AVANTASIA – A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society

All-Star Cast Makes For Epic Metal

For those who are already familiar with the work of Tobias Sammet, it will come as no surprise that he has once again outdone himself with another album of great story telling. Avantasia – A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society is his 9th album, and what a great record it is as it weaves tales of an enchanted journey, with fantastic events and encounters. Avantasia is known for having guest artists to sing duets with Tobias Sammet, and this album is no different as he has brought along some of the top Heavy Metal singers of all time. With talent like Geoff Tate (ex-Queensrÿche), Michael Kiske (Helloween), Eric Martin (ex-Mr. Big), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), and the incredible Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear) onboard, the album is a tour de force.

Another Great Album Post Pandemic Effort

Tobias Sammet started 2020 with the completion of his own recording studio, and the timing couldn’t have been better as it gave him the opportunity under lockdown to dig in deep on the next album. Sammet explains “I was faced with more time than ever before,” he looks back. “So I was paying as much attention to details and little things as I had in my early years. On the last records, I outsourced certain things to my producer Sascha Paeth, mostly just to save time. However, now I didn’t have to save time. There hasn’t been a record that sounded so much like me.”

On A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society Tobias Sammet is not only impresario, conductor and musician, but he also handles a majority of the vocals, singing duets with his many guest artists. On his new album, the contributions from Floor Jansen and Ralf Scheepers make him particularly happy.

For this reviewer, the stand out tracks are the screaming Ralph Scheepers aided “The Wicked Rule The Night” (best track on the album), along with “The Inmost Light” with Michael Kiske. Not to be left out, Geoff Tate’s contribution on “Scars” show why he is the legend, and no one can touch him on that particular vocal style.

Final Notes

The bottom line is there is plenty on Avantasia – A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society for every kind of metal fan out there with screeching Power Metal to catchy Symphonic Metal and Melodic Metal. The album takes us on not just a lyrical journey, but also a musical journey with many twists and turns. The production is amazing, Tobias Sammet’s vocals are stunning as he plays off of his friends and allies. This is a very strong effort that is more than worth a listening to, it belongs in your music collection.

Avantasia Lineup

Tobias Sammet – Lead-Vocals, Backing-Vocals, Keyboards, Bass
Sascha Paeth – Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Bass
Felix Bohnke – Drums

The Moonflower Society is:

Tobias Sammet – lead and backing vocals, keyboards, additional bass
Ronnie Atkins- vocals on “Paper Plane”
Bob Catley – vocals on “The Moonflower Society”
Floor Jansen – vocals on “Kill the Pain Away” and “Misplaced among the Angels”
Michael Kiske – vocals on “The Inmost Light” & “Arabesque”
Jorn Lande – vocals on “I Tame the Storm” & “Arabesque”
Eric Martin – vocals on “Rhyme and Reason”
Ralf Scheepers – vocals on “The Wicked Rule the Night”
Geoff Tate – vocals on “Scars”
Sascha Paeth – rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass
Felix Bohnke – drums
Oliver Hartmann – additional lead guitar on track 4 & backing vocals on tracks 1, 3, 6 & 7
Michael Rodenberg – keyboards on track 5 and 11
Herbie Langhans – backing vocals on tracks 1, 3, 6 & 7
Ina Morgan – backing vocals on tracks 1, 3, 6 & 7

A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society – Tracklist

01. Welcome to the Shadows
02. The Wicked Rule the Night
03. Kill the Pain Away
04. The Inmost Light
05. Misplaced among the Angels
06. I Tame the Storm
07. Paper Plane
08. The Moonflower Society
09. Rhyme and Reason
10. Scars
11. Arabesque