Customer Reviews

The Metal Opera Pt. II

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When I heard of this album's release, I was convinced that what I considered to be the zenith of the genre would be reached, but for some reason I'm still stubborn enough to believe that there will be an album better than this one, and that's why I can't give it the 100% that I have yet to give, but this one got extremely close.

The same bunch of musicians that pulled forces to bring us the amazing Avantasia Part 1 has now returned to dish it out once more. I can't say that it's better or worse, nor can I say it's exactly the same as it's predecessor despite that I gave it the same rating. In truth, you have to treat both CDs as one album, one story, even though they were released separately.

First I will hit on the talent in this group. First rate musicians from beginning to end. I was particularly taken by the guitar work on here, the tracks laid down by Henjo Richter are mind blowing, as are the leads that he dishes out, particularly the riveting twin guitar lead on Chalice of Agony. I actually had the unique honor of teaching this solo to 2 teenagers at a summer camp who performed this song with a band of campers. I assure you it is quite challenging. But also note the efforts of Timo Tolkki and Jens Ludwig.

I have to hand it to Tobias Sammet for rounding out such top notch musical collaborators for his effort. Michael Kiske's role has diminished in this part as opposed to part 1, which is my lone complaint of this album. But this has given way to include the new character performed by Bob Catley, whose voice fills the gap and puts a new feel to the story. Andre Matos and Kai Hansen are back in good form, and naturally Tobias is ruling the roost, which is the right of the man who leads the project and composes the songs. lol

And on a side-note, the production is excellent. Too many albums in the power metal genre have a poor balance between the guitars and the synths, here they are both equally discernable and complement each other rather than fight each other. The voices are also well blended in with the music and don't drown out the background, which is amazing when you consider that at times 7 or 8 people are singing as a group.

Here is how the songs break down.

Seven Angels (10/10) - In the same vain as Edguy, Tobias brings a flair to the drawn out epic like no other. This is probably the best song on the album and clocks in at 14 minutes. There is a drawn out stream of modulations in sections, combining together to make you feel that your listening to 4 or 5 different songs in succession. High points include Timo Tolkki's guitar solo, Tobias' and Kiske's Meatloaf inspired piano and voice section which completely blew me away, and the amazing outro where Tobias, Matos and Hansen create a stream of vocal melodies that mystify the ears. An aria for the power metal ages to be sure.

No Return (9.5/10) - Fast paced cooker that works nicely, but it feels lacking merely because it had to follow the massive epic which is usually the closer for such albums. Michael Kiske and Tobias do well on this one, as does the lead work by Richter.

The Looking Glass (10/10) - This is an excellent mid-tempo track that features the new charactered called The Tree of Knowledge, sung by Bob Catley. What ensues is a riveting duet between two amazing singers, the lyrics on this one are very philosophical, yet work well in the fantasy world that Sammet has concocted. Another brilliant solo by Richter, along with some flashy beats by Alex Holzwarth.

In Quest for (10/10) - A continuation of the Catley and Tobias duet, this time with but a lone piano and some strings in the background. With voices completely exposed to the scrutiny that normally doesn't exist with loud guitars, these two guys prove that they can match abilities with any broadway singer. Kudos for originality on this one too, considering who this song came from.

Final Sacrifice (10/10) - Things get nice and rough here, Catley exits to bring in Virgin Steele screamer David Defeis, whose lion growls dwarf Tobi's banshee shreeks with thunderous fury. Jens Ludwig provides a very agitated solo which plays against the more idiomatic and structured soloing that Richter has been utilizing.

Neverland (9.5/10) - Great song, featuring Rob Rock reprising his role as Bishop Von Bicken. Great vocal performances save this song from it's almost cliche musical accompaniment, which sounded alot like Gamma Ray's "One with the World" at the beginning.

Anywhere (10/10) - Tobias goes it alone on this one, starting out with just a piano to back him up. This is definately one of the better power ballads I've heard. There is alot of emotion in the vocal performance, and Richter's solo uses all the precise notes to make the guitar sing as a voice rather than a highly embellished harpsichord line befitting of a shred fest.

Chalice of Agony (10/10) - This song, like Seven Angels, never gets old for me. I can understand why this was chosen as a single, because it's catchy themes grab the listener immediately. This track gets my pic for best guitar solo on the album. The pace is fast and the sections contrast each other nicely. Tobias does the majority of the vocal work, but both Matos and Hansen make breif appearances to add aditional color. Nothing short of amazing.

Memory (10/10) - Ralph Ziardstek reprises his role as the evil Baliff Falk Von Kronberg, the most loathsome of the characters. This song is lyrically excellent, and paints a very vivid picture of the plot, which sees justice served within it's span. Ziardstek dominates this song, but Tobias makes a brief appearance. Jens Ludwig also plays a decent solo on this one.

Into the Unknown (10/10) - The exiting chorus of the story, featuring solos by Tobias and Sharon reprising her role as the main character's sister. But the real strength to this shorter closing track is in the words of the chorus. The greatest one line that Tobias ever wrote is within that chorus, and it reads....

Dreamers come and go, but a dream's forever.


In conclusion, if you like Power Metal in general, you must get this album. If you enjoyed Avantasia Part 1, you must get this album. And if you like the other bands that the members of this project are in (Edguy, Gamma Ray, Rhapsody, Helloween, Virgin Steele, Stratovarius, ect.) you must get this album. No more excuses, start saving up those hard earned dollars or euros that you get for breaking rocks all day and invest it in a piece of artistic genius.

An excellent release .... just don't buy this version. The Century Media release with the Bonus Tracks contains audio that appears to have gone through some kind of lossy audio encoding process (i.e. encoded to MP3 then back to PCM) before being sent to the manufacturing plant.

Avoid this one, check out the other versions and make sure you receive the full audio spectrum that you paid for.

I know I've said this about too many people, but Tobias Sammet is, without a doubt, one of the most gifted songwriters in the melodic metal field today. Not only does his main band Edguy progress light years with each album, but his pet project Avantasia yields such a wellspring of talent and style its effect is almost overwhelming. This album's predecessor was novel for what it was, and I almost wrote it off as an Ayreon knock-off, but The Metal Opera Part II really drives home the rock opera theme that was primarily lacking on the first album. Starring vocalists on this disc include Michael Kiske (great to hear the man on a METAL album again!), Gamma Ray's Kai Hansen, Virgin Steele's David Defeis, former Angra frontman Andre Matos, and Within Temptation's Sharon Den Adel (who also lends her talents to Arjen Lucassen's various Ayreon projects). As stated, Part II exemplifies the rock opera aspect more than "a collection of metal songs with superstar vocalists," as each track, grandiose in its own way, combines impressions of both Meatloaf and Queen intricacies, while carefully shying away from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Broadway fluff. The power of these tracks is nothing short of incredible. Even metal fans that do not appreciate the power metal genre will be awed by the grandness of this album. Savatage fans will obviously eat it up, as parallels can be drawn to some of their work as well...Paul O'Neill would be proud. But I digress; Avantasia shines as a body of work greater than the sum of its parts. Even though the vocal and musician departments are entirely composed of an all-star lineup, Sammet's direction and composition skills creates a brilliant cohesion emphasizing everyone's stronger abilities. Of course, most people will purchase the album based solely on the individual participants' efforts, for if metal fans are anything, most are completists and devoted to their favorite artists! It is my hope that, with that respect, that Avantasia is eventually looked upon more than a "We Are The World" novelty item and more a rare event that brings together key players in the melodic metal field through a study in amazing songsmithing.

I think that Avantasia part 1 is one of the best power metal albums of the new century. That is exactly why I expected a lot from the part 2 of the sequel especially remembering how Helloween came up with 'Keeper' part 2. And what do we have this time around?
Well, I did not like it. Actually, the first song was pretty good that reminded me of part 1 in several places. But then...Even Kiske's presence did not help since the songs were so weak, maybe with an exception of the slower track sung by Bob Catley. I gave this album a few extra spins, but it didn't grow on me.
Instead, you should safely go with 'Avantasia part 1' that represents what true power metal is all about.

Once again, we find Tobias Sammet returning to his metal masterpiece with all his power metal friends in tow. Unfortunately this album simply doesn't have the same majesty as the first. To begin, I found it difficult to enjoy the 14 minute epic at the beginning of the album, I can never appreciate that, no matter who I am listening to. Second, this album feels like a step backward rather than ahead; almost all of the songs (save a few) are toned down from the first album's blazing fury, and resembles pre-helloween power metal before the thrashiness was added that we have all come to know and love. There are some saving graces on this record though: "The Final Sacrifice" and "Memory" really gave me a glimpse at what this album could have achieved, and "Neverland" brings the goods with Rob Rock once again belting out his absolutely incredible vocal skills. Anyway, these few songs on the ten plus track selection are the only ones that I really listen to, the others just seem to fall flat, but that's just my opinion. That doesn't discount anyone else's. I noticed quite a few people who enjoyed the whole album, and that's great, I just didn't. So, check out Avantasia: the metal opera pt. II and judge for yourself.

As I begin to write this review for the Metal Opera Parts 1 and 2 I'm thinking about the good and bad parts of all of Power Metal as a genre. Good: Double-Bass drums increase the speed of the music, brilliant guitar solos, and wonderful symbolic lyrics of quests of dungeons and dragons that are a metaphor for the adventures of life. Bad: High-pitched squeaky vocalists, repetitive music, and sometimes way too cheesy lyrics. Well, if you are a fan of this genre of music, this is the perfect album for you. Because it contains most of the good and only a few of the bad. The "Metal Opera" is to Power Metal fans as "Dark side of the Moon" is to progressive rock fans or Beethoven's Ninth is to classical fans. Every genre of music has one album that stands out as the crown-achievement of all that that genre is...and the Metal Opera parts 1 and 2, hand-in-hand share that title.
Once upon a time, there was a Power Metal group called "Edguy". And the main-man of that group was named Tobias Sammet. One day, Tobias got this idea in his head. An album...or two albums worth of Power Metal that would not only mix the greatest in vocals, guitar, and drums of the genre but also carry out a successful story to go with the lyrics, and thus the Metal Opera was born. This dual concept-album is a Power Metal fan's journey through a mystical world called Avantasia and the adventures that occur. Not only is the music great, but the story that goes along with the lyrics is carefully written to blend with the lyrics and melodies of the album.
Track Listing: (I will not include the last two bonus tracks.)

1.) Seven Angels-Ah.......the seven angels. A 14+ minute song which is the uppermost of the power metal genre. One of the longest Power Metal songs ever written and one of the greatest. Starts off with a choir of voices and odd keyboards and at about 1:04 breaks into that wonderful Power Metal goodness. Interesting segue at 1:48 and jumps into an awesome catchy beat at the 2 minute mark. Here the three different vocalists of the song bounce off each other. At 2:48 it breaks into one of the catchiest choruses I've heard in all of Power Metal. "We are the seven, judgment of heaven
why don't we know: We are the angels
it's revelation, soul castigation
Fire will burn us away" At 4:54 it goes into a roaring guitar solo that will blast your speakers out. At 5:37 the music dies down to a slow-mid tempo and it is here that the song starts to feel epic. At 7:05 strange background whispers of angels and prophecies mark the beginning of an apocalyptic feeling that emerges at 7:35 "Woe to you longing for the wisdom
Woe to you longing for the light
All my sons bring me back what is mine
Or you'll end burning in this night" Awesome drum solo at 8:10 which is abruptly ended by the guitar solo at 8:20 . At 8:58 the song enters what I call the "slightly cheesy part" due to the overly hyped inspirational-philosophical lyrics. This might be great to listen to if you're a angst-filled teenager...but not a grown man, maybe.

2.) No Return-A very fast, very melodic song with an awesome bass riff throughout and a killer guitar solo at 2:54.

3.) Looking Glass-A great song with dual vocalists singing together in harmony as the chorus drills into our brains. Another awesome solo at 2:28 which shreds for almost 50 seconds. Also more "inspirational lyrics" to fill that gap that is needed. "How proud would the buildings of Rome
Look without all single stones"

4.) In Quest For-woah...this song sounds almost exactly like "inside" from part 1. But unlike "inside" which only had one vocalist piercing our ears with his bad shrieking. This ballad, being sung by a group of vocalists together sounds very appealing. The violin-like keyboards at 2:10 add to the ballad.

5.) Final Sacrifice-Classic Heavy Metal. Not so much Power but more like old Metallica or something. Heavy chords and Bass make this a nice dark side-trip through hell. A breakaway from the ballads and mystical power metal that we've been hearing already. "Get ready for the brimstone-getting blisters on the eyes
The power of the spirit was their final sacrifice"
Interesting solo at 3:23 which goes all over the place. Reminiscent to an angry Jimi Hendrix.

6.) Neverland-This song is about Michael Jackson's ranch.....no, just kidding. It's actually one of the best songs on the album, and my personal favorite. One of the most enjoyable choruses to sing a long too out-loud. Another great solo at 3:12 which continues for quite some time. The background vocals during the end of the song echo out-loud while the chorus fades away.
"Caught in neverland, heat and fire, snow and ice
They call nether world what we call a paradise
Caught in neverland and their spirits cannot rise
From the nether world, they can't see a paradise"

7.) Anywhere-"But when I think of her, I feel it grow" I wonder what he's talking about. Another Power ballad emerges onto the Avantasia scene. And as we all know Power Ballads are ok, but when Power Metal bands do Power Ballads...we all know that they're awesome. Emotional guitar solo at 3:18 captures the essence of someone having to wait for the one they love.

8.) Chalice of Agony-Fastest song ever. If you love speed-metal...this is it. Don't forget the catchy chorus. "Out of the wine, out of the chalice of Agony. Welcome to Avantasia!" At 3:14 Another killer fast guitar solo blasts through your ears at the speed of light while only pausing to catch it's breath for almost a minute of brilliant finger work. At 5:05, almost all of the music drops for a second except for the chorus to provide a dramatic attention getter.

9.) Memory-Another heavy song like the feeling of Track 5. Dark chords, large emphasis on bass guitar and growl-like vocals. Not the normal Power Metal stuff. And another guitar solo at 4:10.

10.) Into the unknown-A great ending for a great album. And like the title, the song leaves off that even though it's the conclusion...it's only one part of the story of life that's being concluded. Featuring female vocals by Sharon Del Alden and a heartfelt choir-backing of all of the vocalists that played roles in the entire project. No heavy guitar riffs...no drum solos...just a simple song to end the Opera.

I don't understand why everyone is hating on this album. My only guess is that the reviewers before me were expecting some sort of change on this album from Avantasia: The Metal Opera part 1. Instead, this picks up exactly where the first installment left off. This is in the exact same vein as the first metal opera. Musically, this is very similar to Edguy (imagine that), but, like the first metal opera, this album offers a unique vocal approach with multiple vocalists from various metal acts singing as different characters from Tobias' story (which I really couldn't care less about). Among the guests are Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray), Andre Matos (formerly of Angra), and even Michael Kiske (formerly of Helloween). The interaction between the voices is great, perhaps best displayed on the opening track, "The Seven Angels." It's great to hear each vocalist with his own unique style singing with each other.
The songwriting is solid, but I'm not sure how interesting the songs would be without the multiple vocalists. I think that this would just be pretty generic power metal. The drumming is solid as well, but is really just your average, over-produced, power metal drumming. The keys are used very well, adding a nice atmosphere to the music. The lead guitar work is good, but nothing flashy or amazing. Most of the solos are little melodies instead of wailing improvs.
This is definitly a cool album. I guess I would reccomend part 1 first, then this if you really enjoyed the first part. Outstanding songs are "The Seven Angels," "No Return," and "Chalice of Agony." This is really a good play-through. There are no tracks that need to be skipped.

Avantasia's Metal Opera Pt. 2 (2002) is almost as good as Pt. 1, which was released the previous year. The characters (played by Tobias Sammet, Michael Kiske, Oliver Hartmann, Rob Rock, Ralf Zdiarstek, Timo Tolkki, Kai Hansen, Andre Matos, Sharon Den Adel, and David Defeis) are joined by Bob Catley (Magnum) as the Tree Of Wisdom.

Also, all the musicians (Henjo Richter, Markus Grosskopf, Tobi, and Alex Holzwarth) and the guest musicians (Jens Ludwig, Norman Meiritz, and Frank Tischer) from the first one are joined by Eric Singer (ex-Badlands, ex-Kiss), who plays drums on the final song, "Into The Unknown." Also, Tobi plays bass on that track, and Timo Tolkki plays guitar on that track as well as opener "The Seven Angels."

Now onto the album itself. One thing that's lacking on this album is extra parts. Though there are two tracks in which one character gets more lines than Tobi, I think that there could have been more tracks in which my 4 favorite singers aside from Tobi (Mike, Andre, Sharon, and Oliver) could have sang on. Oh well, you can't always get what you want. Overall, musicianship is just as good as on the first one. Henjo's licks are just as great as usual. Markus still plucks that bass masterfully. Alex is perhaps the best drummer in power metal. And now, of course, the three highlights of the album. First, there's the opening number, "The Seven Angels." This may be the greatest opening track ever. For one thing, nearly the entire cast sings on this track (minus Sharon, Bob, and Ralf). Also, it's the longest opening number I've heard (14 minutes, 15 seconds). It actually shifts around quite a bit. One minute, it's the opening of the Queensryche tune "Take Hold Of The Flame," the next, it's Gamma Ray, the next, it's Queen. Then, there's track 4, "In Quest For." This song, like "Inside" from Pt. 1, is a piano accompanied dialogue very reminiscent of Queen. And track 8, "Chalice Of Agony," is a fine example of pure speed metal pandemonium, with Markus playing at his best, Henjo's best solo EVER, and Alex's pummeling double-bass drumming. Great job, Tobi, you finished off this incredible saga with what has now become one of my favorite albums of 2002. Also look for Pt. 1, as well as Edguy's latest, Hellfire Club, I bought it yesterday along with this, it rocks!

At first I thought the first Metal Opera by Avantasia was better, but after listening to this more I like it just as much.

Great songs are The Seven Angels, The Final Sacrifice is really great hard metal, as good as any band you can find. The guitars, vocals, compositions are all high quality. This is not your average metal band trying to make it. All of the singers, players are all accomplished and recognized musicians.

If you like Melodic Metal and the harder stuff but with actually some good lyrics and vox then get this album. The others here don't know what they are talking about - easily a 5 star compared to all the other junk music out there!!!

This album is a god damn work of art and Tobias Sammet is a genius. I simply adore this cd and I strongly recommend you listen to it as one piece. The absolute best track is The Seven Angels and if you listen to it you'll understand why. Other than that, The Looking Glass and Chalice of Agony are excellent tracks also. Actually the whole album is wonderful and no track deserves to be skipped. A must-have for any speed/epic-metal fan.