Recently however a new group has taken that favorite band position: Avantasia. If you live in North America you probably haven’t heard of them before so let me give you a quick rundown…
- Avantasia is a side project headed by Tobias Sammet, the lead singer of Edguy. So far there are five albums.
- The genre is “melodic metal” which is semi-symphony backed. Awesome.
- It’s a “metal opera” meaning that there is a coherent story told over each album. Of the five albums two complete story lines have been detailed, most recently that of “The Scarecrow.”
- As if this wasn’t amazing enough, the idea behind Avantasia is to feature as many iconic metal and rock names as possible. Guest appearances have included vocalists from Helloween, Scorpions, Kamelot, Judas Priest, and a plethora more (full list here), and musicians from many of the same and equally well known bands. It goes to say that the music is…umm…incredible.
- Oh, and it’s just the right amount of artsy too:
The Scarecrow Trilogy tells the “tragic story of a lonesome creature, emotionally isolated from his environment and suffering from a distorted sensory perception. His feelings for the love of his life unrequited, and he sets off on a journey exploring his left-hand path, striving for inner peace, ploughing his way to approval and eventually facing temptation at the inner depths of the human soul.”
One story, three albums, incredible music. If you’re a fan of metal/heavy rock, definitely check them out. Below are links to the trilogy on Amazon (yep, those are affiliate links because it’s awesome). Enjoy.
