Since power metal extraordinaire, Tobias Sammet, has kept it busy and published two Avantasia albums at the same time, we’re following his example by publishing not one, but two, Avantasia reviews! See what Teeth of the Divine’s Fred Phillips had to say about Angel of Babylon and The Wicked Symphony. German power metal for the win? We recommend you start the reading adventure with the review of Angel of Babylon.

Projects that feature a who’s who of artists from a genre usually disappoint me. No matter the gathering of talent, it usually just doesn’t quite gel. One exception to that rule in the past has been Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia. Once again, for the most part, he overcomes that with the double release of The Wicked […]

The other half of Tobias Sammet’s two-album Avantasia release, The Wicked Symphony, doesn’t fare quite as well as its counterpart Angel of Babylon. It, too, has its moments, but overall seems just a little too generic power metal in places. Like its companion piece, The Wicked Symphony opens with a longer, more epic number in […]

Epic albums with big-name guest stars are an iffy proposition. The expectations those all-star lineups create can be a bit of a letdown. That was the case for me with the latest effort from Ayreon, which I found a bit boring. On this record, though, the guest stars get bits that better reflect their own […]

Edguy vocalist Tobias Sammet has created quite the power metal extravaganza here. For Avantasia, he has wrangled in some big name musicians and a slew of guest vocalists to deliver The Metal Opera; a nearly hour long drama set to pummeling power metal. While some attempts at these types of all-star concept pieces fall short, […]