The new
Avantasia album is finally here and I'm sure it is going to receive a mixed reception. If you are looking for "
Avantasia - The Metal Opera Part III" then you are bound to be disappointed. Tobias Sammet has taken his pet project in a new direction and there is little or no direct connection with the two previous Power Metal pearls. This
Avantasia album is best described as a piece of symphonic heavy rock with bits of other genres thrown in to add variety. Spanning from very commercial pop rock songs through complex and challenging compositions the album is a mixed bag, luckily with an prevailing amount of strong songs.
Despite my fears of the opposite, The Scarecrow is a good album. I thought the videos for the first two songs released online (
Lost in space and
Carry me over) were terrible in every way. Commercialised music of the worst kind. Seen in conjuntion with the other songs on the album they make a bit more sense, but those two songs are the weakest on the album.
Lost in space however benefits from ending the album and gives it a certain feeling of closure. Both songs are still way below the quality I would expect Tobias to put on an
Avantasia album.
This time the concept deals with personal struggles in the art of love. Absolutely nothing fairytale-like about that. The story seems very personal, but fails to connect as everything is delivered in a too direct and obvious way. The lyrics are on the wrong side of inspiring.
As with the previous
Avantasia albums several guest singers appear on the album and the songs often feel like they have been tailored to the specific guest singer. Especially Alice Cooper, Roy Kahn and
Jorn Lande stand out and deliver brilliant performances.
The rest are a pleasure as well.
Michael Kiske is as you would expect, Amanda Somerville adds a nice contrast to the album while Oliver Hatmann and Bob Catley sing their parts with conviction.
It is in the music where the album disappoints ever so much. Several melodies and parts are unoriginal and several songs fail to excite. Ok, I may be harsh, but the
Avantasia name has a lot to live up to after releasing two of the finest Power Metal albums ever. The Scarecrow fails to live up to its legacy.
There is a slightly rushed feeling to the album. I noticed a couple of places where Oliver
Hartmann (
I don't believe in your love around 0:56) and Roy Kahn's (
Twisted mind around 3:46) vocal melodies could have been more impressive with a bit more work.
I'll go into a bit more detail with each song.
Roy Kahn opens the show with a fine performance on
Twisted Mind. The heavy, mid-tempo song is high on atmosphere and the chorus quickly makes an impression.
The 11 minute title track is flavored with a slight middle eastern atmosphere and orchestral passages. Another very good and ambitious song which is only dragged down by its long instrumental middle section.
Jorn Lande gives the song a convincing feeling of authority.
Shelter from the rain starts out as a run of the mill Power Metal song but is enhanced greatly by Kai Hansen and Henjo Richter trading guitar solos as well as Bob Catley's appearance halfway through. It is also good to hear
Michael Kiske back in action. The beginning of the song brings a quick flashback to the incredible
Chalice of Agony from
Avantasia II, but the song never reaches the same heights.
Carry me over, one of the album's simplest songs, is a slick, highly melodic and utterly boring song. It holds absolutely no lasting interest whatsoever. Take a listen to the terrible drum sound in the first verse and you might hear that this attempt at reaching a bigger audience is a complete disaster. Lyrics, music and their whole delivery unite in a sad expressionless failure.
What kind of love is a nice ballad with Amanda Somerville as the main attraction, but it is almost ruined by electronic effects. I just can't get over the artificial feel those effects and that drum sound give the song.
Another Angel down is a great song which also appeared on the Lost in Space EP.
Jorn Lande rules this song.
The real jewel of the album is Alice Cooper's appearance in
The Toy Master. A song that pretty much rescues the whole album and warrants a purchase all by itself. Alice has a way of capturing the listener completely and the song fits his raspy voice perfectly.
Devil in the Belfry is another powerful highlight. It captures some of the grandness I had come to associate with the
Avantasia name. Especially the way
Jorn Lande delivers the line
"Into the opera like moths to the flame. Spellbind their senses to follow the hero" rekindles some of the lost magic. If only there had been more moments like this one.
After this superb trilogy of songs the album winds down again with
Cry just a little. A nice enough ballad with a good performance by Bob Catley, but it doesn't really hold any lasting interest.
I don't believe in your love is a high quality heavy rocker. Tobias delivers a great performance here and the way the song builds is just fantastic. The song has tension and makes a powerful impact. A definite highlight. Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions) and Oliver
Hartmann make great guest appearances as well though Oliver sounds somewhat off as he exits the first verse as I mentioned earlier.
Lost in space strangely fits at the end of the album. The song is another slick melodic thing. My main problem with the song is that after one listen there is nothing more to discover.
It is not worth paying extra for the limited edition. The bonus DVD includes a too short song by song interview with Tobias as well as videos for
Carry me over and
Lost in space. The alternate versions of
I don't believe in your love and
The toy master are of most interest.
I hold the works of Tobias Sammet in high regard, but he has taken some serious missteps on this latest
Avantasia album as I have also pointed out in the review.
There is no
Chalice of Agony here but several smaller, glorious pieces of music roam free on an album that is bumpy and rough around the edges.
I had hopes for something truly spectacular but The Scarecrow is "just" a good album. Give it a chance to grow before you make up your mind.
Written by
Steen Sunday, February 3, 2008
Show all reviews by SteenRatingsSteen: 6.5/10Members: 6.25/10 - Average of 2 ratings.
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 | Craig
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