and others, to use our own observations and imaginations to piece together the story only show, and never told. With the new soft animated visuals, my imagination has been perked a little more, but more so, I think I might be understanding the story a little better than before? Maybe?
In “The Moonflower Society” we meet all of the society I believe, and a good amount of imagination went into each one, each entity is only partially human at best, but all seem to be good natured if not keeping a distance of sorts. The main Sammet like skeleton in a top hat and suit is strongly hinted to be the protagonist himself but from another time, or magic, or something, in the “Kill the Pain Away.”
“Kill the Pain Away” is probably my second favorite song from Avantasia’s newest album, but for now “The Moonflower Society” has Bob Catley and I freaking love that guy. Who knows how my opinion might shift in the years to come. “Kill the Pain Away” just feature Floor Jansen, and I freaking love her. Those two songs are my front runners.
Kill The Pain Away:
Knowing the main circus leader of the Moonflower Society probably is a future or alternate version of the human protagonist, the music video must serve as a introduction of the main character, not only to the society, but also, to himself. That gives us a lot to think about. Also, a smiling moon and a starry dive into the deeps, and awakening back in his carriage, while the Moonflower society temporarily disappear from existence.
So, I like it a lot, song, video, and album.
I have been to Europe twice, and both times I made it an issue to see Avantasia live. I think it is important to have life goals, so I am just waiting for Avantasia to be a major dark of Wacken, or come to Toronto (I can’t imagine they would come to Calgary), or perhaps catch them again on a tour through Europe, visit some metal loving countries I have not been too yet. I am looking at you Sweden. The point is, I feel committed. Tobias Sammet is my guy and his bands Edguy and Avantasia are my jam, it pleases me to see great music continue to be created by him.
For the first time in twelve years I have failed to write consistent content on this music blog. Work is killing me, so that did not help, but the main reason I needed a hiatus is that I spent twenty-six days in Europe. Why does this matter? Because I ended the trip with a return to Hamburg Germany, where I saw my favorite active group Avantasia.
Six years ago I went to Germany expressly to see Avantasia in Berlin and Hamburg, and those two nights are still the best nights of my entire life, so whilst planning another to Europe I naturally decided to try my best to re-visit Avantasia, in Hamburg; and this time I brought a friend.
I bookended our trip with two good ideas, we start the trip in London for my friend birthday, and we end the trip in Hamburg for Avantasia. It was good idea, but it came with some complications. This plan has us in Amsterdam the day before the concert and getting to Hamburg by train from Amsterdam was a lot harder than I remembered. Most of the scheduled trains were sold out and my credit card was not working online for some reason. We ended up leaving two hours later than I would have liked and it cost more than I anticipated, and we had three transfers along the way which made the trip an hour longer then it would have been otherwise. Then there was nearly an hour delay because of some technical problems with the train. Lastly construction was blocking our way to the hostel. By the time we checked into our room and dropped off our bags, I was feeling like the world was conspiring against me seeing this show, but I am determined man, and this was Avantansia, and I was not going to miss this.
We hop the underground train and get to the concert hall just in time to slam a beer and find a place to stand. Garbed in my Canadian flag I stood at the ready telling my friend a story he had heard me tell dozens of times, the story of Tobias Sammet and the creation of Avantasia. Then the lights hit, and the band emerged, and out walked the man of the hour Tobias, and opening the show with what I think is my favorite song from the newest album, “Ghost in the Moon.”
“Ghost in the moon light.”
That opening line came through loud and clear and a great joy filled me. I had done it; I had returned to Hamburg and Avantasia.
Anyway, enough about me, my adventures are less important than the music being discuss.
Earlier this year Avantasia released their eighth studio album “Moonglow.” As we have seen before Tobias has left his story open for interpretation. Some spectre is questioning their own existence or something? I have not figured it out yet, but I suspect Tobias would be supportive of any theory I concoct. I could surely google theories and piece together a cleaver theory, but I have not done that, so let us continue.
Now that we are at the eighth studio album of super group Avantasia, we can safely say who the primary line up now consists of. From the beginning there was always the core four singers, Michael Kiske, Jorn Lande, Bob Cately, and Tobias Sammet himself. Ever since “The Mystery of Time” album Ronnie Atkins and Eric Martin have established themselves as main stays. The only wild care left that needs to be discussed is Geoff Tate, who performed with Avantasia on this most recent tour, and he was awesome, like super awesome live, so he is a welcome inclusion if he wishes to remain. That makes seven, like Seven Angels; the judgement of heaven; fire will burn us away.
With that lineup in mind, it makes sense that every album going forward would have one song being performed by one of the primary singers along with Tobias. Another novelty that has held fast throughout all eight albums is a “solo” performance by Tobias.
“Lost in Space,” and “Mystery of a Blood Red Rose” both proved to be some of the biggest hit songs from Avantasia, and they are songs feature only one singer, the man, Sammet.
I love every singer in Avantasia, a lot. The only one I do not admire with the full weight of my being is maybe Eric Martin. In many ways Martin is the odd man out, coming more from a pop rock background while everyone else is a hard rock, progressive rock, or metal in origin and style; but the man so happy to be there, and he is doing a really good job. Furthermore, I met Eric Martin six years ago in Hamburg and he was a great guy. I feel like we are friends, even though I doubt he remembers me. So yeah, back to the point, I love every singer.
Where was I going before my Eric Martin tangent? Oh right, I love all the singers, but I do hold a special place in my heart for Sammet’s lone performances. He is the man that made it all happen. He is the greatest song writer active today. I love it when he gets a chance to shine on this own creation, and I love songs like “Lost in Space,” “Mystery of a Blood Red Rose,” and most recently “Ghost in the Moon.”
The first single off of “Moonglow” was “The Raven Child,” which was an eleven minute fifteen second epic featuring Jorn Lande and Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kursch, so that was amazing and is a major reason I love Avantasia so much. Who releases an eleven-minute epic as their first single? The guest singer is Kursch from Blind Guardian, I do not know what more I could have asked for because I am getting more than I ever would have thought to ask for.
The second single is the title track “Moonglow,” this song was much more radio friendly and features Candice Night. It was great, nice music video, great song, I have always loved Candice. Good stuff.
I think the third single was “Starlight,” great song featuring Ronnie. Another great song.
Anyway, “Ghost in the Moon,” the opening track, where only Tobias sings, and it is almost ten minutes in length. Exactly what I needed from this album and exactly what I wanted to hear in Hamburg.
“Ghost in the Moon” is two songs really. The first part of the song, (the first song) is really very energetic and upbeat, but the lyrics, and there are lots of lyrics, tell a tale of the dark side of fame, or at least I think that is what is going on. The metaphor for a moth drawn to flame is in full effect in “Ghost in the Moon,” with the light of the sun replace flame and the Ghost replacing the moth. There is pressures and forces at play pushing the artist, the ghost, towards the light, but the encouragement is not all selfless motivations or kindly and wishful. The powers that be want the Ghost in the moonglow to exists for selfish and shallow reasons, shattering our dreams into something other than originally conceived.
It is also possible I am projecting some of the ideas from the Scarecrow trilogy onto “Moonglow” and “Ghost in the Moon.” I mean… we are chasing the ghost in “Ghost in the Moon” that implies that it is a different entity (or figment) from the narrator.
The second part of the song (the second song) begins after a noticeable silence right around the seven minute twenty second mark. The song reopens with an even more aggressive but controlled measure, and the lyrics take on a different, more aware, perspective. Those dreams of standing in the light, they become something else, or maybe we finally see them for what they always were;
“Megalo-maniacal dreams.”
I wonder if there is a deliberate connection between that line and the cover of Michael Sembello’s “Maniac” featuring Eric Martin?
It is a little thing, but I really like how Tobias deliveries that simple line;
“Megalo-maniac dreams.”
If I am right and “Ghost in the Moon” is at least in part a metaphor about fame, and how stepping into the light is empowering and exciting, but also hazardous and sometimes deeply compromising, then I think “megalo-maniac” is not a bad description for such dreams. Ego can, and has, fueled many celebrities and artists ambitions. Corporate compromises have poisoned and destroyed lots of artistic music and the happiest of many would be poet musicians. Take all of that and warp it in a mystical metaphor and you have an appropriate concept for an Avantasia album. Maybe that is what “Moonglow” the album is about. I suspect I am at least partially correct in thinking that is what “Ghost in the Moon” is about.
Long post short, life is good, Avantasia is the best. Get listening North America, I cannot get them to come here by myself.
If there is one takeaway from this blog it is this: Avantasia is the greatest music act in the world today.
I love a lot of bands but few have I reviewed five times, in fact I believe Avantasia takes the lead now with this new review. I have been devotedly following Tobias Sammet’s career ever since I discovered the Lost in Space LPs, the teaser before the launch of “The Scarecrow” album, and as such I have reviewed every album as they came out since then. This year, 2016, Tobias released the seventh studio Avantasia album “Ghostlights,” naturally I feel like I should talk about it.
There is one downside to falling in love, everything else seems less special. I fell in love with “The Scarecrow” and “The Wicked Symphony,” I still regularly listen to those albums and I cannot honestly say that about the other four albums predating “Ghostlights.” It is important that we understand that, “Angel of Babylon,” “The Mystery of Time,” and the original “Metal Opera” albums are all really good, it is just that everything, and I mean basically everything, in all of creation, pales in comparison to “The Scarecrow” and “The Wicked Symphony.” So really… no matter how good “Ghostlights” turned out to be I would always compare it to those two titan albums and be at least partially unimpressed.
Tobias Sammet, still earth's greatest song writer.
“So how is ‘Ghostlights?’” You might ask me. It is really good.
The wonderful adventure of Avantasia has been such a joyous journey (to Arcadia) that there is really only so much more Tobias can do to allow it to feel original. The continue addition of new guest singers is a perpetual development that helps keep things fresh but surely Tobais is slowly, but surely, running out of heroes to invite to his super group.
Similar to “The Mystery of Time,” “Ghostlights” appears to have a fantasy/science fiction theme involving once again time as focal point, and once again, most wisely, Tobias has left the story open enough for individualized interpretation. The similarities to “Mystery of Time” are in fact so great that it turns out this new album is meant to be the conclusion of that story.
I really like the first two tracks on the album “Mystery of a Blood Red Rose” and “Let the Storm Descend Upon You” and for exact opposite reasons.
I really like “Mystery of a Blood Red Rose” because there is no guest singer and it is one of the very few tracks in the Avantasia library where Tobias sings alone. It gives the creator of the whole thing a chance to truly shine and it is a really good song.
Mystery Of a Blood Red Rose
I really like “Let the Storm Descend Upon You” because it has the most guest singers of any song on the album, including Jorn Lande, Ronnie Atkins, and Robert Mason. A twelve-minute epic that does in fact descend us into a storm of music that is the album itself.
Let the Storm Descend Upon You
I have thought long and hard about which song to focus on and after four hundred and ninty-three words of introduction I think I have settled on “Draconian Love.”
“Draconian Love” opens with a nice piano that segues into the rhythm section, and is joined mostly by the haunting tone of Herbie Langhans’ voice repeating what will become the chorus:
“You shed draconian love.”
It is an effective chorus and tells us basically all we need to know about the metaphor for this song. Draconian, meaning dragon like, shedding its love, not dissimilar to not a snake molting, shedding its skin. Dragon love, sure that works, and evidently it is fleeting, or peeling if you will.
“Draconian Love” is a song of peaks and valleys as far as volume and intensity fluctuate. The verses are somber and gentle in tempo, meanwhile whenever the chorus hits everything picks up with the drums rising before every instrument strikes all at once and Tobias and Herbie sing with spite and anger. We get the full gambit of emotion with a sense of rising tension as we near the song’s climax. Before the last repetition of the chorus we are met with our greatest contrast; every instrument goes silent except for the keyboard and Herbie both being their quietest during this song, then when the last chorus opens it crashes into us with the greatest of intensity.
This contrast in sound is also a contrast of emotion, the verses are sad and lonely grieving over lost love. The chorus is a fury demanding to know “where are you now?”
Herbie Langhans.
One last thing to note is just how good Herbie is on “Draconian Love.” Which raises the question that you might ask me, “who is Herbie Langhans?” Honestly? I have no idea. This is actually why “Draconian Love” won out in the end for my song of focus, because it brings forth this paragraph of discussion. Apparently, Herbie is part of Sinbreed, Symphonity, Beyond the Bridge and Whispers in Crimson, four bands I have never heard of before, though he appears to be most famous for his work with Seventh Avenue, another band I have never heard of before.
This is one of the greatest things about Avantasia however. I had never heard of Bob Catley or Magnum before “The Story Ain’t Over.” I had never heard of Ronnie Atkins or Pretty Maids before “Invoke the Machine.” Amazingly I had never heard of Michael Kiske or Helloween before “Another Angel Down.” I had heard of Jorn Lande and Masterplan, before I heard “Promised Land” but still, you see my point. How I have Herbie Langhans and Seventh Avenue, and apparently, a bunch of other bands, to go and discover now, and if they are even half as good as the bands and artist mentioned above then my life is about to be immeasurably enriched once more.
The moral of the story is “Ghostlights” along with it’s predecessor “The Mystery of Time” cannot compete with “The Scarecrow” and “The Wicked Symphony” but they are fantastic nonetheless. The awesome adventure that is Avantasia continues and they are still the greatest musical act in the world, and I will never, ever, understand why it is so difficult for me to get more people to listen to them.
In January of this year, on a whim I purchased tickets to Avantaisa in Berlin and Hamburg in April. I did not give it a lot of thought, it was something I wanted to do so I did it, and I so rarely do what I want. After a few weeks the tickets arrived by mail and as I sat there holding the tickets in my hand and it become very real what I was doing, but only then did it begin to feel that way. I had the tickets to see the greatest musical group in the world today; all I had to do now was get my ass to Germany.
I’ve never traveled before, not really, I went to Hawaii once two years ago, which was great, but Europe is a completely different matter. Europe was a hell of a lot further, more expensive, and English would not be the common language. In Hawaii I was going to see my kid brother in the Navy who would be there on duty, in Europe I was going alone. I had humoured the idea of asking a friend to come with me, but all my dearest friends are far too preoccupied with their own tribulations to go on a random adventure, especially one of another’s devices. After very little deliberation it was settled, I was going to Berlin for three days, Hamburg for one and Amsterdam for three.
Even though I gave myself two days in Berlin and Amsterdam to sightsee and party, the truth of the matter was that I was going to Europe for one singular reason, and that was to see Tobias Sammet and Avantasia. I am of the opinion that Tobias Sammet is the greatest song writer and Avantasia the best musical production in the world today, but perhaps I have already made the point clear with my now four Music In Reviews on the topic of Avantasia:
After spending two days in Berlin just wandering, Monday the 22nd arrived and I was pumped. I debated whether I should wear the Canadian flag as a sash or not, I thought it might seem arrogant to wave around my flag as if that made me important; on the other hand I wanted the world to know how far I had traveled to see Avantasia. I wanted Tobias and Avantasia to know he had fans in Canada and at least one of them was willing to dedicate his first vacation to seeing them. In the end I did wear the Canadian flag and it was a good call.
Representing Canada, America and Scotland
at Temporom in Berlin,
Upon arriving at Tempodrom while waiting in line a very loud man in a wheel chair called me over. Referring to me as “Canada” he introduced himself as “Scotland.” Also there was a woman with a blonde Mohawk “America” and two fine polish gentlemen. During the show Tobias took notice of all the international visitors Berlin had that night. Tobias told the crowd he was going to speak in English for the rest of the night since there were people from Poland, Sweden, Norway, Australia and Britain. I guess he didn’t see my flag but I did yell out “Canada!” when he was listing out flags in the crowd. Still it was pretty cool of Tobias to accommodate all us non-Germans like that; he did not have to do that on my account.
When it began, it was dreamlike. I had seen countless live performances of Avantasia on DVD and online but it was something far away and unreal, then the band emerged, and then he appeared, Tobias Sammet was there, in person. Earth’s greatest song writer was on stage, ten feet from me. It was best moment of my life.
Tobias Sammet, earth's greatest song writer stands before me. Wow.
Not knowing the new album it took a moment before a song I knew well was played, Bob Cately appeared and performed one of my favorite songs “The Story Ain’t Over.”
Avantasia - The Story Ain't Over
Bob Cately was particularly worthy to note since the former front man of Magnum is now sixty-five years old, and he never missed a word and he sang amazingly. During the Sammet/Cately duet “In Quest For” Sammet forgot the words and Cately sang his first part for him. Tobi forgot the words to a song he always sings, that he wrote, and was bailed out by sixty-five year old Bob Cately who does not normally sing that part and did not write the song; how embarrassing; also how very charming and entertaining. Tobi is only human after all and he has written several hundred songs by now, he allowed to make a mistake now and then, and what a professional Cately is.
Tobias forgets the fucking words.
Avantasia - In Quest For
They ended with “The Seven Angels” and “Sign of the Cross” it was incredible and easily the best show I had ever seen and easily the best night of my life, only it was going to get better.
Avantasia - The Seven Angels
After the show I was hanging out with Ariel, my new American friend with the blond Mohawk, when we were approached by a handsome man with wavy blonde hair who said to me.
“Dude your Canadian? Canadian guys are the best dudes. I’m from Sweden and I play hockey, a lot of my best friends are Canadian.”
I believe my response was “Thank you.”
“We’re going to Halford’s it is a Judas Priest themed bar. Do you want to get drunk with us?”
“Of course I do!”
Of course I wanted to get drunk with two awesome Swedish dudes, a Dutch guy, and an American girl at a bar named after Rob Halford of Judas Priest. I had to catch a train to Hamburg at 8:00am the next day, but fuck it, this is why I came to Deutschland, to rock out with Tobias Sammet and Avantasia and party with other Avantasia fans of which we are seriously lacking here in Canada.
We went our separate ways to get ready and met back up at Tempodrom. I returned and met up with my new Dutch friend Fabian who was waiting outside the concert hall with a small crowd hoping to get autographs from Tobi and Michael Kiske. Fabian and I were no more than six/seven feet from Tobias and Michael when they appeared. They both covered their mouths and entered the cab quickly, evidently they were both sick, though you would never have known that from the performances they had just given. Evidently neither signed anything and they were gone as quickly as they appeared. Still it was cool just to see them.
My only shot of Halford's before
the batteries died in my camera.
We had a few beers at the Swedes hotel room and were talking so loudly on the balcony someone called the cops on us. Later while waiting on the street for a cab that same person threw an egg at us. It was a Monday and we were loud, and it was funny, funny because none of us got hit by the egg. Halford’s was a blast, and after a few steins of beer and several shots of Jagermeister I was good and drunk, so much so I slept in. I awoke at 6:45 leaving me only a little more than an hour to get my ass to the hauptbahnhof and catch my train to Hamburg. I rose to my feet and found all my stuff neatly packed away and a suit of clothes laid out for me to wear, evidently while I was black out drunk I had anticipated sleeping in and did all the necessary prep work to get going in the morning. Good work drunk Colin, you’ve never let me down.
After Tempodrom and the fantastic time I had after the show with Fabian, Ariel, Victor and... god I can’t remember the other awesome Swedish dude’s name, anyway after Halford’s and everything you might think Hamburg could not possible eclipse the sheer happiness I experienced in Berlin. That’s what I thought anyway.
The concert hall Avantasia was playing in Hamburg was Grosse Fahrenheit 36 located in Reeperbahn. Two things I didn’t know, Reeperbahn is the sex district of Hamburg and Hamburg is the sex capital of Germany. There were so many strip clubs, sex shops and brothels!
Avantasia's Team Sweden and
Team Canada
While waiting in line for the concert and after drawing forth my Canadian flag I made two brand new friends from Sweden, Emil and Linus. I guess one lesson to take away from this story is that Swedish people are fucking cool. Also a very tall gentleman approached me and introduced himself, he was from Ottawa. Shang Pei Rui (probably not his real name) had very similar plans to my own, he was at Tempodrom the day before and evidently he had heard someone else yell out “Canada” when Tobias was listing out foreign countries present that night. All of a sudden Avantasia’s Team Canada was not just me anymore. Avantasia fans of Canada you are not alone, there is at least two of us!
Avantasia fans of Canada,
you are not alone.
Hamburg was the better show, the crowd was hot blooded and the band just performed that much stronger. And what a crowd! We had a fine collection of foreigners, Team Canada and Team Sweden were joined by a mother daughter combo from Australia, a father daughter combo from Norway, a kindly older British couple, and also a twenty year old German girl was hanging out with my Dutch friend Fabian. Combine all of that with an awesome crowd of fine German metal fans and Grosse Fahrenheit 36 became alive. The best concert I have ever been too and I’ve been to many now.
One notable moment during the show Eric Martin (Mr. Big) the only American in Avantasia took notice of my Canadian flag and gave me a thumbs up, which was very cool. To be honest I didn’t really know who Eric Martin was before Tempodrom. He was the new guy in Avantasia, along with Ronnie Atkins (Pretty Maids), and I was unsure how I felt about him singing “Promise Land” at first but he rocked out and sang great so he is a bad ass in my opinion.
We were all suppose to hang out after the show, Team Sweden, Team Canada, Fabian and whoever the hell else felt like it, but somehow I lose Team Sweden and while Fabian is busy talking to girls (which is important of course) the other half of Team Canada bids me farewell, which was fair he had to catch a flight the next morning. So then there was three Fabian, the young German girl (I’ve forgotten her name) and myself. Fabian informs me that the two girls serving alcohol at the venue agreed to hang out with us later at a bar named Cobra, I am very sceptical, because in my life no girl has ever kept their word about meeting up with anyone; no literally, not one; but hey I got nowhere to go, so why not. But first thing is first our young German friend wants to meet Tobias, as she has plans to marry him, so the three of us wait in the back alley behind Grosse Fahrenheit 36.
After a while someone exits the back door, Eric Martin is smoking a cigarette, he notices us and decides to come over and hang out for a half hour. Eric turns out to be one of the nicest human beings I have ever met. He had the nicest things to say about everyone in Avantasia and his generally enthusiasm was delightful. At one point Bob Cately appears with his medical assistant (Mr. Cately has a medical assistant not because he is sick but because he is 65) and they get into a van to leave, Eric turns to us and says;
“Let’s be obnoxious South American fans!”
So Eric Martin, Fabian and I start pounding on the windows of the van while it is driving away shouting at Mr. Cately who looks exactly half amused with us.
In a short period of time we are joined by other Avantasia all of which are German except for the father daughter combo from Norway I mentioned early.
After saying some more great things about Avantasia, life and everything Eric declares “do you guys want to meet Ronnie? Let’s get Ronnie out here!” and like a big kid Eric runs off and returns with Ronnie Atkins. And that’s how I met Ronnie Atkins.
Ronnie was very dignified. He was a tall proud respectful Danish gentleman, who was short with his answers and quick to the point of things. He had a flare of wit about him and everything about him screamed ‘rock star’ which is appropriate because he is. Ronnie however did not share Eric Martin boundless enthusiasm and spent a solid five to ten minutes with us lingering Avantasia fans before wishing us a good night. Cool guy.
We hang out with our fellow Avantasia fans for a while having some great conversations, but by the time 1:00am rolls around Fabian and I are ready to head to Cobra. Our young German friend, the girl of the revolution, as she was dubbed by Eric Martin, is insistent on waiting until Tobias shows up, after all she is a very ambition and intends to marry him. But Fabian and I know Tobias is not feeling well and if he does appear out the back door here he will probably jump into a cab and not say anything to anyone. It is time to go so we say goodbye to the girl of the revolution and head to Cobra.
We find the bar without too much trouble and get a couple of beers. A very drunk German fellow begins talking to us and he has some curious questions about Canada, since I am still wearing the flag over my shoulder it garners some attention. After explaining the differences between Canada and the United States and other quirky things about Canada this fine German cameraman says to me.
“It must be nice being from a country you can be proud of.”
I ask for an explanation and he tells me how it is hard being German since they have so much guilt from their history, referring to world war two of course. I tell him that’s bullshit, it has been over seventy years and Germany is awesome! If for no other reason Avantasia!
But seriously German is really cool. It is a nation of hard working professionals, innovation, creativity, music, art, beer and a great football. There are a lot of things to like about Germany.
I also informed him how awful the whole world is, not just Germany during the middle of the twentieth century. I tell him about segregation, the Japanese labour camps, the turning away of all Jewish refugees and all the general brutal racisism coming out of Canada and the States at that time. Germany was never more evil than any other nation, they just crossed a terrible line before any of the rest of us did. But then again Japan and the rape of Nanking rivals any evil every done by anyone. Stalin in Russia killed more people than Hitler’s holocaust. American slavery was a holocaust in its own right. I have strong Irish roots and what the English did to them was terrible, granted I also have strong English roots. If we keep pushing guilt around very quickly everyone has blood on their hands. This German cameraman gave me a hug after everything I said and then he said to me
“This is a good flag, let’s wave your flag.”
So we waved my flag and my new friend told strangers how great of a guy I was, which is, you know, very flattering. Meanwhile some tattooed cutie on the other side of the bar starts to cheer at the sight of the Maple Leaf. The bartender informs me that girl is from Canada and I might want to go over there and introduce myself, so I do. She was from Calgary; small world.
Then the craziest thing happens, the two girls from Grosse Fahrenheit 36, they show up! Such a thing has never happened before in the entire history of North America.
My new found German friend disappears, but he was pretty drunk so it might have been time for him to venture home, I was sad to see him go but this did free me up to talk to two good looking German girls. Jay and Lily were their names and they were wonderful human beings. While I sat and talked to Lily (the blonde one) an interesting subject matter comes up, Canada, which isn’t surprising I still got the flag tied to me, and she says,
“It must be nice being from a country where you can wave your flag and not be called a Nazi.”
This shit again? I wanted to tell Lily that she was wrong. That if she walked down the streets of Calgary no one would call her a Nazi, but I know some asshole would. Maybe only one in a hundred people would consider that a worthwhile joke and maybe only one in two would have the crass indignity to verbally attack a stranger like that, but someone would.
I give a similar speech to Lily that I gave to my cameraman friend and she thinks I’m a great guy. Back home most women would rather step on my face than look at me, but in Germany, by virtue of simply not being a prejudice asshole I am considered a wonderful man. Lily and Jay had to work the next day so they could not stay long and sometime after 3:00am they left.
I sat with Fabian at the bar drinking our beers and I wanted nothing more than to stay one more day in Hamburg. I wanted to hang out with Lily and Jay once more and get to know them better. I would have liked to once more hang out with Fabian who proved to be a hell of a friend, not only was he infinitely useful at gathering people together, but he was just a great guy.
Fabian and I finished our beers and decided to call it a night, it felt like we were calling it quits early, but it was 3:30 in the morning. We walked the streets of Reeperbahn where the prostitutes are militant, found some taxis and went our separate ways.
And that was the best day of my entire life.
Not surprisingly Amsterdam also proved to be a lot of fun but nothing could compete with my last night in Berlin or my single day in Hamburg. The powers of metal did much more than send me on a quest across the Atlantic Ocean; it brought a collection of friends who had never met before together. The random choice to purchase rock concert tickets online in another country has proven to be the single best thing I have every done.
Tobias Sammet has returned to the Avantasia project with the new album “The Mystery of Time – A Rock Epic.” This is the sixth instalment in the Avantasia journey. My first impression of the album is that it is not as glorious as the Scarecrow Trilogy, but what could be really? “The Scarecrow,” “The Wicked Symphony” and “Angel of Babylon” are three of the best albums to come out in the past decade. My only real complaint has to be the absence of Jorn Lande, who was just so powerful and important on so many of the best Avantasia songs up till now. While it is hard to imagine Avantasia without Jorn, variety is a good thing, and Avantasia more so than most musical endeavours is a living thing, over just three projects we have seen Avantasia changing and growing with new voices and talents being added the whole time. The huge assembled cast Tobias Sammet has gathered allows for a lot of flexibility. Further to this point my favorite thing about the newest Avantasia album is the inclusion of two new singers, Mr. Big’s Eric Martin and Pretty Maids’ Ronnie Atkins.
“The Mystery of Time” has yet to be released in the United States or Canada and no date has been set for its eventual release, so I was forced to pick up a copy while in Europe, oh yes I went to Europe specifically to see Avantasia. I think my two favorite songs on the album are “Invoke the Machine” which features Ronnie Atkins and “What’s Left of Me” which features Eric Martin. If I had to pick one of these two tracks to represent the whole album I would have to go with “Invoke the Machine” since it has a little more relation to the album’s overall narrative than “What’s Left of Me.”
Every Avantasia epic has had a story to it. “The Metal Opera” was a grandiose fantasy epic and I’m still trying to figure out all the details, “The Scarecrow” was a mysterious stranger’s voyage through the planes of reality, and now “The Mystery of Time” is a man’s inner conflict between knowledge and faith, or as Tobias puts it;
“So take the time to follow me into a small old English town during the Victorian era and join a young agnostic scientist by the name Aaron Blackwell as he is forced to explore the coherencies of time, God and science; torn between belief in his professional conviction, his spiritual intuition, love and a lodge of scientific occultists.”
A song title/chorus like “Invoke the Machine” suddenly carries a heavier meaning once we are familiar with the overreaching arc of the album’s story. This song, as far as I understand it, is a breaking moment for our protagonist Aaron Blackwell, the mysteries of time are unravelling before him and he is beginning to embrace this brave new world. To invoke the machine for answers is to side with science, which is also interesting because there is something of an emotional plea in this song, something we might typically associate with spiritual intuition. The visions of fantasy are replaced with new dreams inspired by new understanding, to this end, we invoke the machine. I also think it is kind of charming that he refers to a machine to understand time as a god machine.
Of course new found knowledge is something emotional. We often don’t think of it in such a light but there is something very nearly spiritual about science and technology, largely due to the fact there is something very emotional about learning and growing, and changing. The men we once were are not the men we are today and being civilized is the simpleton’s perspective to explain the difference, civilization is forged entirely on trans-generational knowledge, a giant leap in science and technology always changes everything. It’s clever what Tobias is saying in “Invoke the Machine” he is suggesting far more than he is initially leading on.
Anyway Ronnie Atkins rocks the house in this song and it is just a great heavy metal song. “Invoke the Machine” and the rest of the “Mystery of Time” album will always mean a little more to me than just deep introspective thoughts about science and emotion, it will always remind me of my trip to Europe where I beheld the glory of Avantasia in Berlin and Hamburg, where I made dozens of friends from all over the world. I had forgotten what it meant to be happy, truly happy. I have been settling for a second rate excuse for existence until those two wonderful nights in Berlin and Hamburg. Thank you Tobias Sammet for helping me find what I had lost. With my resolve I will remember forever.
Until next month, keep on rocking in the free world.
- Colin Kelly
P.S.
I actually met Eric Martin in the back alley after the Hamburg show and it was crazy nice, and for that reason I feel I should mention his contribution to "The Mystery of Time." Here is the splendid ballad "What's Left of Me."
I am working backwards discovering German rock music.
When I discovered Avantasia I learned all about front man Tobias Sammet, and knowning him I learned about his band Edguy. Sammet becomes my hero and through him I learned about Michael Kiske, Toby’s hero. Learning what an incredible singer Kiske is I learned about Helloween.
Helloween was formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kai Hansen who performed the important roles of lead guitarist and lead singer. After only one album “Walls of Jericho” Hansen decided that performing the duties of both singer and guitarist was too much for him to handle during live performances, so they decided to invest in a lead singer. This is a reoccurring challenge for many musicians; in fact Tobias Sammet himself originally played bass and sang before deciding that was becoming too challenging to do both live all the time. The man they would find to sing for Helloween would be Sammet’s hero Michael Kiske, and yeah, that was a good idea.
Helloween’s second album “The Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1” would be a huge leap forward for the band both in artistic development and commercial success. Kiske’s voice added that certain something that changed Helloween from a decent rock band to the stuff of legends. Also the song writing as a whole advanced a few steps forward from “Walls of Jericho,” so much so that the Keeper’s albums are the landmark of Helloween’s career, nothing that came after would ever be quite as good. The Keeper’s albums would make Helloween one of the largest driving forces of the rock scene in Europe, especially Germany.
The name of the band “Helloween” is clearly a play on words from the holiday “Halloween” this is neither subtle or particularly cleaver, but having said that, “Helloween” is as good a name as any. The point I am attempting to raise here is the men of Helloween did not forget what brought them to the dance, they did not forget the theme of their rock band, the theme of dark, hellish, Halloween. Appropriately the central narrative song from “Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1” is a track called “Halloween.”
“In the streets on Halloween There's something going on No way to escape the power unknown In the streets on Halloween The spirits will arise Make your choice, it's hell or paradise Ah--it's Halloween Ah--it's Halloween”
The title of this song caused some confusion for me when I first discovered it as I thought the chorus might have been saying “Ah—we’re Helloween” which would have been effective I am certain but ultimately is completely incorrect. If you are going to combine hell and Halloween you expect the devil to show up right?
“I'll show you passion and glory He is the snake I'll give you power and abundance He's the corrupter of man Save me from the evil one Give me strength to carry on I will fight for all mankind's Deliverance and peace of mind”
Not only is this last set of lyrics giving us the much needed references to Satan but there are key expressions here that tie in directly to the next two Helloween songs I want to talk about. “Halloween” is the just the first part of a trilogy you see, a trilogy that defines Helloween in my opinion.
It is such a contrast comparing the video/radio edit of “Halloween” to the studio version, the radio edit is a meager five and a half minutes, where as the full version is thirteen. “Halloween” in its intended form is an operatic metal song about mysticism and devil worship, it sets the stage for the rest of the Trilogy, and it even set the stage for the rest of Helloween’s career. “Halloween” despite appearing shallow in concept is actually the beginning of a grand musical opera; it is the first piece of the Keeper’s Trilogy, but also the first flagship song of the band Helloween.
“The scarlet rose has died, lost inside the night. Left in my mind, like a dream all full of pride. The scarlet rose has died.”
It feels like I am working backwards when it comes to discovering the German metal/rock scene. The single best thing that happened to music in the past ten years is Avantasia, The Scarecrow Trilogy was possible the three best albums I bought in the past ten years. I really, really like Avanatasia. Through Avantasia I learned about Edguy which came first.
Tobias Sammet is the genius song writer responsible for Avantasia. He brought many of the European metal stars together to form this super group and became a huge success everywhere but here, where I live.
I have at times compared Tobias Sammet to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. At first thought, it may seem like I am proposing a zealous compliment to my main man Toby, or perhaps you might suspect I am drawing an unrealistic comparison based on weak links, like both are German, but no, I am quite sincere in this comparison.
Mozart lived fast and died young. He was a prodigy at writing music and in roughly twenty years managed to write a massive amount of music. While Mozart had skill as a technical musician, most notably as a pianist, his greatest skill was that he was a natural song writer.
Tobias Sammet decided at an early age that he wanted to be a singer and he formed his rock band Edguy. After about twenty years Sammet has written ALOT of music, and while he is talented singer and capable guitarist and bass player his true skill is that of a song writer.
Mozart wrote his first his opera “Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots” (The Obligation of the First and Foremost Commandment) at age eleven; Sammet started Edguy at age fifteen and released their first demo “Evil Minded” two years later.
After roughly two decades Mozart had written twenty-three operas, and a huge catalogue of concertos, symphonies, and sonatas that in my ignorance I am not even sure how to quantify; Sammet after roughly two decades has released nine studio albums with Edguy, five studio albums with Avanatasia, and so many demo tracks and singles that he could easily release two more full albums of Edguy material and at least one more for Avantasia. In fact the album “Avantasia Lost in Space 1 & 2” is exactly what I am describing.
Obviously comparing anyone to Mozart sounds like blasphemy, but you can probably see my point. Both men have a knack for written great music at insane speeds, and Sammet in this regard could be considered a modern rock and roll version of Mozart.
Edguy really found their footing in 1998 with their release of their second album “Vain Glory Opera.” Sammet would have been twenty one at the time.
“Vain Glory Opera,” is a great album. It was a bold move by a young man in a young band to release a operatic endeavour so early on in his career, but it worked, and if I had known about it back in 1998 I would have been able to see the seeds of style and ability that could grow into works of art like the “Scarecrow Trilogy.” Compared to the other eight albums, or at least compared to the other four albums I own, by Edguy, “Vain Glory Opera” is what it calls itself, an opera. The songs flow from one to another organically, there is a feeling of an overarching narrative, the ebbs and flows of the songs carry us through climaxes and powerful moments and all in all it feels like a one solid piece of music, not just a collection of songs. No other Edguy album has that, but all five Avantasia albums do. Since I am working backwards discovering bands like Edguy it makes sense that “Vain Glory Opera,” would be the first Edguy album I would fall in love with, it is the most like an Avantasia album.
While I do love the entire album “Vain Glory Opera” if I was pressed to pick a favourite track it would have to be “Scarlet Rose,” an operatic song as a rock song can be. “Scarlet Rose” is an emotional song about love and loss with a touch of mysticism in to make it all the more dramatic. The way Tobias sings “Scarlet Rose” and knowing his love of fantastic themed story telling it feels to me that the scarlet rose dying is not just a lost love one but a loss of a great symbol of love. Almost like love itself has passed away. It is a softer metal song to be sure but a very poetic and powerful one.
Until later this month, keep on rocking in the free world.
"This plane, with whom I have shared joys and sorrows, is the Arcadia of my youth. I kept flying, believing in myself. I have no regrets about my life. Dreams do not vanish, so long as people do not abandon them.” – Captain Harlock
Space Pirate Captain Harlock and his ship the Arcadia
Arcadia is a province in Greece, in poetry it is a peaceful land of natural beauty. The fall of Rome caused the majority of territories within the Roman Empire to experience a throw back in technology, resulting in what people who are not historians like to call, “the dark ages.” Unlike the majority of Europe, hidden away in the Greek Peloponnesian region rests Arcadia, Arcadia avoided the darkness of the era and had a rebirth of quiet agricultural living. To escape to Arcadia was to escape to peace.
As you can see Arcadia is actually a real place.
Happy Arcadia by Konstantin Makovsky
Arcadia for generations has been thought of a hidden paradise.
I could have focused on the whole escapism angle in my last music in review; “Runaway Train,” clearly is a song suggesting some escape, but I had something else/more to say about that song, so let’s talk about, “Journey to Arcadia.”
I picked up “The Wicked Symphony” and loved it, but I was confused that I could not find part three of the Scarecrow epic, “Angel of Babylon.” They released both albums at the same time in Europe, so why here in Canada did we only get one of the two albums? I looked it up, and apparently I was not the only one surprised by this development, other Canadian Avantasia fans along with HMV employees could not explain the reason why only one of the two albums was made available here. As annoying as that was, this is 2010 and it was easy enough to buy “Angel of Babylon,” at amazon.com. So let us conclude the Scarecrow trilogy by talking about a third song by Avantasia on their third album in the set.
I like the sounds of Arcadia though. It’s not my dream world by any means, but simplicity, is something I have longed for, for a long time. That is the thing about Avantasia, there is no clear picture of a linear story. There is a great provocation to use your own mind to see it your own way. “Journey to Arcadia,” is one of the softer songs on the album, but I believe it is the best. “The Scarecrow” set an unbelievable standard of quality, “The Wicked Symphony,” was in so many ways the most exciting and intense of the three albums, the conclusion “Angel of Babylon,” is lighter and gentler. Our signature character was so hopeless in searching for a kinder peace of heart, and here at the end waiting both the Scarecrow and us we find the joy of Arcadia. How appropriate “Journey to Arcadia,” is the last track on this journey, it was the light at the end of the tunnel.
Until next year my friends, hang on to a runaway train.
- Colin Kelly
A lonely boy, a handful of dreams
Cold wind blows through a heart wired-in
Open skies he would explore
No there ain't no mastery
Of a passion and a deep blue love
Yearn to see far away places
One day he'd feel two hearts collide
In his eyes tears and desire
But he prays and he swears every night
One day scales will fall from her eyes
Just with a dream
Just with a dream and with a song
On my own I may stumble and fall
It don't matter at all when you're blessed with
Just what's yet to come, what's yet to come
When dogs run barking
And I don't hear no sound
And the sky is as blue
As eyes have never seen it
Then I remember
What I'd have been dying for
Faith rescue my dream
From a role that I've been put in
On their screen
Your eyes, and as I'll look into your eyes
We're at the crack of dawn
Life will stop telling lies
And destiny will know
It's just you and I
Burning feet on the ground
Got my head in the clouds
Journey to Arcadia
And I know I will stand
What I can't comprehend
Journey to Arcadia
The more we see we understand
That there's a lot that we don't know
As you awake on padded ground
The final curtain of the show
Far from the eye but close to heart
No matter how we try
Can't repel the counterpart
Our common bond we can't defy
I've seen them standing at the crossroads
When they were waiting for a sign
And they unlearned to face the silence
As they unlearned to turn inside
You're turning to the sky
And you're dying for an angel
If you want it bad enough, see those eyes
That's where two glances collide
Learn to breathe, learn to crawl
Learn to stand, walk and fall
Learn to lose and to love, to believe, to rise above
Love is more than to love
Burning feet on the ground
Got your head in the clouds
You're out to find Arcadia
And you know you will stand
What you can't comprehend
Journey to Arcadia
The more I've seen I understand
That there ain't nothing that I know now
As I awake on padded ground
The final curtain of the show
Back in January 2009 I reviewed Avantasia – Lost in Space, and informed the good people who read my music in reviews that the best album of 2008, at least in my opinion, was Avantasia – The Scarecrow. Fortunately for me, and you as well, Tobias Sammet was not done. He had so many ideas that he had eight additional tracks that never saw official release on The Scarecrow, and he had many more ideas to come, as it was his intention all along to make The Scarecrow a trilogy.
The lead song writer, singer, bass player, and occasionally keyboard and lead guitarist, Tobias Sammet, is sort of like a modern Mozart, insofar that he has a great skill set and mind set to write beautiful music and also he is very young, as of this moment Tobias is thirty-three. Sammet’s rock group “Edguy,” was formed back in 1992 when he was merely fourteen years old. Under the Edguy title Sammet has released eight albums plus a ton of singles which for reasons unknown never made it to release on any of the albums, under the Avantasia project he has released five albums (arguably six) with a ton of songs never released on any of the official albums. You know someone is creative when they can’t even fit all their ideas on thirteen studio albums, and this is an ongoing problem.
I could try to beat into all your minds that Avantasia is in fact the greatest thing in the world right now, and I have a lot of things I could use to argue this point, but personal taste usually wins out such debates, so let me play the emotional card and explain to you why this music perfectly suits me. I love methodical music, and Avantasia is very methodical. I have always loved rock opera’s, I love the narratives style, and I love how it creates a pattern of familiarity that really speaks to the human ear, and well Avantasia is a perfect example of such a concept. I love this style of music, finding simplicity in complexity, and harmony in chaos.
The other reason this music really speaks to me is the story being told is open enough for our imagination to fill in the blanks. The story is there if you want to pick it out, but instead of being told to you point blank it is told only through the poetic thoughts and expression of the main character.
“The Scarecrow is a tragic story of a lonesome creature, emotionally isolated from his environment and suffering from a distorted sensory perception.” - Tobias Sammet
That’s a neat concept, dealing with a lot of powerful and deep ideas that I as well have given a lot of thought about in the past. If I could sum up my feelings for Avantasia in a single sentence it would be; this is the kind of music I would write if I had the talent, it speaks to me on every level.
This year Sammet released Avantasia – The Wicked Symphony, part two of the epic, and on this album I fell in love with my favourite Avantasia song of all, my favourite song of the year, “Runaway Train.”
There is a reason why it took me till halfway through the month to write up this music in review and that reason is life sucks. If you know me well there won’t be any need to elaborate so I won’t, I’ll just restate the obvious, I’m living life the hard way most every day, at the very least it feels that way. “Runaway Train” is all about being miserable and yet finding bliss in a faraway world, it is escapism, and it is the beautiful to think if you but hold on to a runaway train it will take you somewhere else, “a world beyond human imagination.” This song couldn’t possibly do a better job of capturing both extremes, dark inescapable misery, and yet, freedom and peace, just one train ride away, all you need do is hang on through the wind and rain.
As I said this is the kind of music I would right, what a narrative, in just one song it paints an entire story for your own mind to fill in all the blanks and paint wild images both grim and glorious. I feel a kinship with Sammet, even though we have never met, there is a great measure of parallel thinking between the two of us and I couldn’t be more thankful for his existence and the music he has given me, it captures so many things I would have wanted to say, and says it better than I ever could have. No one could ask for better music than that.
Until next month, hang on to a runaway train.
- Colin Kelly
Goodbye
Your pocket full of dreams
Your mind in a daze
Keep on chasing rainbows
Fly high
Leave the past behind
The dark road you take bears no escape
In a world of grand illusions
Where love is just a dream
You got to make your sacrifices
Time to pick your poison
The fool is he who is noble minded
And bellies up to poverty
He's not a king in the world of diamonds
Paling into oblivion
I lay down my soul for glory
I've given a life away
Don't know if I am sorry
Blind me, blind me
Don't know where I'll be going
I got to get away
From the pain of recollection
Drawn into the faint
Hang on to a runaway train
No turning back
Tethered to a runaway train
Take me away
Torpid in the wind and rain
No turning back
Hang on to a runaway train
Take me away
If I'm a stranger to myself
Then I better got to stay away
Even better got to get away, get away
Time to pick my poison
Feel the devil sitting in my neck
Straight ahead into the unknown
Oh father I forgive you for I
Don't know what I'm doing
It's only human nature
To keep away from pain
Take a train to ecstasy oh
Ride on, ride on
Inhale the scent of heaven
Respire the smell of fame
You've been to hell and back
You can't change things anyway, no
I hang on to a runaway train
No turning back
Tethered to a runaway train
Take me away
Torpid in the wind and rain
No turning back
I hang on to a runaway train
Take me away
Reaching out to rule the world
you'll watch the mirror shatter
As you'll be dazzled by the sight
Once only diamonds mattered
How can you justify the way
When you wake up screaming
Will you pretend that you were blind
When you were really seeing
Your image everywhere
The looking glass: a sheet of ice
It's thick enough to dance on
In a frozen realm of lies
But the ice will break
And you will scream repenting
Oh boy the ice will break
You'll just feel your heart rending
Riding on to a world of funny flowers
Riding on to the white wide world
If coming back would hurt my pride
I rather take another ride
Riding on, winter on the mirror
Riding on into the unknown
If I'll awake in pain one day
I got to catch just one more train
Days gone by
Who'd want to live forever
On our knees up your road
Paved with good intentions
Fly high
Where angels can't breathe no more
Some dare to go blind
Some stay behind
I hang on to a runaway train
No turning back
Tethered to a runaway train
Take me away
Torpid in the wind and rain
No turning back
I hang on to a runaway train
Take me away
Hang on to a runaway train
No turning back
Tethered to a runaway train
Take me away
Torpid in the wind and rain
in the wind and rain
I hang on to that runaway train
As I reflect over 2009, I think about what was the most important music of the year to share with others.
There is probably far more music created every year than anyone will ever manage listen too. Most good music discovered by myself is already a minimum of two years old. Other times I’m a little luckier.
Apparently Germany is where it is at.
The proud nation that gave us some of the greatest classical composures of all time, such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Orf, and also gave us some of the most badass rock groups of all time, The Scorpions, Rammstein, and UFO.
My little exploration into European symphonic metal began back in April. I reviewed Nightwish – Deep Silent Complete, for those of you who don’t remember, it was a metal opera group out of Finland. My good friend Rick as a surprise rather enjoyed the song and the band as a whole when he began to look into them further. This really touched my heart, since it is exactly what I wanted to accomplish in the first place, but more so because Rick mostly just reads the music in review because he liked the analytical way I ranted about things that pissed me off. Anyway having never seen eye to eye musically it sure was nice to break ground with Rick, who told me his favourite genres of music just so happened to be metal and opera.
Well that got me looking for more, because who can’t help but love metal and opera combined?
I Google searched “metal opera” only to find there is already a rock opera in existence titled “The Metal Opera.”
Upon further investigation I learn about Tobias Sammet, German rock god. Tobias leads the German rock group Edguy, which may be a stupid name for a rock group, but don’t let that distract you from the fact they are very good. But Tobias Sammet being a rock god and all found it hard being settled to writing just good rock music, he wanted to do more, he wanted to tell stories on a grand scale through the cryptic art of rock operas. Not wanting to alienate the rest of Edguy by forcing the group into a direction they may or may not have wanted to go, he started a side project titled “Avantasia.” Avantasia is a combination of Avalon, and Fantasy. For those who don’t know Avalon is the mystical island the sea nymphs take King Arthur after his final battle against the forces of Mordred. Legend has always been that time does not pass on Avalon and when Britain needs him most Arthur will return. Just some interesting trivia, just in case you wanted to know.
Anyway back in 2000 Avantasia released “The Metal Opera,” which rocked. But we were lucky enough in 2008 to be treated to Avantasia’s second masterpiece “The Scarecrow.”
Tobias did something interesting when releasing “The Scarecrow.” He started work way back in early 2007, and while some songs were already seeing the final publish, he couldn’t wait for the album’s release to come to share it with the world. So he released two LP “Lost in Space” Part 1 and 2. Some of the tracks on those two LPs were amazing, and interestingly enough other then the track “Lost in Space,” only one other song off the LPs made it to the album “The Scarecrow.” It takes a special kind of musician to make so much good music he can’t fit it all on his albums.
So this month everyone rock out to Avantasia - “Lost in Space.” As near as I know “The Scarecrow,” was the best album of 2008. If you enjoy “Lost in Space,” half as much as I do, I highly recommend also by Avantasia; “The Story Ain’t Over,” and “Promised Land.” But honestly anything by Avantasia is freaking awesome. All three songs are linked on my facebook page.
Until next month, keep on rocking in the free world.
- Colin Kelly
Also, the extended version featuring Helloween's Micheal Kiske:
Also, the "epic" version, also known as "Alive at Gatestudio":
