By all accounts it was collaborator and guitarist Sascha Paeth who convinced Tobi that this was a feasible option, and that it was something that should be pursued. So it was that, following the release of The Scarecrow, Avantasia took on a short tour during the European festival season, and recordings from that tour make up this album. I guess my thoughts at the time were that if they were going to do it, they should perform all of The Metal Opera from start to finish, with the original band and vocalists. What a show that would have been. Instead, they put together a performing band and a number of vocalists, though not always the ones who were originally involved in the songs that were performed, and did songs ranging over the three albums that had been recorded to that point in time. No doubt this was a much easier way to bring together the concept live, but I admit I would still have loved to have heard my idea out there.
The band put together are all handy vocalists in their own right, which helped to fill the choir chorus through each song, especially guitarist Oliver Hartmann, who is a brilliant singer in his own right. They are helped by the excellent vocals throughout of Amanda Somerville and Cloudy Yang who help to keep that choir up to the required heights and standard. Along with Tobi, who is front and centre on every song throughout the set list, four other members of the Avantasia family are along for the ride, to lend their vocals in various songs along the way. these vocalists are Jorn Lande, who appeared on The Scarecrow album, Andre Matos and Bob Catley, who had both appeared on all three Avantasia albums, and Kai Hansen who was involved in the first two albums. All in all it is a pretty impressive line up of talent.
So how does it all come out? Overall it is as good as you would expect. Some of the songs here are improved markedly in the live environment, while others possibly lose a little bit without the operatic production behind them. The opening foray from the recent album, "Twisted Mind" and "The Scarecrow" soar here impressively, while "Another Angel Down" with Jorn and Tobi duelling on vocals is just brilliant. "Prelude" and "Reach Out For the Light" from the first album sounds amazing, but undoubtedly misses Michael Kiske's amazing vocals on this version. "Inside" becomes a crowd participation number, with Tobi encouraging their singing so they can hear themselves on the live recording. This is followed by "No Return" which kicks things back to a more impressive speed. "The Story Ain't Over" comes from the LOST IN SPACE EP, and mirrors the soft rock overtones of that track "Lost in Space", which follows the excellent "Shelter From the Rain".
The second half of the album showcases the side of Avantasia that is best. Oliver Hartmann shines on "I Don't Believe in Your Love", while the brilliance of songs such as "Avantasia", "Serpents in Paradise", "Promised Land" and "The Toy Master" sound just as terrific here as they did in their natural habitat. The final 'medley' of "Sign of the Cross" and "The Seven Angels" is somewhat cast back from the 18 minutes, as the first 12 minutes of the track are Tobi introducing all the band members, before there is six minutes worth of a medley of these two tracks. I'm all for the ensemble getting their moment of thanks from the audience, but surely that could have extended to a longer version of both of these great tracks? Oh well.
This live album does justice to the live performance of this project. As I mentioned earlier, I would have loved to have heard a production of both The Metal Opera and The Metal Opera Pt. II with the original performers, and who knows, maybe one day we will. As a live album, this still ticks the boxes.
Rating: "Serpents on their way to paradise" 4/5
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