The Metal Opera

Artist: Avantasia
Label: Century Media
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 727701803821
EAN: 0727701803821
ASIN: B00005LMOK

Release Date: 2001-07-10

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Tracks:

Prelude
Reach Out For The Light
Serpents In Paradise
Malleus Maleficarum
Breaking Away
Farewell
The Glory Of Rome
In Nomine Patris
Avantasia
A New Dimension
Inside
Sign Of The Cross
The Tower

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Customer Reviews:

Tedious.......2006-12-15

If you own Queensryche's "The Warning", you already own everything this opera tries to deliver. Eight different singers and every one of them imitates Geoff Tate every time they open their mouths. The instrumental backings all sound like Queensryche tracks copied, cut and pasted (multiple times) in Cakewalk. Absolutely no innovation whatsoever, the lyrics are straight out of Dungeons & Dragons, and the best compliment I can give the endeavor is "competent".

great idea, masterfully pulled off.......2006-08-07

Avantasia, the metal opera - where to begin? a slew of famous power metal vocalists, top-notch instrumentation, and exciting fantasy-inspired lyrics combine to give us the first half of a two-part story created by Edguy frontman Tobias Sammet.

note: it is an opera in the sense that each role is performed by a different vocalist.

best tracks are Avantasia, Sign of the Cross, Glory of Rome, The Tower, and Serpents in Paradise.

the instrumental tracks are well-done and don't hurt the story. Malleus Maleficarum is creepy but adds to the story. Inside is the one track you can skip - luckily, it's only two minutes long.

"Maybe it's better for you, mankind, not to know what's going on.".......2006-05-17

So sings Elderane the elf on the last track, The Tower, and maybe he is right, in regard to life in general and in regard to this opera. It would not be possible to understand the story from the lyrics themselves, but the insert contains 5 and 1/2 pages (!) of fine print which explain the plot. Maybe that helps the appreciation a little (it certainly indicates the effort expended by Tobias on the project) but the music is fine on its own. Here is real opera with 10 parts sung by 10 different performers, and every one of the 13 tracks represents very listenable power metal. It is a cliff hanger though; you will not know what happens to the young maiden being held in prison for witchcraft until you listen to part 2. I considered giving it five stars but decided that it fits my listening often category more than listening over and over. (Please see my profile for a brief discussion of my rating philosophy.)

1/8/07 Revision. In May of last year I gave this four stars. I've been listening to it a lot lately and decided it fits my criteria for five.

Hail to thou, Tobias Sammet.......2005-08-30

The Edguy-genius Tobias Sammet comes with a solo-project here. I always suspected he had a serious side too, but now he proved it on this masterful metal opera.

The first part starts with a prelude, an example of a great sense for symphony and sphere. It also gives the listener the time to read the impressive guest list. Henjo Richter, known from the famous act Gamma Ray, does the lead guitar on this album and with outstanding skill, although I think his solo's could be more varied, but they were written by master Tobias Sammet himself, so I have no reason to blame Richter. Helloween's Markus Grosskopf does the bass lines and does this very well. The drums are done by Alex Holzwarth, who's now into Rhapsody, and he really brings originality and variation into his drumming techniques.

The second song "Reach out for the light" begins immediately after "Prelude", so I first didn't realize it was the second track. It starts with a really melodic and rather happy intro with double guitar lines. Then Sammet, alias novice Gabriel, starts to complain about his imprisonment and the way things went wrong in his life. He's definitely my favourite metal-singer, because there's just no one who can overpower him in singing originally and high. Michael "Ernie" Kiske, alias druid Lugaid Vandroiy, does the vocals in the chorus and the contrast with Sammet is clear. Kiske sings slowly and melancholically and there's some kind of echo in his voice, which gives the song a new dimension. A great opener, I should say.

"Serpents in Paradise" is the next song and this one and the previous track flow perfectly into each other. This time Sammet sings more slowly and the guitars tune down to. The pre-chorus is even slower, but then the chorus takes off and the choir starts to sing in an triumphant way ("Serpents on the way to paradise"), but Sammet keeps on singing melancholically. Then there's one of the highlights of this album, when David DeFeis (Virgin Steele), alias friar Jakob, tunes in and gives the melody a totally new dimension. He joins the choir in the chorus too and he sings very wild, compared to the choir. In the part where Gabriel ask Vandroiy for answers and help, the choir shows again that they are outstanding. This song is a highlight for the choir and typical vocals.

"Malleus Malificarum" is the creepiest song I ever heard. It reminds me a bit of Cathedral's "Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)". It shows us Bailiff Falk von Kronenburg, played by Ralf Zdiarstek, who's torturing Else Vogler, who's being accused of witchery. The bailiff forces her to confess and when she doesn't give in and curses the bailiff, he commands the torturer to pull on and then we hear the machines making creepy sounds and the woman scream. The shivers ran down my spine and the contrast with the next song is rather great.

"Breaking Away" reminds me of a battle hymn and here the vocals, as well the guitar lines call for action. The two captives got to break out and you can here their belligerence and determination through the whole song. Gabriel wants to liberate his stepsister Anna Held, who's being accused of being a witch too and the next song "Farewell" tells us about their past.

"Farewell" starts with a beautiful instrumental part, where the flute has a leading part. Sammet sings about memories and becomes really nostalgic. But then the chorus comes and although the lyrics suggest sadness, it sounds rather like Gabriel has new hope and the pugnacity returns too. I never became fond of Within Tempation, but for this song (and the other one on Part II) I'll make an exception. Sharon Den Adel, here Anna Held, sings about Anna's imprisonment and she sounds like someone who accepts her fate, in this case the stake. There's sadness in her voice but also bravery. Then Sammet sings in a desperate way and the guitars underline his need to liberate Anna. One of my favourites, this one.

"The Glory of Rome" introduces us to two new characters: Bishop Johann Adam von Bicken, played by Rob Rock, and Pope Clemens IIX, done by Oliver Hartmann (who also appeared on the Aina-metal opera). They're on their way to Rome and a whole song is spent to express their respect for the city, the capital of Christianity. The glory of Rome is highly underlined and all of the Christians sing about it in the chorus. So does Gabriel, who's going to Rome too, together with Vandroiy. The pope gives us the details of his plans, bringing the seven seals together and claiming the ultimate wisdom. The guitars have something threatening in this part of the song, but the glory of Rome is a priority.

"In Nomine Patris" is an instrumental song again and there's not much to say about it. It's melted together with the next song "Avantasia". This one is the single and one of my favourites too. Avantasia is the spiritual world and all parties are heading there; the Christians by the gate and Gabriel by transcending his spirit. In the first part of the song everything is silenced and when the guitars come to full volume, it reflects the feeling that they are waking up somehow. When Sammet starts to sing he sings like's he only been up for a short time and then Vandroiy advises him how to go to Avantasia. This part is the transcending phase and Gabriel still has contact with Vandroiy in Avantasia. When transcended, we meet Gabriel back, but now in his new form in Avantasia. The glory of Avantasia and his function are explained here and in the next song "A New Dimension" we are introduced in the habits of the Avantasians.

`Cause directly after "A New Dimension" we meet Elderane the Elf and king of Avantasia, played by Andre Matos (Shaman and appearing on Aina too), and Regrin the Dwarf, done by Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray's singer), in the song "Inside". The two companions introduce us to the lore of Avantasia and then Sammet sings in a really sad way about the way he didn't experience Avantasia before. But then he comes to understand the importance of the spiritual world and the chorus takes off. A well-deserved applause too for the pianist Frank Tischer on this song. The piano lines are really sad, but well done.

"Sign of the Cross" is definitely my favourite song on this album. We hear a symphonic intro and then Pope Clemens IIX, Rob Rock, starts to sing about the whole story of gathering wisdom and so on. Most of the characters participate on this song and we can hear Regrin sing about the pathetic way in which the Christians try to destroy Avantasia forever. Elderane is sad about the way things could end and the lead guitar of Jens Ludwig (Edguy-colleague) is really great and contains one of the greates solos I ever heard. An outstanding masterpiece!

The last song and also the longest one is "The Tower". It starts with a whole instrumental part, which gives us a preview of how the singing lines will be. When they finally start, it works really surprising. The song takes of very fast then and the vocal lines are performed in a chaotic way, but everything comes together fine. The pre-chorus is again one of those atmospheric parts, as in "Reach out for the light". The chorus then reminds me of the second track too and Michael Kiske sings desperately and forces Gabriel to go to the tower. Then Gabriel does as told, and the voice in the tower, by Timo Tolkki (Stratovarius), speaks to the pope, who is being betrayed. He doesn't get all the wisdom he desired and then all start to sing "For the glory...". The song ends with friar Jakob who has lost the seal and who thinks everything is his fault. Why he does that, we'll see in the second part.

In short ways, I should say: Great music, Magnificent Vocals, Godlike Tobias Sammet!

Awesome concept album from Edguy's Tobias Sammet!.......2005-08-15

This truly is a great masterpiece. I can only imagine this being done on broadway; costumes and props galore! It is also exciting to hear some of power metal's finest belting out some great vocals. Tobias Sammet and Michael Kiske are phenomenal together on "Breaking Away". By far my favorite is Rob Rock, his vocals leave me stunned. If you are a fan of power metal, or you're just curious about the genre, check out Avantasia: the metal opera! You won't regret it.

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

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