Band:	Avantasia
Album:	The Metal Opera Part II
Style:	Symphonic power metal
Release date:	August 2002

01. The Seven Angels
02. No Return
03. The Looking Glass
04. In Quest For
05. The Final Sacrifice
06. Neverland
07. Anywhere
08. Chalice Of Agony
09. Memory
10. Into The Unknown
11. Chalice Of Agony [edit version]
12. Avantasia [single version]

by Emalaith:

There are some albums that are simply greater than others and this one belongs in the first category. For me personally, the release of Avantasia II could not have come at a better time. Avantasia changed my life [in a very sweet way] and Avantasia II was to set everything in stone...

The album begins with a wonderful overture that contains several different choruses, rhythm changes, and atmospheres and introduces almost all of the Avantasia II cast. Like on Avantasia I, Tobi tells the story of Gabriel the Monk not simply through dialogues and monologues but leaves a lot of the story-telling to the music itself. For instance, on track 9 ['Memory'] you will know from the first note that this song deals with the bad guys and you can just feel the pain and anguish conveyed on track 5 ['The Final Sacrifice']. To fully comprehend the [rather complex] story, the best way, of course, is to take the booklet and read along as the story unfolds.

The most notable tracks are the aforementioned track 1 ['The Seven Angels'] and the incredible tracks 3 ['The Looking Glass'] and 4 ['In Quest For'], owing to Magnum's Bob Catley. Oh my God, how I have missed his smokey, raspy, emotional voice! He does a most excellent job in his dialogue with Gabriel and I can only imagine how cool it must have been for Tobi to work with one of his idols ["hey Bob, you wanna be a tree on my next album?"].

My only complaint is that the angelique and beautiful Sharon den Adel gets about 2 seconds of airtime, which she, of course, fills most wonderfully, but which leave us longing for more. On the other hand, David DeFeis [one of my all-time favorite singers] gets to shine on 'The Final Sacrifice', the heaviest track on the album. And although Gabriel [Tobi] appears on every single track, he leaves ample room for the other incredible voices.

You have to admire Tobi for his enthusiasm and devotion. Completing a project like Avantasia was no small task and the result speaks for itself. Like part one, this album will grow on you as you listen to it more and the pieces start to fit. It is definitely a worthy continuation of the ingenious Avantasia I!


by Dream Taster:

Even if I agree with Emalaith on several points, I think that this album is not as good as Avantasia Part I. Of course 'The Seven Angels' is wonderful with all its variations. Of course 'Anywhere' is a true epic ballad and 'Memory' is full of very good things...

Nevertheless, the first part of this metal opera was so incredible that the second part sounds weak! Seriously, this album is very good despite all that and it deserves 9 over 10. Something I must say: I think Andre Matos' voice sounds strange on this album as it's very close to Tobias Sammet one!! As a result, Michael Kiske, Tobias Sammet and Andre Matos sound as one character and it's quite hard to understand the story without the booklet... but the important part is not the story but the music. And Avantasia Part II has very good tracks! So enjoy...