The Wicked Symphony - Gothic Dark Fantasy Music Album for Halloween, RPG Gaming & Vampire Themed Parties | Perfect for Spooky Atmosphere & Dark Fantasy Lovers

I've know about this band for a number of years now, but I literally just started listening to them a coup'la weeks ago w/the stellar "The ScareCrow" from '08, & this, the 2nd part of the trilogy that started w/'ScareCrow' is almost as equally amazing too! Tobias Sammet is just an amazing & passionate singer, w/this band/project & his own band EdGuy-I saw them open for Kamelot in '08 at B.B. Kings in N.Y.C., & it was my 1st time ever seeing EdGuy, & they just blew me away w/their live show! I even met Tobias Sammet after the show too, & got my pic taken w/him & he autographed my ticket as well. He was a really down to Earth & cool dude! He didn't come across as rude, nor arrogant-genuinely nice guy! He patiently talked to & signed LOADS of EdGuy & Avantasia CD's & merch for fans. I also met Casey Grillo that night too, & got y pic w/him & my gf, & his autograph as well.Anyway, back to the review: :PThe only song on here that I'm kind of not too sure about is "States Of Matter", despite the phenomenally talented Russell Allen of NJ Prog Metallers Sym X on lead vocals on this track, the lyrics just seem to not connect w/the rest of the CD, & I just don't get it is all. Maybe after some more spins in my BR player, I will? I don't know. But, the rest of the album is just amazing! Some awesome contributions on here from the likes of the aforementioned Allen as well as Tim "The Ripper " Owens (ex. Priest, Iced Earth, Beyond Fear,...) on the Speed-Metall-y "Scales Of Justice" which just is right up Tim's alley. It was nice to hear him singing something new-er, as I LOVED his contribution to the 2 CD's he sang on for Iced Earth (too bad Jon Schaffer screwed him over BIG time!-he'd be a much better replacement for Barlow-AGAIN-then a Death Metal grunter!), as well as his singing for Priest & more recently his own band Beyond Fear.Jorn Lande-(ANOTHER phenomenal singer!)-& Michael Kiske also sang their lungs out on this too! I was never a fan of Helloween, I just always found them to be cheesy, but Kiske's voice is just awesome! Not tom mention The Scorps's Klaus Meine giving it his all on "Dying For An Angel" in a passionate ballad duet w/Sammet.I wish that they had noted which sections were sung by which guest vocalists though, as some who appeared on this album, well, I'm not familiar w/their work, nor their voices, I'd just like to know who's who, as many guest singers collaborated on the same song(s) & Jorn Lande on the title track sounds quite a bit like Russell Allen-well, to me anyway-& I've been listening to Sym X since '03. I've only heard the CD once since I got the other day, so I can't do a song-by-song breakdown w/a more explicit review of this album, but suffice it to say that if you love melodic Symphonic Power Metal w/soaring, passionate vocals, great melodies & harmonies, as well as some killer guitars & drums coming from such talents as Eric Singer & Bruce Kulick of KI$$, Sasha Paeth (long-time Kamelot producer), & a guy named Miro who did orchestration on here & who's done work on just about EVERY Kamelot CD, then you will LOVE this band!There are other contributors but names I am not familiar w/. & for background vocals there is Amanda Somerville, & Cinzia Rizzo, plus Robert Hunnecke who have also done some greta background vocals & vocalizations on several Kamelot CD's as well.Tobias Sammet just seems to keep getting bigger & bigger w/this band/project, & it seems as though Avantasia is even surpassing his original/current band EdGuy in terms of fame & recognition. But, luckily he is still involved w/them, as they are a kick-ass metal band in their own right.I have since bought part III of this trilogy "Angel Of Babylon", which I have yet to hear, but saw the vid online for "SleepWalking" w/the gorgeous voiced Cloudy Yang doing a duet w/Sammet, & it's just a gorgeous power ballad! I can't WAIT to hear the rest of that CD too! I REALLY hope that one day Tobias Sammet brings his 'Metal Opera' to the USA for a FULL Headline tour, as that would be just AWESOME! Especially if he can manage to gather most, if not all of the vocal talent that contributed to CD, on the songs they'd play live to tour the USA w/them. I gotta get the rest of their catalog now, & next up is their Live DVD/CD set, as I watched the live vid for "ScareCrow" from that Live DVD, &n it was just killer! Even better than the studio version. & the "Twisted mind" from it as well-it's just too bad that they couldn't get Khan to do his parts on that song live too. But, it's KILLER nonetheless!So, just get it if you are into this style like I said above, you will not be disappointed! \m/ \m/