Avantasia

Avantasia began in 1999 as a studio-only, two-album metal opera conceived by Tobias Sammet, the Edguy vocalist and songwriter. The German project was built around concept albums and a rotating cast of singers and musicians, bringing the scale of rock opera to power metal. Its name combines Avalon and fantasia, or “fantasy”, and refers to “a world beyond human imagination”, as described in the booklet for its debut album.

The opening phase ran from 1999 to 2002 and produced a self-titled single, followed by The Metal Opera and The Metal Opera Part II. Although initially intended as a limited studio project, Avantasia expanded into an ongoing recording and touring venture, with Sammet at its centre. The project has toured internationally and released further concept records across several distinct periods.

From 2006 to 2011, Avantasia issued the Lost in Space EPs and the trilogy of The Scarecrow, The Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon. A later run from 2013 to 2016 included The Mystery of Time and Ghostlights. The next period brought Moonglow and A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society, released between 2019 and 2022. Here Be Dragons marks the project’s fifth and current era.

Guest performers have remained central to Avantasia’s records and live presentations. Its collaborators have included singers Michael Kiske, Jørn Lande, Alice Cooper, Klaus Meine, Dee Snider, Hansi Kürsch, Jon Oliva, Geoff Tate, Bob Catley, Sharon den Adel, Floor Jansen and Marko Hietala, alongside musicians such as Kai Hansen, Rudolf Schenker, Bruce Kulick, Sascha Paeth, Eric Singer and Jens Johansson. The result is a long-running ensemble project rooted in Sammet’s songwriting, with different voices taking roles across its fantasy-based narratives.