The Metal Opera | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 22 January 2001 (Europe) [1] 10 July 2001 (U.S.) | |||
Recorded | October 1999 – June 2000 | |||
Studio | Rhoen Studios, Germany | |||
Genre | Symphonic power metal | |||
Length | 59:12 | |||
Label | AFM Records (Europe) Century Media Records (U.S.) | |||
Producer | Tobias Sammet, Norman Meiritz | |||
Avantasia chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
The Metal Opera is the first full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German supergroup project, Avantasia. It is a concept album and a metal opera. The album is followed by the sequel The Metal Opera Part II . Both were written over the course of a year, starting in the last quarter of 1998, and both were produced from October 1999 to June 2000, with the works being interrupted for some weeks so Sammet could produce The Savage Poetry with his other band Edguy. [3]
The project claims that the album's title marked the first usage of the term "metal opera". [3] Sammet also considers it his professional debut, since it marked the first time he actually made money from music, even though by that time he had already released three albums with Edguy. [3]
According to Sammet, the album's plot is partly based on real witch trials in Fulda (his hometown) and Mainz held in the 16th and 17th centuries. [3]
In 2019, Metal Hammer ranked it as the 25th best power metal album of all time. [4] In 2021, they ranked it as the 18th best symphonic metal album. [5]
All tracks are written by Tobias Sammet
No. | Title | Guest Vocalist | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Prelude" | 1:12 | |
2. | "Reach Out for the Light" | Michael Kiske | 6:33 |
3. | "Serpents in Paradise" | David DeFeis | 6:16 |
4. | "Malleus Maleficarum" | Ralf Zdiarstek | 1:43 |
5. | "Breaking Away" | Kiske | 4:35 |
6. | "Farewell" | Sharon den Adel, Michael Kiske | 6:33 |
7. | "The Glory of Rome" | Oliver Hartmann, Zdiarstek, Rob Rock | 5:29 |
8. | "In Nomine Patris" | 1:04 | |
9. | "Avantasia" | Kiske | 5:32 |
10. | "A New Dimension" | 1:39 | |
11. | "Inside" | Andre Matos, Kai Hansen | 2:24 |
12. | "Sign of the Cross" | Hartmann, Hansen, Rock, Matos | 6:26 |
13. | "The Tower" | Kiske, Hartmann, DeFeis, Timo Tolkki, Matos | 9:45 |
Total length: | 59:12 |
Note: "Malleus Maleficarum" is sampled from the song, "the Kingdom", by Tobias Sammet's other project, Edguy.
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [6] | 36 |
French Albums (SNEP) [7] | 118 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [8] | 135 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [9] | 48 |
Avantasia is a German supergroup metal opera project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist of the band Edguy. It has been characterized as a rock opera, as it features the contributions of various vocalists and musicians and it consists of concept albums. The name is a blend of the words Avalon and fantasia ('fantasy') and describes "a world beyond human imagination".
Edguy is a German power metal band formed in Fulda in 1992.
Vain Glory Opera is the third studio album by the German power metal band Edguy, released in 1998. It was mixed by Stratovarius' Timo Tolkki, who also played additional lead guitar on "Out Of Control", and featured additional lead and backing vocals by Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian on "Out of Control" and the title track "Vain Glory Opera." Further choir vocals were supplied by Ralf Zdiarstek and Norman Meiritz. At the time of recording the album, Edguy had not yet chosen a permanent drummer to succeed Dominik Storch. So session musician Frank Lindenthal, a good friend of the band, was asked to play drums on the album.
Hellfire Club, released on 15 March 2004, is the sixth album by German power metal band Edguy. The music of the band is supported by a German orchestra, the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg. It is the band's first album released via Nuclear Blast.
Dawn of Victory is the third studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody, released in 2000. Like the previous albums, it centers on the story of Algalord and The Emerald Sword Saga. It was produced and engineered by Sascha Paeth and Miro. It is also the first album to feature drummer Alex Holzwarth.
Tobias Sammet is a German musician, songwriter, and music producer. He is the singer and primary songwriter of the power metal band Edguy, and the founder of the metal opera project Avantasia.
Superheroes is an EP by the German power metal band Edguy, released in 2005. On this EP, the band has moved away from the sound they had developed on their previous album Hellfire Club. The songs on "Superheroes" are much less akin to the band's native style of power metal, but tends towards the direction of hard rock.
Rocket Ride is the seventh full-length album by German power metal band Edguy, released on 20 January 2006. It features a style that differs from their usual power metal style and is more oriented towards hard rock.
Felix Bohnke is a German musician and the drummer of heavy metal bands Edguy and Avantasia. He joined the band just before they recorded the album Theater of Salvation in 1998. Before joining Edguy he was a member of German band Saints & Preachers. In 2001, he was a guest drummer and later in 2003, a member of the band Taraxacum along with Edguy bassist Tobias Exxel.
The Metal Opera Pt. II is the second full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German supergroup project, Avantasia. It is a concept album and a metal opera. The songs carry on the story begun in The Metal Opera, with the same characters. Both albums were written over the course of a year, starting in the last quarter of 1998, and both were produced from October 1999 to June 2000, with the works being interrupted for some weeks so Sammet could produce The Savage Poetry with his other band Edguy.
The Scarecrow is the third full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German metal opera project Avantasia, released on 25 January 2008 through Nuclear Blast Records. It is the first part of "The Wicked Trilogy" and it is followed by The Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon. Sammet explained in a 2016 interview that he managed to have Alice Cooper after drummer Eric Singer asked him. Cooper requested to have a listen to the song first and then accepted to be part of it.
The Flying Opera is a boxed set containing two DVDs and two CDs by the German power metal band Avantasia, released in March 2011. Avantasia evolved from being a side-project of Edguy vocalist Tobias Sammet to a full-fledged band touring all over the world. The tracks of the set were recorded live during their first world tour in 2008, in support of the album The Scarecrow. The DVD contains also a documentary of the tour and various video clips.
Age of the Joker is the ninth studio album by the German power metal band Edguy. It was released on 26 August 2011 through Nuclear Blast.
The Mystery of Time is the sixth full-length album by Tobias Sammet's german metal opera project Avantasia. The album was released on 26 April 2013. This is the first Avantasia release to feature the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. The cover artwork was painted by Rodney Matthews.
Timo Tolkki's Avalon was a Finnish metal opera project created by Timo Tolkki in 2013.
Space Police: Defenders of the Crown is the tenth studio album by the German power metal band Edguy. It was released on 18 April 2014 through Nuclear Blast. The cover art was unveiled on 1 February, and 15 days later, the band announced the track listing.
Ghostlights is the seventh full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German metal opera project Avantasia. It was released on 29 January 2016. The opening track and first single "Mystery of a Blood Red Rose" was a candidate for the German representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, along with nine other songs. The Digibook edition of the album included a bonus track and a bonus CD entitled Avantasia Live, which featured songs recorded mainly during Avantasia's 2014 performance at Wacken Open Air Festival.
"Mystery of a Blood Red Rose" is a single and opening track to the German power metal project Avantasia's album Ghostlights, released on 11 December 2015 with a lyric video. It was one of the ten candidates to represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The song was between the final three finalists, but eventually was defeated by "Ghost", performed by Jamie-Lee Kriewitz.
Moonglow is the eighth full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German metal opera project Avantasia. It was released on 15 February 2019 through Nuclear Blast. As with previous Avantasia projects, the album features extensive collaborations with returning and new guest vocalists. It features 11 tracks and was supported by a world tour.
A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society is the ninth studio album by Tobias Sammet's German metal opera project Avantasia. It was released on 21 October 2022, through Nuclear Blast.