Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia – The Mystery of Time
29th March 2013
Band: Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia
Album: The Mystery of Time
Record Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 29th March 2013
Reviewed By: Craig
Tracklist:
01. Spectres
02. The Watchmakers’ Dream
03. Black Orchid
04. Where Clock Hands Freeze
05. Sleepwalking
06. Savior In The Clockwork
07. Invoke The Machine
08. What’s Left Of Me
09. Dweller In A Dream
10. The Great Mystery
Stand out Tracks: The Watchmakers Dream, Where Clock Hands Freeze, The Great Mystery
Power Metal, I guess its a bit like Marmite – you either love it or you hate it. I tend to lean more towards the latter if I am honest with you however after reading the press release that accompanied this album it had me intrigued. Described as a Rock Opera and featuring some big names in the heavy metal world (Michael Kiske – Helloween & Unisonic, Biff Byford – Saxon, Arjen Anthony Lucassen – Ayreon & Stream of Passion, Eric Martin – Mr. Big, and Joe Lynn Turner – Rainbow & Yngwie Malmsteen just to name a few) I really wanted to hear this Rock Opera for myself.
Now, if you didn’t know already Tobias Sammet is the frontman for the band Ed Guy and Avantasia is his side project. Tobias is a very talented singer and songwriter which is evident throughout this album. Listening to the album is like listening to a modern day Meat Loaf – very theatrical, lengthy and atmospheric which holds your attention throughout each song.
The album also features a 60-piece-symphonic-orchestra, the German Filmorchestra Babelsberg (Rammstein, Celine Dion, Bryan Adams) which adds to the atmosphere seamlessly and all in all puts the finishing touch to the album.
Trying to give a track by track breakdown is pretty much impossible as there is so much going on in each song, the best advice I can give at this time is to have a listen to snippets of the album using the Amazon widget at the top of this review. If you like it – buy it! You won’t be disappointed!
Score: 8.5 out of 10
Readers album score: {extravote 1}