Music Review: ANGEL OF BABYLON and THE WICKED SYMPHONY by Avantasia

Big power metal fan here.  What's power metal?  Well, basically unpopular heavy metal originating (generally) outside the US.  And when I say unpopular, I mean in the US.  Power metal (a very broad term but basically any metal NOT of the Death, Black or Thrash alloys) is hugely popular around the world where people still have musical discernment and are not slaves to American Idol and corporate radio. 

Anyway, I generally like my metal heavy, melodic and positive.  Don't get me wrong, I like the Slayers and Dimmu Borgirs of the metal world as much as the next guy but the older I get the less I find myself listening to the more nihilistic persuasions of metal.  Maybe it's because the world is going to shit and the point of music (for me) is to escape the "real" and connect emotionally with something bigger and better than the as-is.  Or something like that.  At least for metal, that's where my head is.  So, naturally, I really enjoy both of Tobias Sammet's musical entities, Edguy (his first) and Avantasia (his most popular now).  The man is nothing if not prolific.

I'm not going to make any real distinction between his double-release of ANGEL OF BABYLON and THE WICKED SYMPHONY.  Both are bombastic, operatic, often heavy, sometimes quite lovely sonic platters filled with some brilliant songs as well as some that could have been scrapped.  But the good is really good.  The man is adept at the power ballad or the epic "suite"  a la Guns 'N' Roses' "November Rain".  "Runaway Train" is good example of what works really well here.  Ballad-like opening lasting two minutes replete with pensive lyrics:

"Goodbye...your pocket full of dreams

Your mind in a daze.

Keep on chasing rainbows.

Fly high

Leave the past behind

The dark road you take bears no escape."

Then builds into a moderately heavy, chuggy power metal verse:

"In a world of grand illusions

Where love is just a dream.

You gotta make your sacrifices

Time to pick your poison.

The fool is he who is noble minded

And bellies up to poverty.

He's not a king in the world of diamonds

Paling into oblivion."

Tobias has a whole host of guest appearances here as usual and it adds tremendously to the album in terms of variety, tone, pacing, etc.  I'm not exactly sure who's who when he's not singing but I know there are some big names involved like Klaus Meine of Scorpions fame (okay, I know when he's singing!).  Come verse time, it's usually Tobias belting it out:

"I lay down my soul for glory

I've given a life away.

Don't know if I am sorry

Blind me, blind me.

Don't know where I'll be going

I gotta get away.

From the pain of recollection

Drawn into the faint."

...getting everone ready for the big chorus which is usually an entire cast kind fo thing, effect usually a big poweful sound not unlike a cross between Queen and Def Leppard, the best of two somewhat divergent sounds:

"Hang on to a runaway train

No turning back

Tethered to a runaway train

Take me away

Torpedo in the wind and rain

No turning back

Hang on to a runaway train.

Take me away."

These are big, anthemic songs that, while they really don't make a lot of sense lyrically sometimes (Tobias is German), always impart a sense of epic hope amidst the somewhat melancholic bedrock.  Other similar tracks that work well here include "Blowing Out The Flame", "Alone I Remember", and "The Edge".

Really, there's exactly one album's worth of excellent material and another album's worth of good to medicore power metal and power ballads.  Both albums offer virtually the same experience but, without question, the crown jewel track here is "Runaway Train" so I give a slight edge to "The Wicked Symphony" overall.  Neither album hits the dizzying power metal heights of "The Metal Opera, Part II" or the power ballad peaks of "The Scarecrow" but, all in all, they offer a good macrocosm of the Avantasia experience.  Buy with confidence.

Rating, ANGEL OF BABYLON:  8.0
Rating, THE WICKED SYMPHONY:  8.4