Avantasia
The Scarecrow

To be honest, I have never been a big fan, admirer, or anything else of Tobias Sammett's metal operas, except for the second one, "Metal Opera pt. II," which contained some truly beautiful and exciting tracks alongside filler songs. However, in recent years, Sammett himself has shown everyone that he is eager not to stick with territories adjacent to typically power-influenced domains. This became apparent immediately after "Vain Glory Opera" and particularly with the first part of Avantasia "A Metal Opera pt. I," which didn't impress me much, except for the fact that it was merely a power metal album filled with big and grandiose names, chief among them was Kiske, but not limited to him.

Nevertheless, after "Vain Glory Opera," Tobias and Edguy have given a slight twist to their way of conceiving power metal. Something that was already glimpsed in the second part of Avantasia (being his own project and "woe to anyone who touches it!") but which had especially already exploded in albums like "Hellfire Club" and, above all, in the final masterpiece "Rocket Ride" of his main band, Edguy, where power metal had literally put its shoes out in the sun to make room for experimental digressions, now more markedly heavy, now gothic, and now even power (audible only sporadically). Clear examples were songs like "Sacrifice," "Trinidad," and "Save Me," just to name three at random.

"The Scarecrow," Avantasia's opera, takes this path. Not focusing solely on a now-dated symphonic power metal adored by half the world, except for some stubborn fans, but dedicating itself to something else, without excluding the usual now-famous names, which here again abound (Michael Kiske no longer hides behind any stupid pseudonym, Khan, Sascha Paeth, Somerville, Alice Cooper, to name a few among the most notable).

The opener is not a good introduction as "Twisted Mind" is merely a power piece taken from the latest Edguy album and adapted for the Avantasia section. It features the singer from Kamelot, Khan, who, unfortunately, cannot give his best in this song which, in my opinion, represents a small blemish on the rest of the opera.

The title track, on the other hand, is a musical bomb. A long suite of over 10 minutes where everything happens. From the Arabian opening, it unfolds into mid-tempos, epic interludes, and melodic phrases, then explodes in all its rage in the finale. Perhaps the best of the bunch, along with the grand ballad "What Kind Of Love" where Bon Jovi-like pop is touched! One of the most beautiful songs ever written, where Sammett duets with the beautiful Amanda Somerville in a song with a truly irresistible flavor, for all tastes, even the less metal ones.

However, melodic and speedy power metal has not completely abandoned "The Scarecrow" and, in fact, we find pieces like "Shelter From The Rain" (which seems like it's out of "Hellfire Club") that forms a duo with "Angel Me Over" and the slower and more melodic "Carry Me Over," an insipid ballad that only serves to break the usual "speed" that pulls in a melodic power metal album.

There is also room for "The Master Toy" with Alice Cooper adding his "sick" tone to the song, more rocking, more "poisonous," slower, obsessive, but always melodic and always metal, with Sammett's voice reminding us that we are still, and always, in a metal opera. Perhaps one of the best tracks. Finally, a noteworthy song is "Devil in Belfry," certainly effective, which penetrates every barrier with its emotional impact. The performances of the musicians involved are great.

In conclusion, Avalon and Fantasia (Avantasia) reach full maturity precisely in this third part, even though it is not explicitly titled "A Metal Opera part III" but is still a great work of heavy metal, where, this time, the real difference was made by Sammett and the musicians involved, and not as it happened in the past where the name of the musician could appear as a guarantee (I, for example, hated the voice and all the songs where the singer of Virgin Steel, David DeFeis, was forced to intervene).

Album recommended even for those who hate power metal.