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February 9, 2010 |
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01. Prelude
02. Reach Out For The Light
03. Serpents In Paradise
04. Malleus Maleficarum
05. Breaking Away
06. Farewell
07. The Glory Of Rome
08. In Nomine Patris
09. Avantasia
10. A New Dimension
11. Inside
12. Sign Of The Cross
13. The Tower
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When I think of rock/metal operas, I think of SAVATAGE's "Streets" and its tortured protagonist. I think of AYREON's "Into The Electric Castle" with its eight unique characters and voices. Although the "Streets" booklet modestly says "A Rock Opera", while the slipcase of “Into the Electric Castle” reads "A Space Opera", Tobias Sammet made a bold statement in 2001 by dubbing his solo project, "The Metal Opera", implying that his AVANTASIA discs are the definitive combination of heavy metal might and operatic bombast. Well, they are not.
This review is for "The Metal Opera: Part 1" only, so let me start off with a typical disclaimer: this is by no means a bad album. You'll find some solid speed metal riffage and fast drumwork, but musically, the album is nothing more than competent power metal. Despite having a few orchestral interludes, "The Metal Opera" is no more epic or operatic than many of the Euro-power metal discs out there. If you're a fan of EDGUY, GAMMA RAY, HELLOWEEN and their ilk, you'll definitely enjoy AVANTASIA, but if you're looking for something that's more of a departure, look elsewhere. The only thing that makes AVANTASIA an "opera" is the number of singers--ten!--and the vocal roster includes the who's who of power metal: Tobias Sammet, Kai Hansen, Andre Matos, Rob Rock, David DeFeis, and more. But it's the return of Michael Kiske, or "Ernie", that draws power metal fans to AVANTASIA like iron filings to a bar magnet.
AVANTASIA's "The Metal Opera" is a concept album, but getting into the story takes more patience than I can muster. Two things are clear: (1) Tobias put tons of work into the project; and (2) English is not the man's first language. He should have hired a native English speaker to translate his ideas into something more readable and exciting. The booklet includes eight pages of tedious narration... so tedious that I found myself caring nothing about the characters. To me, it didn't matter whether Anna was rescued from the tower, or whether she was violated, skinned and eaten in true CANNIBAL CORPSE fashion (there's a band that should make a concept album!).
Of course, Tobias Sammet has the largest singing role. He has a wide range, and is obviously influenced by Bruce Dickinson, but there is a cartoonish quality to his voice that reminds me of Michael Kiske. Speaking of Kiske, he is by no means a selling point for this disc. His voice no longer has the power of those "Keepers" albums, with the opening verse of "Breaking Away" and the chorus of "Reach Out For The Light" being particularly weak. Although each singer is supposed to be a character in Tobias’ story, everyone sounds exactly the same on "The Metal Opera" as they do in their respective bands. Kai Hansen, for example, sings no differently here than he does with GAMMA RAY, and in no way, shape or form does his high, German-accented voice suit the character of "Regrin, the Dwarf".
Why not get Cronos or someone who can deliver the necessary gruffness? One reason "Into The Electric Castle" succeeds is because the "Highlander" actually sounds Scottish, the "Hippie" actually sounds stoned, "Death" sounds like death, etc.
I remember reading an interview with Arjen Anthony Lucassen (AYREON, STAR ONE), where he said that a problem with all the rock operas flooding the market is that the vocalists are difficult to tell apart. I definitely agree. It took me forever to realize that the chorus of "Reach Out For The Light" was not sung by Tobias, but Kiske. I remember having to follow along with the booklet, not only for the lyrics, but to tell when someone new was singing. Ralf Zdiarstek, Rob Rock and Oliver Hartmann are almost interchangeable. I wish Tobias experimented with singers of different sub-genres and styles, such as Garm or Mathias Blad. The only vocalists that break the mold are Sharon Den Adel and David DeFeis, both are given 1-2 verses each. Sharon's lone verse on "Farewell" is the highlight of the entire disc, while David DeFeis's harsher delivery on "Serpents In Paradise" is a welcomed change of pace. For someone portraying a monk, it's odd that DeFeis has the fiercest vocals on the album.
Although it fails as a metal opera, as a power metal album, "The Metal Opera" is actually pretty good. The keyboards are well-placed and not overdone, same with the backing vocals. The guitarwork is fast, but yields to the melody. Power metal more than any other genre relies on grand choruses, which most of these songs deliver. Of the two ballads, "Farewell" is splendidly sorrowful, without being wimpy, while "Inside" is just plain wimpy. A putrid piano piece: "Inside" features Andre Matos at his most feminine, trading off against Kai Hansen, whose effect on ballads is akin to the digestive process' effect on food (the former turns the latter into crap). Ultimately, the middle of the album doesn't stack up to the opening tracks or the closing epics, but only "Inside" begs the skip button.
Overall, a more accurate title would have been "The Power Metal Opera". If you want a pretty good power metal album with occasional flashes of brilliance, check this CD out. EDGUY fans - if you don't have this already, pick it up, as the EDGUY I've heard didn't strike me as very different. If Tobias tries another opera, I hope the story is better written, that there is more variety in the vocals, and that the singers are more adventurous with their characters. Add narration by Hulk Hogan and you have a guaranteed winner.
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