Rejoice! The magical German ‘metal opera’ project Avantasia are back with their 10th album, Here Be Dragons, an uproarious new video for punchy, three-minute advance cut Creepshow (filmed at Allerton Castle in Yorkshire); and a show at London’s prestigious Roundhouse venue.
To celebrate the return of this symphonic supergroup and their rotating stack of megastar guest vocalists, we got hold of Avantasia mastermind, Edguy frontman and all-round lovely chap Tobias Sammet, and asked him your questions about all the important subjects, from Freddie Mercury to giant rats.
What’s the most metal opera?
Alex Badger, email
“I know of one or two that are called The Metal Opera, so based on the name alone they’ve got to be the most metal operas! I have no idea, because the funny thing is, although I like the stories, I like the staging, the visual approach, the narrative aspect, and I like the chandeliers, I was never into opera music. I like classical music, but as soon as they start to sing, they sound like sirens –it turns me off!”
You’ve had the likes of Floor Jansen and Geoff Tate as guests on Avantasia songs. Who’s been your favourite?
Jade Whitfield, email
“That’s a question I cannot answer for political reasons! Everybody fills a special type of song with their own life and soul. It’s a massive puzzle, and everybody is important, so I really couldn’t say favourites. That sounds like a cheap excuse, but I’m really happy about everybody!”
Who’s still on your guest wishlist?
Joel Watkins, Facebook
“I stopped making bucket lists, because if you approach it like that you become one of those ‘all-star’ projects, which I don’t think Avantasia is at this point. But I wouldn’t mind working with Bruce Dickinson. Just for personal, sentimental reasons, because he’s been a huge inspiration for me since I was a kid. I’ve met him a couple of times, he’s a very nice chap, and a great singer who had a great impact on what I’m doing. But I think he’s got other things to do! Bruce, if you read this and think that would be a nice thing to do, call me, we can make this work! I’m not that expensive!”
Creepshow feels like a very Edguy-esque track in a few different ways. Was this intentional, and does the rest of the album have the same feel? Lukas Neilson, Facebook
“‘Intentional’ would sound like I sat down with a plan, and most things I do just come the way they come. But I have to say, most of the time in the past, Avantasia was about that misunderstood melancholic kid. I had to get lots of things off my chest. On this album I really enjoyed just writing a party song and letting it take me in its own direction. Our webmaster said the new album reminds him of [Edguy albums] Hellfire Club and Theatre Of Salvation. I don’t think the songs are similar, but they’ve got this youthful energy, full of piss and vinegar. Every song makes a strong impact, which I think gives it a certain Edguy feel.”
Hammer: Was making the Creepshow video as much fun as it looks?
“It was a lot of fun. I don’t like video shoots, because most of the time is spent waiting for your cue, then sitting around for another two hours until you’re back on camera, but with this video we had the whole setting and the atmosphere. Everybody knows I love England – I’m like an English kid trapped in the body of an ageing German! The castle was so typically British, in a remote place outside York. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, so when I entered that castle and saw all these actors, costumes and masks, the lighting… everything was so magical, almost a setting from an old Hammer Studios film. Sascha [Paeth], our guitarist, told me that evening that it was one of the best experiences he’s ever had in his music career. That says something – he’s even older than me!”
What advice would you give to young bands? Swetlana Adler, Facebook
“That’s difficult, I can’t even remember being young at this point! The music business has changed so much. What I can say from my perspective is do what you feel. Most likely you’ll fail, but failing at something you love is much better than failing at something someone else told you to do, that you didn’t believe in in the first place.
Stick to what you believe in and work hard at it. Do what makes you happy, then if you succeed there’s a chance you’ll make somebody else happy. Eric Singer [the drummer] of Kiss told me that when you get a chance in life, once you’ve taken that chance, another door will open up, you’ll be given more chances to make it further up from that level, and that is true."
Who would be your dream dinner guest, living or dead?
Rosie O’Donnell, email
“Of course everybody would say Freddie Mercury, because he was such an interesting character; the way he wrote and performed, the things he’d have to say, his whole life story, and he had a good tongue-in-cheek British sense of humour! So that’d be something.”
Do you think Edguy helped the power metal genre survive?
Briony Marshall, email
“Helped? We made the genre survive! Ha ha ha! We were one of the first bands there when it was getting back on the map, but there were others. Helloween were always there, and Gamma Ray and Stratovarius, then of course there was the third wave like Dragonforce, and it was getting bigger. But when I started playing music, I’d never heard the term ‘power metal’. Heavy metal was powerful by nature. I never sat racking my brains about ‘Is our record power metal, or hard rock, or hard metal, or Hollywood metal, even?’ It’s music, and you either like it or not. But if it helps the industry to market your music, let them call it whatever they want!”
When are Edguy coming back?
Alexandre Jeannin, Facebook
“Good question! I have no idea, really. It’s not that I don’t care, that’s a misconception. The truth is, we got together as 14-year-old kids. Nobody could sing, nobody could play an instrument, nobody could write songs… and we developed, side-by-side, at the same pace.
But at a certain point we were going in different directions. Everyone has a different work ethic and a different approach to how things should be done, and people started to argue. After a while, 90% of the energy was going into trying to find compromises, and that’s not easy especially if you’re the one who does really everything.
With Avantasia I can produce an album in two months. With Edguy, in two months we haven’t even agreed what key the first song should be in! We still get along, but everybody has found different ways to make their living. The book is not shut yet. God knows what’s going to happen or when, but it won’t be soon. I wouldn’t mind singing those songs onstage again, but right now I don’t miss it enough to bear the stomach ache I had going to the rehearsal room every day.”
Who would play you in a movie of your life?
Andi Price, email
“I haven’t been approached that often, but how about Justin Hawkins? Or, more likely, I’d play him in a movie about The Darkness!”
Would you rather fight a horse-sized rat, or 100 rat-sized horses?
Joe Cartwright, email
“Just to see the horse-sized rat, I’d go with that one! I wouldn’t fight little baby horses. I want to fight a mean, giant rat. Rats can destroy anything, but tiny horses, they’d be more like guinea pigs, I wouldn’t fight those!”
Would Avantasia ever consider making a tie-in novel/comic/movie?
Ellie Windmill, email
“No, but oftentimes when I started a story for a new album, I’d approach it like a novel. But there was a point when I realised, novels and metal opera concept albums are very different art forms. I don’t believe they are as connected as some people think. When you write a novel, you have to mind rules that are completely different from what you do in an album format.
But this is the 10th Avantasia album, and it’s the first one where I didn’t put the storyline first. There’s a common thread, a feeling and a basic world lying underneath, but I wanted to write individual songs and short stories. And it was such a relief, it was so liberating.”
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Chris Loynes, email
“I don’t have a karaoke song, but today in the shower I have been singing that 80s pop song Your Love by The Outfield, and I love to sing Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield. He was a two-hit wonder. [Actually, Rick had five US Top 10 singles! - 80s Rock Ed.] But who am I to talk? I’m a no-hit wonder!”
Avantasia's latest album Here Be Dragons is out now via Napalm. Avantasia play London's Roundhouse on March 28.
