#avantasia breakdown blog

[improbablecarny]

when avantasia said "the future ahead is not what it used to be"... damn

[improbablecarny]

sometimes you gotta sing the entireity of the great mystery in the shower it's fine

[improbablecarny]

alright my dudes... why are you selling a branded flyswatter... what...

[improbablecarny]

Concert Highlights

What else can I say about Avantasia, dude?

Tobias Sammet: this guy rolls a nat 20 in charisma every time. Funny as hell, makes the audience interaction feel so genuine, oh and yeah, keeps putting out amazing fucking music that drags me on a personal level AND a musical level. A continued creative inspiration in basically every regard.

I hope Adrienne Cowan remains a part of their touring lineup and guests on the next album. She’s so good. Her taking on Moonglow and Farewell was incredible but expected, but seeing her ALSO take a run at Kiske’s part in Reach Out For the Light AND doing the thrash scream tradeoff with Ronnie in Book of Shallows?! Is there anything she can’t do???

One of my favourite parts of Avantasia shows is seeing new takes on older songs with a different vocalist lineup. (They didn’t do it this round but Eric’s take on Wicked Symphony might actually be my favourite version of the song) So this tour didn’t disappoint either with:

Ronnie SLAYING Master of the Pendulum

Herbie/Olli/Bob/Adrienne OWNING Shelter for the Rain

Eric and Jorn making me ASCEND with Promised Land

Geoff and Eric knocking Twisted Mind OUT OF THE PARK

Then we got Bob Catley ROCKING OUT on a tambourine in Mystery of a Blood Red Rose. Hello?? The best????

The music is great, everyone sounds amazing. The chemistry between the band members is wonderful, the banter is hilarious and audience engagement is A+.

Would I do it again?

Uh, yeah? Who do you think I am?

Here’s to next time 🍻

[improbablecarny]

I love the lead characters from each album cycle like you’ve got Gabriel and Aaron both as spiritually-conflicted paranormal-adjacent twinks, the Homunculus is just a litle creacher, they’re all spooky and magical and fantastic, and then you’ve got the Scarecrow who got rejected by a girl once so decided to get famous and do cocaine about it

[improbablecarny]

Before I see Avantasia in SJ I should do an actual plot interpretation breakdown of Moonglow since there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on in there and I think it may actually be the first time we’ve seen the story directly tied to Avantasia (the place) since The Metal Opera

[improbablecarny]

The Best Good Parts of Lost In Space Chapter 1 & 2

As According To Me

This one’s gonna be a shorty, because these were both shorties and most of the songs are either Wicked Trilogy pieces or covers. Still good but I don’t have much to say that I haven’t already. They’re two separate EPs but they came out the same year and I’m just going to treat them as one thing.

I’ve got no quick notes for this one.

Here’s Episode 1 on Youtube, they haven’t posted 2 for some reason. They’re both on Spotify.

The Story Ain’t Over

This is the most unique song on these two - it never got play on any of the Wicked Trilogy albums, but stood strong enough on its own that its a popular live tune.

Being a Bob Catley cryfest helps.

String intro...

It’s so uplifting, seriously. Pop this on, drink some wine, cry a little in the shower, it’s what you need. Trust me.

Scary Eyes

I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE

Cool number that would fit into basically any Edguy album.

Another Angel Down, Promised Land, Lost in Space (x3)

These were covered in the AATM’s for The Scarecrow and Angel of Babylon, and Another Angel Down and the first version of Lost In Space are 1:1 to their Wicked Trilogy counterparts so not too much extra to say on that end.

This rendition of Promised Land includes Tobi, Jorn, AND Michael Kiske, so it makes for a fun and different listen.

There are also two interesting additional versions of Lost In Space: One acoustic, and an extended, dreamier rendition ft. Kiske (with probably the deepest register he’s ever used on an Avantasia song).

Lay All Your Love On Me, Dancing With Tears In My Eyes, In My Defense, Ride the Sky

Covers! We’ve got ABBA, Ultravox, Freddie Mercury, and Lucifer’s Friend.

I love whenever Tobi tries to tackle a cover - in both Avantasia and Edguy - because despite being more-or-less metallified they always feel genuine to the source material and aren’t just an attempt at being edgy.

Return to Avantasia

This is a very short instrumental that revisits the motif from Reach Out for the Light aaaaand gets me nostalgic for The Metal Opera all over again.

Aaaand those are the Lost in Space EP’s! A fun grab bag of something a little different, next we’re headed back to our regularly scheduled program.

[improbablecarny]

I think I’ve mostly laid out the plot of Ghostlights, I’m just stuck on Isle of Evermore and Babylon Vampyres, which both just appear to be Aaron going “shit, maybe world domination via time machine is a bad idea”

[improbablecarny]

ANDRE MATOS SHOWED UP AT THE BRAZIL SHOW????

[improbablecarny]

When Book of Shallows was like

“Chase your dream!

...if you don’t mind to be astounded

By the things they make you do for amusement’s sake!”

[improbablecarny]

The Best Good Parts of The Scarecrow

As according to me

After The Metal Opera concluded, Avantasia went more-or-less dormant for a while. But the story was far from over: 2008 blessed us with a new album, a new story, and a new direction. With a cleaner sound, a number of pop-aligned ballads, and a somewhat more serious tone, The Scarecrow marks the beginning of a new Avantasia era... the era of putting spooky skeletons on everything. Okay, okay, it’s the start of The Wicked Trilogy, baby!

Storyline: A Faustian tale about a very troubled musician, his desire to be loved, and the terrible lengths he’d go to achieve that.

Quick Notes:

As said before, The Wicked Trilogy sounds VERY different from The Metal Opera, so don’t be too surprised here.

The narrative style also takes an extreme departure from TMO: there are a LOT of characters who are only representations of concepts, thoughts, and emotions, working in vaguery and intuition. The Scarecrow is a little easier to follow than the next two in the trilogy, but you’ll see what I mean.

This is the first Avantasia album featuring both Jorn Lande and Amanda Somerville, who are series regulars in both touring and studio work - for a good reason, as you will soon hear.

This is the first Avantasia album with accompanying music videos, which are present in the below playlist.

As I’ve said before, I’ll say again: The Scarecrow is available on the official Avantasia YouTube channel, so listen up!

Twisted Mind

KHAAAAAAAN

This is the second Avantasia song I’d ever heard. I got really into it because “hey that sounds like the guy from Kamelot”...

The little pre-chorus “aaaaAAAAhhhh”s

Misprizing! Chastising! Subhuman, fragmentizing!

Sensation! Abbheration! Repulsive, TANTALIZING!

The Scarecrow

I haven’t said ICONIC in a while, so here’s one for the title track. Because it is Fucking Iconic.

The intro made me want to learn how to play the violin so I bought one off of eBay for $50 that is definitely a non-functional bootleg/prop. You can call that one a Hotz Fact ™.

WHEN THE LAMB’S BEEN TORN TO PIECES, I’LL BE CRASHING FROM THE SKY

“HE’S GOT TREASURE IN HIS EYES / THAT HE’S GONNA TURN TOOOO CLAAAAAAAY”

I’M A STRANGER, I’M A CHANGER, AND I’M DANGER, MAYBEEEEE

The Tobi/Jorn back-and-forth that continues from there

Jorn just giving ‘er after that

CONTRIIIITE TEAAAAAARS

“One day she’ll wonder why she had to let you disappear... OH DEAR—“

The whole outro

Shelter from the Rain

Kiske’s back!

This song is so clear and refreshing, it always makes me feel some kind of way.

Bob Catley returns for a cool little thing in the middle of the song.

Carry Me Over

Okay, I confess: I don’t have much to say about this one. It’s a good song, but it’s a pretty standard one and doesn’t go anywhere necessarily surprising. Still, give it a listen!

What Kind of Love

Get your tissues, we’ve got ourselves a Celine Dion breakup (er... kind of) ballad!

Featuring Amanda Somerville! Gotta love her!

The strings intro...mwah

Amanda’s like entire thing in the beginning

That Phil Collins-ass drum drop-in before the outro

Another Angel Down

“You’ve got the aura to enchant them in a symphony...and I’VE GOT THE POWAAAAAH”

“I’m breeding winners over theeere”

“IT’S TIME TO TAKE YOUR SHARE”

If you hadn’t already figured it out Jorn kicks ass here

The weird subtle distortions on Tobi’s voice in the second verse

WE ROCK THE BALL

The Toy Master

This is the first in a handful of “Sinister Theatrical Evil Guy” songs that  pop up on Avantasia albums. It is a WEIRDLY specific trope but it’s great

This one is ft. Alice Cooper, of all people

Creepy-ass ominous opening

“If only I had a heart it would break”

NO MORE STRUGGLE OF THE CLASSES

NO MORE STRUGGLE OF THE MASSES

Devil in the Belfry

The noodley guitar intro

CHUG-CHUGGAWUGCHUGCHUGGAWUGCHUG

I like the rhythm

“The curtain has fallen BEHOLD THE MESSIAH”

Guitars getting wild and crazy

Cry Just a Little

Less tragic than the previously mentioned fake violin fiasco, this song may be what gets me to try picking up my guitar again (it is a REAL guitar and not in fact a weird fake)

Great catchy soulful ballad ft. Bob Catley

“Oh cry... a LITTLE FOR MEEEE”

Something about a 6/8 time signature really does it for me

I Don’t Believe in Your Love

Notable for being the only Avantasia song allowed to say “fuck”

Oliver Hartmann, ladies and gents! You knew him as the Pope in TMO, now he is Darkness...or, uh, “Fornication”?... and he kills it

“Don’t give a damn for rooooseeees, oh no no no!”

“Of... AGONY and ECSTASY!”

If you need an angry breakup song, this is a good one

“BUT IT’S ALL EVIL!”

Olli’s additions over the outro... very good.

Lost in Space

This is the first Avantasia song I ever listened to, via the music video. It is straight up a pop song, and I was looking for metal, and yet the Energy managed to ensnare me from the get-go... it was destiny...

And that’s the Scarecrow - but it’s only the first act! Stay tuned for the drama, the heartbreak, the strings and the stings all yet to come!

(Doing the cast list I realized there are apparently two different versions of some character names, so I’m including them both.)

Cast List:

Tobias Sammet as The Scarecrow Jorn Lande as Mephistopheles Michael Kiske as Mentor/Human-Upper Roy Khan as Psychiatrist Amanda Somerville as Unrequited Love Bob Catley as Conscience/Good Spirit Inside Oliver Hartmann as Darkness/Fornication Alice Cooper as Dealer/Tycoon

[improbablecarny]

I just want to say... Ronnie Atkins rules as the Nobleman. He’s got so much character to his voice, especially when he slides between clean/rougher vocals. You see the shiny, benevolent noble one moment and then he can immediately switch on this much more sinister side and it’s just great! Great singing and voice acting!

[improbablecarny]

Gabriel: I love my sister and want to save her and my new friends in the world of imagination :)

Aaron: time is weird, I want this clock to work, some weird rich guy made me join a cult, oh god ghosts whatever shall I do about them

The Homunculus: I want to know why I’m different :(

The Scarecrow: fuck you fukc;yuo I do what I want and what I want to do is murder I guess. Why won’t anyone love me

[improbablecarny]

@toradh he’s so good! So good! And it’s so good to see him with Avantasia again even just for a surprise single song I’m 🥺🥺🥺

[improbablecarny]

The Best Good Parts of Ghostlights

As according to me

The second half of the story that began with The Mystery of Time, Ghostlights is a promise of similar bombast, excitement, and generally killer music that sure ghosts my lights. ... Is that anything? No? Whatever. Let’s get on to the part we all actually care about:

The spooky skeletons.

Or, you know, the music:

Storyline: The Antiquarian’s shop has burned down, the little clock is as enigmatic as ever, and Aaron Blackwell realizes that the scientists he’s found himself entangled with are really a cult set on controlling the passage of time... and the minds of all at its mercy.

Quick Notes:

Character name changes! The Nobleman is now the Magician, the Antiquarian is now the Mystic (I think he’s the same dude, anyway).

The story is a little harder to follow now, as we’ve done away with the journal entries. However, there’s still a good amount of character interaction, you can suss out a thing or two. What do you think?

There isn’t as much orchestration this time, but the trend of cool, time-themed sound design continues, so keep an ear open.

You know the drill. Official playlist. Stuff it in your earholes.

Mystery of a Blood Red Rose

The Meatloafification is complete. Literally: this song was written for Meat Loaf, who ended up passing on it despite initial positive reception. Ah, well.

This is also the song entered to Eurovision, putting Avantasia in the running to become the German representative. They did not win. Ah, well.

Those points aside, this song really rules. It’s upbeat, catchy, and has a lot going for it.

“Don’t have no TIIIIIME TO WAAASTE”

*choir* BRING ON THE NIGHT

...”while the HOUR DON’T WAIT FOR A BLINK TO CRAM THE PAST” (yes!... what?)

LET THE SCENT OF A POISONOUS ROSE TEMPT ME AWAY

“BOY REACH OUT FOR WHAT IS DUE!” legiterally thought was Bob Catley. Was Tobi. A+

....we’re OFF INTO THE MOOOOOONSHIIIIIINE

Let the Storm Descend Upon You

Big dramatic piece, soaring and mysterious with multiple vocalists... including the return of Jorn Lande as a spirit known as “Temptation”, or as I like to think of him, “Stupid Sexy Satan”.

“Light... breathe and sleep tight...” fakeout prechorus getting me hyped

“It may be your vault... NOW IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!”

“Oh that’s where I’ve been too... there’s nothing but a void over the sanity of foooools!”

Now the CHORUS FOR REAL: bright, almost gospel-esque 🤘😩🤘

“LIGHT... bring me the LIGHT!”

“I will bring uncertainty on a silver plate / like a mantlepiece / I will wipe out darkness!”

“Night! / BLESSED IS THE NIIIIIIiiIIIght!!!”

The “and I Will Make You Mine” lines first sung by Jorn and then Ronnie are both so wickedly ominous I love it

I said the chorus was fantastic in general but there’s something in particular about the last couple lines that musically always makes me go bonkers

THE BREAKDOWN

“For all the world will see it... tower to the stars...” Ronnie’s ACTING

“Let the storm descend upon me / let aurora fall upon me!” AARON...

Jorn does a Jorn thing, it’s badass, so it goes

The whole thing is badass, really.

The Haunting

Look out, Dee Snider is a spooky ghost on our next Sinister Theatrical Evil Guy song!

Again nailing the atmosphere. This is a “running through my mansion halls in a nightrobe holding a candlestick wailing as I’m chased by ghosts” song

S̺͚͙L̯̕E̞̞̼͙̤͝E̗P̟̖̣̟̣̝͉ TI͎G͖̥̭̦͈͉H̤̙̫̤͞ͅT̹͍̫͘ ̧̪͔̥͈S̫͕̱̼͖̮̞O̙̱̥͚̠͎͉M̤̥͔͠E̵̫̗͓̝O͙N̩̫̲E̞̯̱̩̞̣̟’͖S̵̺͖ ̺͍̼́A̖L̜̪WA͡Y͇̫͓̩̟̺͘S̝͇̬͇̟ ҉͓̘͍̯̣̗B͕͇̪͍̥͓͉̀Y͓̭̹͢ ̴Y̼O̰̥̯̭̻͍̖͠U͚̪̭̬̯R̘ ͈S͏̗̣̖̻͈̖̤I̸͎͎̟DͅE̮̺͍̠͙

“Don’t you waste your time to try / and understand this figment of the night” + crazy cool background instrumentals

This song is like if the Trans Siberian Orchestra’s thing was Halloween instead of Christmas

S̱͔̤̟̹̺͞W҉̭E̜̲̟̱̹͇ͅE͓̝̙͖ͅT̟̭ ̲͚̥̩͖͙͍D͔Ṛ̴͖̗̠E̬͝A̭͚M̖ͅS̴̪̲̙ͅ ̱̲͙̼̤S̲͎̖͈̝Ę̜̼̞̠̳̠͖E͙ ̺̗͎̞̞͍̫Y̛͖̭͔̠̭̜O̧̭̫͓̖͖̦U̘̯͘ ̳̦̼̯̘͉͝IN҉͔ ̡̥̯̥̳T̵͇͚͈̻̺H̶̫E̛̖ ̝̪̤̘T͚W̭I̛̼̦̣̘͉L̖̬̳̱̘̱IG̦͇̣̟͕̯H̤̱͎̦̳̝T ̜͕̻Z̠͍̣̩̥O͓̖̹̪̖͖ͅN̦͙̩̥͓͘E̷͓͓̬̮ͅ

😱: God I must contain my wayward fantasy!

👻👻👻: AHHH Ahhhh ahhh!

“I’m the spark they refuse to conceive...” DRAMATIC PIANO

Seduction of Decay

Hello, Geoff Tate. Welcome to Avantasia!

Cool instrumentation!

“You... m̠̻͉A̴̟Ý̳͖͍̱ ͍̦͠N͏̣̮O͇̘͕͖͈͘T̨̞̫ ̼̹̖̮͕̺F̞̩̼͇̯͓͎É͉̫͖È͖̞͎͇L͇̥͚̯̲ ҉̰I̘̰̪̪͓͖̱T͎̱͕̩ ”

This is a slower-paced one but it’s cool to chill out to when you’re in the right mood.

Ghostlights

Wait, we’re four songs in, it must be time for: the Michael Kiske power metal anthem!

“I don’t know if I’m right or wrong! I don’t know if I shall go on!”

“MINDS fly FREE when the gates fly open! Walk on through...”

⛈ “THUNDER AND RAIN AND THE WIND IN MY FACE” ⛈😭

“GHOSTlights DANCE will you HEED the TOKEN??? Blaaazing LIGHT...”

“BLINDING MY EYES GET ME OUT OF THIS MAZE!”

Time signature changes in the chorus... whew

“Fireworks surround me... wherever they GO THEY TELL ME always home!”

Sudden Jorn!

THEY. CALL. ME. HOOOOOOME

Draconian Love

You shed draconian love, you shed draconian love 🎶

Taking a hard turn into goth with Herbie Laghans, revealing to the world that he has a deep liquid chocolate voice apparently

“Tell me how should I embrace? / Like roses we’ll wither on the vine” 👀

HEY HEY HEY

The whole “infiltrate us with mercy” verse is Big Sexy

“Of an unbred cause / an unborn will / whatever THAT MAY MEEEEEEAAAAANN”

The last chorus and pre-chorus? Yes???

Seriously, does Herbie sing like this anywhere else ever?... Can he do it more?

Master of the Pendulum

There wasn’t a Sinister Theatrical Evil Guy song on TMoT so Ghostlights gets two

This one has Nightwish’s Marco Hietala, being crazy good at being a Sinister Theatrical Evil Guy (Ronnie also slays it in live performances)

SUPER cool atmosphere, the Watchmaker is wild.

“Tick-Tock Tick-Tock SOMEONE’S WATCHING OVER ME”

Catchiest chorus EVER

“That’s WHO I AM! I’m the MASTER of THESE haaaands...!”

“I feel your breath on my neck / I feel you behind my back / and as I’m turning around there’s just this frightening sound” 😱😱😱

“I feel it EVERYWHERE... oh I KNOW that you’re there....” 🕯👀

Alternating vocalists on the second run at the chorus!

The interlude with all the clocks ticking argh it’s SO COOL! SO COOL!! STOP BEING SO COOL!

MASTER OF THE HANDS THAT PUSH YOU!

Isle of Evermore

Sharon den Adel is here, it’s a sad ballad.

I like the weird quality to this one. The electronic quality to it reminds me of the intro to Savior in the Clockwork as well, it seems to be a way of representing dreamscapes in this duology, which is interesting.

Float away on Sharon’s voice... sail away through that opening door...

Babylon Vampyres

“A lot of good advice nobody’s keeping for themselves!” is a mood.

“The future ahead is not what it used to be” Tobi keeps using that line and it wrecks my shit every time

“BABYLON IS BURNING... SHINING FROM AFAR!

BABYLON IS BURNING... FROM SUNSET TO SUNRISE!

BABYLON IS BURNING AND YOU’RE GLOWING LIKE A FIERY STAR!

AND no one can tell... if we’ve been for real...”

Tobi and Rob’s tradeoff

The “Ever since I could remember...” passage

Lucifer

Beautiful mournful ballad, intense emotion, will melt some faces

Jorn as the embodiment of temptation is nothing new after The Wicked Trilogy but I think it’s interesting how his character takes a sympathetic turn in this one

“Morning star embrace me on these grounds” the plaintive desperation... INTO it

He WILL Take You Home Tonight

“I’ll make you fume with fury and rage / I’ll make you see what you’re made of tonight” 🤘😏

The last “TOUCHING THE FLAMES TONIGHT” dueting

Unchain the Light

That intro sounds like revving machinery. MUSICAL PICTURES. Have I said “this is SO COOL” enough yet?

The Kiske/Ronnie/Tobi tradeoff chorus is DIVINE

The second verse... I LOVE this character! Jesus CHRIST!

The “you look above to see inside yourself / and find time standing still” part... Aaron’s character turn...

“You turn this moment into what you think it ought to be / DEMYSTIFY THE DAAAAARK”

Great energetic climax. Just. 😭

A Restless Heart and Obsidian Skies

UGH THIS SONG. Again closing the album on a Bob Catley note, but this one is not 10 minutes long for once.

Beautiful beautiful denouement. 😭

The part after the first verse in the instrumental when you can hear time restart 😭😭😭

“Tender feet on stony ground” 🥺

“Sacred heart will you usher me now” 🥺🥺

The whole-ass chorus

“Wake to the SHADOWWW OF A DREAM / NOTHING’S what it seems!” 🥺🥺🥺🥺

“Ghostlights and matter / you know what is real / perception and facts all the same / truth’s what you feel” 🥺🥺😭😭

The whole “and the wind and the rain...” part

This song kills me based on what I think is happening in the story, the atmosphere, the melody, the everything

Cloudy’s “WE’RE UNDER OBSIDIAN SKIIIIEES” rip in the outro chorus 🤯

Bonus Track: Wake Up to the Moon

For a little bit of reference, I have “Wayward child / Wake up to the moon” tattooed to my leg.

This is a bonus track that seems to work as a thematically-related-but-out-of-character credits song, and yet is ALSO a sneaky Moonglow prologue! 💫

The driving melody in the verses... the continual Tobi/Jorn/Kiske/Ronnie/Bob tradeoff... 10/10

“Strange and magic, hear us CAAAAALL YOUR NAME” is a GOOD melody

And there we have it. The end... or the beginning? The past, or the future, or the present itself? Whatever it is, it’s fucking awesome. Thanks for hitching a ride with me, and see you next time!

Cast List:

Tobias Sammet as Aaron Blackwell Jorn Lande as Temptation Michael Kiske as The Mystic Ronnie Atkins as The Magician Robert Mason as Scientist I Geoff Tate as Scientist II Herbie Laghans as Eclipse Dee Snider as Nightmare  Marco Hietala as The Watchmaker Sharon den Adel as Muse Bob Catley as Epiphany

[improbablecarny]

The Best Good Parts of The Wicked Symphony

As according to me

Two years after The Scarecrow, we got not just one, but TWO albums at once to serve as the conclusion to The Wicked Trilogy. Continuing down the musical path set by their predecessor, The Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon have a curious set of songs for you to dive right into.

Storyline: After agreeing to the terms set by his mysterious benefactor, The Scarecrow continues down a righteous path of self-destruction, with little recourse in sight...

Quick Notes

If you were lost trying to figure out the story in The Scarecrow... good luck with these two.

They were also released the year I graduated high school so some emotional imprinting happened there. 

Gonna slap a minor content warning for substance abuse on this one (particularly for Blizzard on a Broken Mirror, Runaway Train and The Edge) but it’s vague enough that you could easily miss it if you weren’t paying attention.

And what do we have here but the link to the album on the official Avantasia Youtube!

Note that this is all on Spotify as well!

The Wicked Symphony

Look out, it’s a ten minute long intro song!

Its also a VERY GOOD intro song, with a deep, smoky instrumental opening

“A seeker enthralled by a flame...” JORN JORN JORN

I’ve been using the chorus as my ringtone for several years

“HEY MAN IN YOUR HIDEAWAY WHERE DO WE GO? FROM. HERE! ANGELS IN A TRAGEDYYYY”

I think Afflatus Divine was also my blog title for a while

The weird dreamy stuff Tobi’s doing in the post-solo section

THEN

DA NA-NANA-NA-NA-NA DA-NANANANANA - CHUKKAWUKKAWUKK

The bass going nuts under the second solo

The live rendition of this with Eric Martin and Amanda Somerville taking the leads is 😍😭🤯

Wastelands

“You / you close your eyes / to blink the tears away...” shit dude I sure do!

“You! You’re old and blind!” The Scarecrow IS a BASTARD!

This is like... the anti-Shelter From the Rain and it hurts so good

Scales of Justice

Ripper is playing Fury and you can tell

The sudden change in tone right before “just close your eyes”

The kick back into the chorus

Dying for an Angel

The album’s single, featuring Klaus Meine, who you may know as the guy who Rocked You Like a Hurricane hint hint (he’s the Scorpions dude)

“Gotta learn to FLY and learn to FALL”

This was the first Avantasia music video ft. a guest singer

Blizzard on a Broken Mirror

Andre Matos returns! Sadly he has not returned to Avantasia since. I wonder what he’s been up to lately... I miss his voice 😭

Spooky opener, really good.

The whole bit starting at “Fortune favors just the brave...”

TIE THE DREAM. I’VE HAD MY FILL

Sands of... tiiiiiime

Runaway Train

Oh here we go, it’s a crying catharsis song that’s 8 mins long

The piano intro

Bob’s entrance

Jorn’s entrance (he knows how to make an entrance... that may be a running theme here)

“DON’T KNOW IF I AM SORRY / BLIND ME! BLIND ME”

The string arrangements

“IT’S ONLY HUMAN NATURE”

The piano ramping up to...

“Reaching out to rule the world...”

This entire passage is bonkers and is very cool to listen to while riding a fast bus going over a bridge.

OH BOY THE ICE WILL BREAK

RIDING ON TO THE WORLD OF FUNNY FLOWERS!

You WILL listen to this and immediately choreograph a dance to this part

“Days gone by... who’d want to live forever?”  🥺

“Fly high / where angels can’t breathe no more”  🥺 🥺 🥺

Crestfallen

The binky bonky intro

The distorted pre-chorus

Then the BADASS CHORUS-CHORUS

“AND YOU’LL FALL AWAY FROM HEAVEN”

“ O͉N̫͓͙̜̦C̢E҉̝Y̬̳͟O̯̬͉̺̻̳̩͠U̞͇̖̦̲̼̤͝K͓̝̲̩͎ͅN͕͎̯̗̝̯̫O͖̗ͅW͉͚̰̘͉ͅY͖O͏̱̩U̩̜̬̼Ç̭ͅA̜̱ͅN̷̥͕̤’̳̰̼ȚT̸A̧̬͚͇̖K̩̜E̗̦ͅN̟̣̤̖͞O̤M҉̖O̢̭̦̻̪̙̜R̤̟̭͞E̜̮̘̲̯͘O̵̥̖F͚͚I̛̺̗T҉͈ ”

“I am the fury in your eyes / I am reason, I am VICE”

Forever is a Long Time

This is a fairly simple Tobi/Jorn back-and-forther but something about it just makes me go batshit the entire time

Probably the lilt

Jorn’s “WHOAOAHA YEEEAAAH.... MHMMHMHM” at the beginning

The brief silence and then Tobi’s entrance

“WHEN YOUR FAIRYTALE’S OVER”

“no right OR WROOOONG I just keep goin OOON”

The repetition of the first verse  🤘

Black Wings

The ever-mysterious Ralf Zdiarstek takes home this dark and heavy little ditty

Heavy intro is great but especially

THE COWBELL

(I think it’s a cowbell, whatever it is that’s donking around in the second go at the intro)

I AM FURY, I AM FIRE, I AM THE WORM INSIDE

The whole “who do you think you are” part is VERY “sign me up as scared AND horny!”

States of Matter

Has one of my favourite first verses on the album for some reason

“HATE AND AFFECTION / PLEASURE AND PAIN / MODES OF VIBRATION...”

“UNVELING tooo BEEE alll THE SAME!”

Then later on...

“MIIIIIIND OVER MATTER!”

The clear quality to the guitar solos

The Edge

This song has country energies and I’m here for it

The prechorus... this album has some strong-ass prechoruses

The second verse is really strong just in general

“Fingers BLEED ONTO THE IVORYYYY”

“They dance on the keys...”

“To a churchyard. OF. ANGELS.”

And that chorus!

That’s the Wicked Symphony, but it’s not until we take on the Angel of Babylon that we can say this story is over! Stay tuned...

Cast List:

Tobias Sammet as The Scarecrow Jorn Lande as Mephistopheles Michael Kiske as Mentor Russel Allen as Inspiration Andre Matos as Acedia Bob Catley as Conscience Klaus Meine as Future Scarecrow Tim “Ripper” Owens as Fury Ralf Zdiarstek as Shelter