933. Avantasia / Angel of Babylon. 2010. 4/5

The basis of releasing two albums at the same time can be a bit daunting for the fan. While it is initially exciting to get not one but two new albums filled with new material ready to be digested, in the long run it makes it twice as hard, as you have to split your listening time between the two, and try and inhale twice as much material than you would in trying to take in one album's worth. I guess in the long run, much like I did with Guns n' Roses Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II albums you have to treat it like a double album, listen to them back to back and then rotate. In many ways this is probably easier in the fact that the two albums in this case, The Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon, are the final two chapters of Avantasia's concept story, the Wicked Trilogy, so by listening to these albums back to back at least keeps the story in order. Unless you change the order in which you listen to them I guess.

As stated, Angel of Babylon is the third and final chapter of this concept from Tobi Sammet. And as also outlined above, it was a difficult path that I trod in order to not only give both this and its twin album the kind of listening they required in order to enjoy the songs, but also to find out how much I enjoyed the album as a whole. It took some time, more from the fact that I fell in love almost immediately with The Wicked Symphony and so it sucked up a lot of my listening time. Eventually however, I dedicated the time required to this album, to give it the opportunity to show me how good it was of its own accord. While this is another good album from the conglomerate of Avantasia, it is more similar to The Scarecrow than its sister release. By that, I mean there are a few holes here that I don't think appear on The Wicked Symphony, and comparatively throughout it does wane in brilliance to the material on that album.
There is another monster opening track in "Stargazers", which combines the vocal talents of Jorn Lande, Russell Allen, Michael Kiske and Oliver Hartmann with Tobi. At almost ten minutes in length it is a good song again to open the album, with Kiske being the major voice in occupation. This moves into the title track "Angel of Babylon", and "Your Love is Evil", which both also have Jorn on vocals. "Angel of Babylon" moves swiftly along driven by the double kick of the drums and the fast talking vocals along the way. "Your Love is Evil" drops the tempo back a peg and the riff down a notch to a gutteral beginning while Tobi's voice reaches for the heights most of the way.
The next two songs for me are the highlight of the album. I don't know for sure, but I would reckon that "Death is Just a Feeling" was written for Alice Cooper, because not only does it suit his voice, but the singer here pretty much sings it like Alice would anyway! Jon Oliva of Savatage fame makes his appearance on vocals here, and is astonishingly good, making the song his own. Sure, the fact it stands out because it is so different from the other songs around it also helps to individualise it, but Jon's vocals are perfect here. terrific stuff. This is then followed by the electrifying "Rat Race" which picks up speed and the energy, encouraging everyone to sing along and join in the joy of the album. "Down in the Dark" doesn't quite match this, though it is satisfactorily performed by all involved.
"Blowing Out the Flame" is a ballad, a power ballad the likes of which did not appear at all on The Wicked Symphony, and is all the more disappointing because of it. And yet, "Symphony of Life", the only song not written by Tobi - it is written by guitarist Sascha Paeth - and sung magnificently by Cloudy Yang, is a triumph. The complete difference in style of tracks from those around it, just as with "Death is Just a Feeling", makes it stand out from the crowd, and really makes a statement.
"Alone I Remember" is just a rather weak song, not just musically but vocally, and here is part of the problem. The fact that Jorn Lande is so prominent throughout this album tends to water down the effect his influence has on the album as a whole. He appears on six of the tracks, mostly alongside Tobi, and while they both combine together as well as they have done in the past, it sometimes becomes overwhelming, compared to the number of songs other guest vocalists appear on. Obviously this occurs because of the importance of Jorn's character within the story, but it doesn't detract from the fact that it feels like it's just a little too much. Having said that, they both appear in the following song "Promised Land", which regains the momentum lost with the previous song, and has both vocalists utilising their strengths rather than just going along for the ride.
The final song of the album, and the Trilogy, is "Journey to Arcadia" and is a fitting way to bring the circle to a close. The chorus of singers brings a great harmony to this final track, and the excellent contributions from Bob Catley and Russell Allen really lift this final song to its rightful elevation at the conclusion of the journey.

While not being as strong overall as its same-day-of-release partner, this is another excellent addition to the Avantasia catalogue. It may not have as many stand out tracks, nor may it be as perfect in an overall sense, but it is an album that not only completes the story being told, but ends it in a way that is satisfying to the majority of the fans of this project.

Rating:   "Dead and alive, come a little closer".  4/5