Review Summary: One evening in the land of fantasy.
All characters mentioned below originally appear on the albums The Metal Opera Parts I and II. For readers’ convenience, they are listed below with the singers who gave them their voice indicated in brackets:
Gabriel Laymann (voiced by Tobias Sammet)
Lugaid Vandroiy (voiced by Michael Kiske)
Friar Jakob (voiced by David DeFeis)
Bailiff Falk von Kronberg (voiced by Ralf Zdiarstek)
Anna Held (voiced by Sharon den Adel)
Bishop Johann von Bicken (voiced by Rob Rock)
Pope Clement VIII (voiced by Oliver Hartmann)
Elderane the Elf (voiced by Andre Matos)
Regrin the Dwarf (voiced by Kai Hansen)
Tree of Knowledge (voiced by Bob Catley)
It was a quiet summer evening in Avantasia. I mean, it could have been any season of the year and any time of day, for the land of fantasy had a mind of its own and shuffled hours and seasons as it saw fit. But this time, a quiet summer evening seemed the most appropriate option, for it was a gathering of old friends (and enemies).
Elderane the Elf observed his guests with quiet care and attention. The Tree of Knowledge could be seen in the window behind his back. It was also invited, so for the moment it chose to set its roots near the elf’s palace.
— All right, dear Elderane, – Lugaid Vvandroiy slowly stroked his beard. – We are all here. You said you wanted to talk about music, right?
— Yes, indeed – nodded the elf. – I wanted us all to reminisce on that time when Toby wrote a metal opera about us.
— And you wanted to discuss the second part specifically?
— Yes, of course! Everybody is talking about the first part, while part II is seemingly acknowledged, but kind of forgotten.
— And you did invite everyone! — said Regrin the Dwarf with a hint of tease in his voice. He was sitting on a huge chair, almost a throne, which made him look even smaller than he was. He thought it made him look important. — Even the Pope is here, although he only appears on the first song in the Part II.
— Well, considering that Oliver Hartmann sings my parts, it’s your loss! — the Pope grumbled good-naturedly. He already had some wine and was in a benevolent mood.
— Also, not everyone is here — Anna Held looked around the room. — Is Gabriel joining us tonight?
The elf shrugged:
— Gabriel is hardly ever around these days. He’s still busy exploring the land and bothering everyone he meets with his questions. Dragons are his latest obsession, I believe.
— Besides, without him, we can afford to be more critical towards Toby. — Regrin was definitely in teasing mood today. — Gabriel hates it when we criticize Toby.
— Yes, but what can you do? — said Lugaid apologetically, — Toby and Gabriel have a lot in common, to put it mildly. And anyway, there’s a lot to praise about “The Metal Opera part II” as well.
— Most certainly! — Bishop von Bicken spoke mildly, although his posture remained tense. — For one thing, it starts off great with “Seven Angels.” A 14-minutes song that flows perfectly without any dragging parts.
— Also, almost every singer is in it, and they all have an actual purpose, instead of just being crammed in. — the Pope spoke again. — Must be the most exciting song about the Apocalypse ever!
— Don’t forget about “The Final Sacrifice,” lads! — friar Jacob has been anxious to join the discussion for quite some time. — What a song! On later albums, Toby would bring in Ralf Sheepers, Tim Owens, and even Mille Petrozza when he wanted to go for something heavier and more intense, but this one remains special. “We wanna burn no more, so pull us out!” — suddenly roared out Jacob, clapped his knees and laughed excitedly.
— Yes, but what about the plot? Not all the characters are treated equally. — the Pope droned petulantly. — I barely get an appearance, and Vandroyi gets killed off early.
— I was not amused by getting killed in “Chalice of Agony” as well! – Regrin joined in eagerly. — although the song slaps.
— At least your characters got to die in a heroic fashion bailiff von Kronberg spoke out for the first time, smiling bitterly. – Mine gets relegated to a secondary subplot.
— Need I remind you that the singer who voiced me has actually died in Toby’s world? — Elderane asked quietly. That cooled everyone off. The room fell silent for a while.
— Remember, it’s not really about the plot. — Vandroyi clearly wanted to appease everybody. — I believe, the main recurring theme is imagination and quest for knowledge. There are two songs dedicated specifically to the subject, but it also gets mentioned in at least “No Return” and “Neverland.” The Tree of Knowledge is secretly the main hero of the story. And it’s voiced by Bob Catley!
All the guests nodded approvingly. Everybody loved Bob Catley. The Tree of Knowledge remained silent. As always, it knew more than everybody else. As always, it wasn’t telling without being asked. But its branches were the first to feel the temperature dropping gradually and the first tiny snowflakes falling on their leaves. Avantasia’s mood was changing for worse, as the land felt a hostile foreign presence. Meanwhile, the discussion went on.
— It’s a miracle that there is a person like Gabriel who actually cares about knowledge in our dreary Middle Ages. — Anna eyed the present clergymen fiercely. — Especially coming from the church background.
— The church is not against knowledge per se. — the bishop’s voice sounded unnaturally soft. — It just wishes that the knowledge was not spread… in uncontrollable fashion.
— Oh, I am well aware of your means of control! In fact, I had a first-hand experience with them. Fire and brimstone, and various torture devices. — Now, Anna focused her attention on the bailiff, her erstwhile torturer, who remained silent throughout the discussion, besides that one replica, but seemed to grow increasingly tense as time went by.
— We agreed to put all of this behind us, haven’t we? — The elf interfered, no longer relaxed. — Let’s talk about music, please.
— Well, — friar Jacob said reluctantly, — the ending of the album is not so strong. Decent, but not strong. The Metal Opera Part I had some of the most epic and diverse songs reserved for the end, but here we get a secondary-plot song and a ballad for the closure. We all know that Toby is not really good with ballads.
— It’s a shame then, that my character only gets to sing the ballads, is it not? — Anna felt a bit more sympathy for friar Jacob than for the rest of the clergy, so she didn’t want to be mean to him. But she still wanted to get him to blush a bit.
— It is a shame! — Jacob was affected by Anna’s teasing but decided to counterattack. — I would like to hear Sharon singing over some more aggressive material. – The friar paused and looked around him puzzlingly. — What is this racket I am hearing? And why is it so cold here all of a sudden?
That was when bailiff von Kronberg stood up abruptly from his chair. His face was pale, but determined as he spoke:
— Seems like it’s time for
secondary characters to take the plot under control! — He shouted several commands in German, and a bunch of city guards clad in steel chainmail and helmets barged into the room. The bailiff uttered a few orders in German, and the city guardsmen seized Regrin and Elderane.
— Impressive, dear bailiff — Elderane seemed unperturbed by everything that transpired, including his own sudden detention — you’ve managed to squeeze a whole squad of your minions through the gate to Avantasia. And for what?
— You and the dwarf are coming with us! — The bailiff’s voice was trembling. — You will stay in my dungeons, and you will cook up some nice dreams for me and the bishop. — I can’t stand all those nightmares anymore!
— There’s no need to take us to your world for that —said Elderane, this time with some actual compassion. — We can help you here.
— Then why didn’t you?! — the bailiff’s voice rose higher. — Can you imagine what I see and hear every time I close my eyes? The screams, the fires, the smell of burning flesh…
— What exactly is going on here? — the Pope was visibly outraged. — How dare you act out without my permission?!
— Restrain the old fool! — von Bicken’s eyes were burning with determination. He held a lot more witch trials and burned a lot more fires than bailiff von Kronberg, and he wasn’t going to let go of what he saw as his only chance to ease his tortured conscience.
— How dare you treat His Holiness like that! — friar Jacob stood up, only to be restrained immediately by the guards, following an abrupt sign from the bailiff.
Nobody will stand in our way! — the bishop cried out. — His Holiness has no power here!
— That’s right. But neither do you.
Gabriel stood in the doorway, wearing an expression of mild distaste on his face. A show-off that he was, he stood in such a way that his shadow loomed over the gathering, compensating for his tiny frame.
— You were supposed to heal
gradually, by staying here, learning kindness and compassion. — Anna spoke out from her chair. — It is not an easy task to heal a soul, even in Avantasia. But, I suppose, your lot just does not get the concept of doing anything gradually. As could be expected from people for whom even the Tree of Knowledge is just a load of timber to burn more heretics on.
— I knew you’d be up to some mischief if I got you all in one place. — Gabriel took a glass ball out of his pocket. Inside the ball you could see a miniature copy of the room in which the gathering took place with tiny figurines of all the guests and the guards included. Also included were tiny snowflakes that started to appear in the actual room as well. — Anna, dear, will you stand beside me for a while, please?
When Anna obliged, Gabriel started shaking the ball, causing the snowflakes to multiply and obscure all the ball’s contents under a milky-white blizzard. As this happened, the Tree of Knowledge started shaking its branches, and the blizzard covered the room as well, obscuring everything and everyone in it in a similar fashion. The blizzard raged for a while, covering the guests and the guards with snow, and upending and lifting in the air some of them. After some time, the snowstorm gradually subsided. Everything was quiet again.
***
— Very funny – grumbled Regrin, digging himself out of the snow — You could have warned us, you know!
— I did ask Anna to step aside. The rest of you are… less essential. — Gabriel smiled thinly. —Now, stop complaining and dig out the elf.
— The elf can take care of himself, thank you! — Elderane brushed the snow off his clothes and sneezed. — What did you do to our ungrateful guests, though?
— Well, the guards were just blown away back to their world. They won’t be able to find a way here on their own. I don’t think they even understood much about where they were and what happened.
— The Pope fell asleep, I think — Lugaid was mildly amused and seemingly unperturbed by small chunks of ice and snow in his beard and hair — I’d say, he can be allowed to stay.
— Yes, him and Jacob can stay tonight and visit Avantasia later, from time to time. They behaved. The other two, though… — Gabriel turned his gaze to the bailiff and the bishop, both visibly confused. — They know the way. If I just send them back, they’d come again to cause more mischief. So, I had to play with their brains a little.
— I see! — Lugaid exclaimed. They think they are…
— …Ralf Zdiarstek and Rob Rock. — Gabriel continued in his stead. — The singers who played their parts in Toby’s Metal Opera. Or at least that’s what they will think when they come to their senses a bit. That way, they can stay here in Avantasia without causing any more harm. Regrin and Elderane, I’m counting on you here.
— Sure, we can work with that — Elderane nodded solemnly. — But we need a little privacy, if you please.
Gabriel smiled again:
— Of course. I still have enough snow left...
Saying that, he raised his snow globe over his head and started shaking it again. Soon, an even bigger snowstorm erupted, obscuring Avantasia from our sight in a giant whirl of snowflakes and milky mist. But any of you are welcome to return anytime, especially if you like reasonably epic, diverse, and inspired power metal with a plethora of amazing singers. The land of fantasy is waiting for people with open hearts and minds.
