The official Avantasia and Edguy thread v Moonflower Society - Oct 21st

[TAC]

Is it bad of me that I love this band so much, yet I've never followed any of the stories?  Anyone else in the same boat.  I love listening to them but I just don't have the energy to read along and followed the story for each album.

That is something I would've done back when I was in school. Maybe a little  to help..

[wolfking]

Is it bad of me that I love this band so much, yet I've never followed any of the stories?  Anyone else in the same boat.  I love listening to them but I just don't have the energy to read along and followed the story for each album.

That is something I would've done back when I was in school. Maybe a little  to help..

Or maybe some warm milk.

[wolfking]

Had a listen to the new song and well, it's Avantasia, but very high quality.  Hansi sounds epic.

But....

Listening to The Raven Child now. This song needs Bruce Dickinson. I like it!

First thought too, this is written for him.  The softer part at around 7:00 is a blatant rip of the melodies from Where the Wild Wind Blows.

The ending is very good and classic Tobi and reminds me heavily of the Scarecrow.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I think the Scarecrow trilogy is the Tobi's best approach to a story; enough there that you can follow what's happening if you want, but not the overly literal 'this is what is happening' approach of the Metal Opera.

[Bolsters]

Is it bad of me that I love this band so much, yet I've never followed any of the stories?  Anyone else in the same boat.  I love listening to them but I just don't have the energy to read along and followed the story for each album.

I don't bother either.

[Kwyjibo]

Is it bad of me that I love this band so much, yet I've never followed any of the stories?  Anyone else in the same boat.  I love listening to them but I just don't have the energy to read along and followed the story for each album.

There is so many good music out there where I don't know what the lyrics are about, especially when it comes to concept records, so I don't care here either. The lyrics have a nice ring to it and are nice to sing along to, that's all I need.

[Logain Ablar]

Is it bad of me that I love this band so much, yet I've never followed any of the stories?  Anyone else in the same boat.  I love listening to them but I just don't have the energy to read along and followed the story for each album.

I'm the same - I'm not really interested in the story. I don't even know what the thread running through TMOT/Ghostlights/Moonglow is supposed to be about. I just like the music for what it is.

[MirrorMask]

Moonglow is a new story, the previous one ended with Ghostlights.

What I gathered from the previous storylines...

THE WICKED TRILOGY:

A tormented and disturbed composer wants to create music. He falls in love, he gets dumped, he directs his energies into creating a symphony that will show the world (and the girl) how awesome he is, then says "screw it" and symbolically tells the girl to piss off, and then gets... ehr... lost in space, I assume metaphorically.

He dives deep into addiction (chops his breafkast on a mirror so to speak), refuses the hollow fame and glory, and eventually ends up in a padded cell in an asylum. Maybe one day he will find true love however. Maybe. Dunno.

THE MYSTERY OF TIME SAGA:

The protagonist, Aaron-something (can't remember now), is a young alchemist in a fanstastic version of the 1800's that stumbles upon a conspiracy about a secret organization that.... mh... controls time? steampunk sheaningans ensue and, in the second act, some ghostlights appear. Dunno. There's also the devil in there somewhere. Eventually we meet the master of the pendulum, the villain that... mh... does stuff? it all ends somehow with obsidian skies. Really, I can't make more of this.

[Kwyjibo]

Sometimes it's better not to know what it's all about than to understand everything and realize the story isn't really that good. 

[wolfking]

Moonglow is a new story, the previous one ended with Ghostlights.

What I gathered from the previous storylines...

THE WICKED TRILOGY:

A tormented and disturbed composer wants to create music. He falls in love, he gets dumped, he directs his energies into creating a symphony that will show the world (and the girl) how awesome he is, then says "screw it" and symbolically tells the girl to piss off, and then gets... ehr... lost in space, I assume metaphorically.

He dives deep into addiction (chops his breafkast on a mirror so to speak), refuses the hollow fame and glory, and eventually ends up in a padded cell in an asylum. Maybe one day he will find true love however. Maybe. Dunno.

THE MYSTERY OF TIME SAGA:

The protagonist, Aaron-something (can't remember now), is a young alchemist in a fanstastic version of the 1800's that stumbles upon a conspiracy about a secret organization that.... mh... controls time? steampunk sheaningans ensue and, in the second act, some ghostlights appear. Dunno. There's also the devil in there somewhere. Eventually we meet the master of the pendulum, the villain that... mh... does stuff? it all ends somehow with obsidian skies. Really, I can't make more of this.

What the fuck am I listening to?

[jingle.boy]

Sometimes it's better not to know what it's all about than to understand everything and realize the story isn't really that good. 

This.

I mean, it's not The Astonishing, but if that's the synopsis, it's a horrible story.  I just enjoy the songs for themselves.

[cramx3]

The story never seemed to be important to the music so I never really followed. 

[The Walrus]

Saw a comment on Facebook that said, "This song [TRC] has AARP written all over it" 

[TAC]

The story never seemed to be important to the music so I never really followed.

The stories just seemed like really loose plots. But if that helps Tobi focus his songwriting, then great.


Also want to give a  to the Cover Art. It's spectacular. Again.

[cramx3]

Here is the official lyric video with good audio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTN2ZzpQRh4

Love this Hansi intro, sounds so beautiful and then it gets so heavy and powerful. 

In 2016 I had Ghostlight as my album of the year over DT's TA.  (they were actually released on the same day) and based on the singles so far, I might be liking Moonglow over Distance Over Time (will be released 3 weeks apart).  And I really liked DT's single, that's just how much I am loving The Raven Child.

[TAC]

Someone asked about Kiske in the comments following the Japan announcement on FB. Kiske is not touring. I still may go, but I'm not jumping on it right now.

[ErHaO]

Love the new song!

[Evermind]

HOLY SHIT

 

The last part was a bit jarring because of its similarity to The Scarecrow, but overall this is great. I like it way way more than Let the Storm Descend Upon You. Amazing!

[Grappler]

That's a pretty kickass song.  I wish they had used Hansi in the ending to mix it up from the similarity of the finale of The Scarecrow, but other than that, I have no complaints.  Hansi is always so majestic sounding and Jorn kills it like usual.

[jingle.boy]

Excellent song.  Guaranteed day-1 insta-purchase.

[Evermind]

Excellent song.  Guaranteed day-1 insta-purchase.

Have you noticed this, by the way?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTN2ZzpQRh4&feature=youtu.be&t=552

https://youtu.be/YZNe9beasg8?t=53

[Logain Ablar]

Excellent song.  Guaranteed day-1 insta-purchase.

Totally agree. I've listened to it a lot today and I'm loving the song. The production is also excellent - Sascha has done a great job.

[MirrorMask]

I like it way way more than Let the Storm Descend Upon You. Amazing!

Wow  if this is true, we're in for an absolute real treat!

[Evermind]

I like it way way more than Let the Storm Descend Upon You. Amazing!

Wow  if this is true, we're in for an absolute real treat!

Spoiler: I don't really like Let the Storm Descend Upon You.

[The Walrus]

I think Storm is pretty good other than the middle section. The whole 'cut the gem until it's purified away' (WTF?!) makes me cringe, and I love cheesy things. But it's balanced out by the incredible hooks, that chorus is gold.

I'm only seeing universal praise for the song on YouTube, Facebook, and here, and although I'm not talking about any of you, I'm wondering if part of that is the 'cult of Tobi' effect (seeing as he's become a megastar in the genre), lots of comments about 'this is my favorite song ever' - maybe I'm getting old really fast, but up until Ghostlights there were Metal Opera detractors on every Facebook post, and now they're nowhere to be found, I wonder how many 12 year olds are getting into the band the way I did in the early 00s 

On that note I'll strongly suggest bosk listen to The Seven Angels...

[MirrorMask]

Metal Opera detractors? I thought the fanbase consensus was that the Metal Opera albums are the best thing ever, the true Keeper III, and albums that Tobi should write over and over and over and over again, with The Scarecrow being an abomination that dared to have poppish songs on the album rather than more dungeons and dragons.

[bosk1]

I'm not really aware of any "cult of Tobi."  But maybe it's just because I'm more of a casual fan (this being only my third release cycle with them, and me not liking the last one that much).  I just know I like the song.  It doesn't jump out at me as being something I would consider their "best."  But it checks all the boxes for what made me initially like the band to begin with. 

[The Walrus]

Metal Opera detractors? I thought the fanbase consensus was that the Metal Opera albums are the best thing ever, the true Keeper III, and albums that Tobi should write over and over and over and over again, with The Scarecrow being an abomination that dared to have poppish songs on the album rather than more dungeons and dragons.

Yeah that was poorly worded on my part, but that's what I meant; detractors who are Metal Opera purists. In their defense, I can't blame them too much; it's one thing to write different music, but when you fall in love with certain elements that almost entirely disappear in later albums, it is hard to stay interested or understand the newfound popularity.

I'm not really aware of any "cult of Tobi."  But maybe it's just because I'm more of a casual fan (this being only my third release cycle with them, and me not liking the last one that much).  I just know I like the song.  It doesn't jump out at me as being something I would consider their "best."  But it checks all the boxes for what made me initially like the band to begin with. 

Yeah, it's just something I've noticed being an Internet nerd big on following the band since the early-mid 00s, Tobi gets massive massive praise amongst the power metal crowd as the early Edguy and Avantasia stuff is among the best power metal out there. Rightfully so; my favorite album he ever wrote was written when he was a freaking teenager and he's been riding high for over 20 years since.

[Polarbear]

I would have loved to be the fly, in the ceiling of the Nuclear Blast HQ, when Tobi was pitching the 10 minute epic of the album as the single..

But yeah, incredible song! Better than the epic on "Ghostlights" for sure.

[Logain Ablar]

In some alternate universe I can imagine Bruce Dickinson doing guest vocals on an Avantasia album, trading parts with Jorn Lande and it’s one of the best things ever. 

[Evermind]

Metal Opera detractors? I thought the fanbase consensus was that the Metal Opera albums are the best thing ever, the true Keeper III, and albums that Tobi should write over and over and over and over again, with The Scarecrow being an abomination that dared to have poppish songs on the album rather than more dungeons and dragons.

I think that was true since 2008 and perhaps to ~2015, and now with Ghostlights and this new one the perspective is shifting. Tobias kept mentioning how the press kept bashing him for his new direction for Avantasia and he still decided to stick with it, and with Ghostlights, the press is finally coming to his side, meaning, I quote here, he "must be doing something right" now.

That being said, The Metal Opera pt. 1 is still my favourite album from him. Just amazing from start to finish.

[cramx3]

But yeah, incredible song! Better than the epic on "Ghostlights" for sure.

My initial thoughts are that I like it more than Storm too, but it's early. 

In some alternate universe I can imagine Bruce Dickinson doing guest vocals on an Avantasia album, trading parts with Jorn Lande and it’s one of the best things ever. 

Reading this made me moist

[ErHaO]

If there is one thing I'd change in the new song, it would be either swapping Jorn with Hansi in the end or (preferably) swapping Tobi with Hansi. Not because I am such a fan of Hansi's voice (I mean, I am), but because it almost sounds like a reprise of the Scarecrow finale. Having a different voice would've made it a bit more distinct. That said, I never liked the Scarecrow all that much but that part I always liked, so hearing a super similar part in a song that I overall prefer is still good.

Still, several listens and I really like it a lot, so I am stoked hearing the rest of the album next year!

[MirrorMask]

Heard the song once, I guess it sounds exactly like one would imagine a recent Avantasia epic, maybe towards the end it gets too close to Scarecrow territory.

It's good but, because of the "been there" factor, I don't have my jaw dropped. I'm still getting the album anyway, so I'll probably refrain to listen to it more, just to not spoil it too much.

Also, the lyric video announces the album for February 15th - is it just me or it was announced for the 1st originally?

[Evermind]

I actually thought the song was pretty fresh to my ears except that last part. Loved the celtic elements added.