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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
│ │
│ + Avantasia - The Metal Opera - Gold Edition + │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Jun-02-2009 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2008 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......The_Patriarch Songs........cd1: 14 cd2: 11 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.tobiassammet.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Avantasia Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : The Metal Opera - Gold EditionLabel : AFM ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Now, I usually try not to freak out about an ║ │
│║ album and just yell 'It's awesome!', because ║ │
│║ there's always something bad. While that is of ║ │
│║ course also true in this case, it really doesn't ║ │
│║ matter that much because this album IS ║ │
│║ incredibly awesome! ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I'll be the first to admit that power metal has ║ │
│║ never been my favourite genre of all - I find ║ │
│║ most of it a bit silly.. But godDAMN my views on ║ │
│║ power metal changed with this! ║ │
│║ Avantasia is largely the brainchild of Tobias ║ │
│║ Sammet of Edguy-fame, and one can get to wonder ║ │
│║ how it is possible for one man to pour out a ║ │
│║ seemingly endless stream of beautiful music and ║ │
│║ fascinating lyrics. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The Metal Opera: Part I is a truly epic ║ │
│║ adventure which unfolds itself in a great ║ │
│║ storytelling. Think King Diamond as power metal. ║ │
│║ The story is about Gabriel (Sammet), a novice ║ │
│║ cleric (I think), and his quest to be reunited ║ │
│║ with his childhood sweetheart Anna, while he ║ │
│║ starts to lose faith in the catholic church that ║ │
│║ he is meant to serve. ║ │
│║ The album features brilliant, I repeat, ║ │
│║ brilliant vocals from several of the greatest ║ │
│║ vocalists of power metal, including Michael ║ │
│║ Kiske of Helloween as Gabriels guide - the druid ║ │
│║ Vandroiy, Sharon Den Adel of Within Temptation ║ │
│║ as Anna, and even Oliver Hartmann as the Pope. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Even though the flow of the story is nice most ║ │
│║ of the time, and will keep you focused on the ║ │
│║ story, the ending track, The Tower, is confusing ║ │
│║ and probably the weakest track on the album ║ │
│║ (and, unfortunately, also the longest one). Even ║ │
│║ more annoying is the fact that the story ends on ║ │
│║ a cliffhanger, and leaves you begging for a ║ │
│║ continuation of the story (which comes on Part ║ │
│║ II, that I unfortunately haven't heard yet... ║ │
│║ dammit!). ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ There's not much to say about the instruments ║ │
│║ other than that they work really great, with ║ │
│║ great power guitar solos and all, although on ║ │
│║ this album it's all about the vocals. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Standout trakcs include Reach Out for the Light, ║ │
│║ Serpens in Paradise, Glory of Rome, Inside and ║ │
│║ the most awesome Farewell and Avantasia. Well, ║ │
│║ pretty much the whole album! ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ If you're into epic power metal and love a good ║ │
│║ story and great vocal performances, buy this! ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ This is part 2 of the Metal Opera, though it ║ │
│║ doesnÆt play like the first part. This plays ║ │
│║ like a standard power metal album. Part 1 seemed ║ │
│║ to tell a story, while this falls apart toward ║ │
│║ the middle. The first song and the last couple ║ │
│║ of songs fit into the story while retaining the ║ │
│║ more operatic sound of the first part, but ║ │
│║ everything in between could have been on any ║ │
│║ normal Edguy record. Also, to my ears at least, ║ │
│║ the production on this one sounds duller, ║ │
│║ whereas the first part had sharp, crisp sound ║ │
│║ that gave the guitars an electric edge, ║ │
│║ reminding me of Theater of SalvationÆs sound. ║ │
│║ The choruses on this one, except the first song ║ │
│║ and the last couple, are much less intricate and ║ │
│║ dramatic than those on part 1. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Another point of contention with Sammet are his ║ │
│║ piano ballads. On the early Edguy albums there ║ │
│║ was always one boring song with just a piano and ║ │
│║ Sammet singing. Inside, on part 1, was like ║ │
│║ that, almost exactly the same as what he did in ║ │
│║ Edguy. I always skip these unnecessary songs ║ │
│║ because I canÆt even sit through 60 seconds of ║ │
│║ it. On part 2 of the Metal Opera there is ║ │
│║ another one, though this one is different. In ║ │
│║ Quest For features a nice vocal interplay, ║ │
│║ leaving SammetÆs lifeless ballad singing out of ║ │
│║ it for the most part. ItÆs much better than any ║ │
│║ other such song heÆs written, but still kind of ║ │
│║ boring. I even skip this one. Anywhere is far ║ │
│║ superior starting in a similar fashion but ║ │
│║ building to something interesting with the full ║ │
│║ band supporting the song, adding drama and ║ │
│║ keeping the listener awake for once. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I canÆt help but compare this to the first one ║ │
│║ because itÆs supposed to be a continuation of ║ │
│║ that one in many ways, and in most of those ways ║ │
│║ it seems to fall behind the expectations built ║ │
│║ by its predecessor. The story is not as easy to ║ │
│║ follow here, the sound is different, and the ║ │
│║ symphonic interludes are gone. Though these ║ │
│║ things make for a more album-like listening ║ │
│║ experience, the title says itÆs the Metal Opera ║ │
│║ part 2. Part 1 was much closer to being a real ║ │
│║ metal opera than this one. Part 2 seems drab in ║ │
│║ comparison to part 1, in spite of the four or ║ │
│║ five great songs that save it. Indeed, The Seven ║ │
│║ Angles and Into the Unknown account for most of ║ │
│║ the eighty percent rating this album received ║ │
│║ from me. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ - cd1 [ ] │
│ - [ ] │
│ 01 - Prelude [01:11] │
│ 02 - Reach Out For The Light [06:33] │
│ 03 - Serpents In Paradise [06:18] │
│ 04 - Malleus Maleficarum [01:43] │
│ 05 - Breaking Away [04:36] │
│ 06 - Farewell [06:33] │
│ 07 - The Glory Of Rome [05:30] │
│ 08 - In Nomine Patris [01:05] │
│ 09 - Avantasia [05:33] │
│ 10 - A New Dimension [01:39] │
│ 11 - Inside [02:24] │
│ 12 - Sign Of The Cross [06:26] │
│ 13 - The Tower [09:46] │
│ 14 - Avantasia (Single Edit) [04:10] │
│ - [ ] │
│ - cd2 [ ] │
│ - [ ] │
│ 01 - The Seven Angels [14:18] │
│ 02 - No Return [04:30] │
│ 03 - The Looking Glass [04:53] │
│ 04 - In Quest For [03:56] │
│ 05 - The Final Sacrifice [05:03] │
│ 06 - Neverland [05:01] │
│ 07 - Anywhere [05:29] │
│ 08 - Chalice Of Agony [06:02] │
│ 09 - Memory [05:44] │
│ 10 - Into The Unknown [04:30] │
│ 11 - Sign Of The Cross (live in Sao Paulo) [04:00] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [126:5] min │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
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