Avantasia Biography
Avantasia was an all-star side project headed by Tobias Sammet, lead singer of the prog-tinged German power metal band Edguy. While recording a guest appearance from Blind Guardian singer Hansi Kursch with his regular band, Sammet conceived of a massive-scale rock opera featuring the cream of the current power metal scene. He spent a year composing the material, named the "band" Avantasia, and recruited a variety of vocalists to tell his story: Gamma Ray's Kai Hansen, Stratovarius' Timo Tolkki, Virgin Steele's David DeFeis, Angra's Andre Matos, Warrior's Rob Rock, and Within Temptation's Sharon Den Adel. For the backing band, Sammet gathered guitarists Jens Ludwig (Edguy) and Henjo Richter (Gamma Ray), bassist Markus Grosskopf (Helloween), and drummer Alex Holzwarth (Rhapsody). The album, The Metal Opera, was filled with tried-and-true fantasy themes and anthemic, progressive pomp-metal; it was released by Century Media in the summer of 2001. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Popular Biographies:
Be your own pet Biography: Blasting out of Nashville, TN, like a bottle rocket, the teenage garage-noise-pop band Be Your Own Pet makes music that's as frenzied as it is catchy. The band formed in 2003 out of the ashes of...
Babe ruth Biography: Progressive rock unit Babe Ruth was formed in Hertfordshire, England in 1971 by singer Janita "Jenny" Haan, guitarist Alan Shacklock (whose surname lent the group their original moniker), and bassist...
Kix Biography: Originally calling themselves Shooze and eventually changing their name to the Generators and ultimately, Kix, Baltimore's favorite hard rock band garnered quite a reputation for themselves as one of...
Fettes brot Biography: Dubbed "Hamburg's hip-hop dinosaur" by its own members, German trio Fettes Brot is perhaps best likened to the Beastie Boys, sharing with their American counterparts a similar longevity, a comparably...
Green jelly Biography: Green Jelly began life as Green Jello in 1981 in Kenmore, New York. The name was chosen due to the band's poor opinion of that flavor, and they decided that it also appropriately reflected the...
Stackridge Biography: Stackridge, one of the most singular rock bands that grew up in the soil sown and enriched by the British Invasion of the '60s, coalesced in late 1969. Andy Davis and Jim "Crun" Walter...
At the gates Biography: One of the more melodic death metal bands to expand beyond Sweden and spread their sound across the world alongside peers such as Entombed, At the Gates played a significant role in the death metal...
Evergreen terrace Biography: Presenting raging tunes of a brutal blended sound featuring reckless metal marks and punk rock-inspired strains, Evergreen Terrace delivers their own particular melodic vision of the hardcore style....