Avantasia
Angel Of Babylon

Released alongside "The Wicked Symphony", this "Angel Of Babylon" is the fifth studio album by the band Avantasia, a creation born from the mind of Edguy's leader, Tobias Sammet. Once again, as per tradition, many metal artists participate as guest stars: Michael Kiske, Jorn Lande, Russell Allen, and Jon Oliva, just to name the most well-known.

"Angel Of Babylon", although it should be considered as a standalone album, is still connected to "The Wicked Symphony", drawing from it some catchy melodies and that rock vibe that Avantasia seems to have fully claimed as their own. The style remains the one that has brought the German band much success in the past.

The opening track "Stargazers", featuring vocals by Kiske, Allen, and Lande, kicks off the album in an impressive way, delivering nine minutes of genuine melodic, aggressive, and engaging power metal. Avantasia bares its teeth with reason, while the following "Angel of Babylon", despite a good refrain, adds absolutely nothing to the band's discography. Similarly, we can overlook "Your Love Is Evil" and instead admire in all its "comic beauty" "Death Is Just A Feeling", a stunning power/heavy track built on an extremely pleasant tune, which Jon Oliva masterfully makes his own. One of the highlights of the two albums. From here on, the "good but..." songs begin again, those examples of how good ideas get lost due to a typically recycled structure and atmosphere. Worth mentioning is the sweet ballad "Blowing Out The Flame", the sparkling hard rock of "Alone I Remember" (a splendid beginning), and the final sugary yet acceptable "Journey To Arcadia."

Ultimately, "Angel Of Babylon" results in a good work, but it gets lost in mediocrity, a pitfall which seems to be the direction of all current power bands.

After the dazzling start of the two "Metal Opera" albums, Avantasia has not been able to reach those levels of compositional freshness and personality, settling for solutions that are certainly not poor but mostly seen and revisited. The slight signs of revival observed with "The Wicked Symphony" are here again drowned in the increasingly global lethargy of a declining genre.

1. "Stargazers" (9:32)
2. "Angel Of Babylon" (5:28)
3. "Your Love Is Evil" (3:52)
4. "Death Is Just A Feeling" (5:23)
5. "Rat Race" (4:10)
6. "Down In The Dark" (4:23)
7. "Blowing Out The Flame" (4:54)
8. "Symphony Of Life" (4:30)
9. "Alone I Remember" (4:48)
10. "Promised Land" (4:46)
11. "Journey To Arcadia" (7:17)