Avantasia - The Mystery Of Time

Symphonic Power Metal
Nuclear Blast

2013

1. Spectres
2. The Watchmaker's Dream
3. Black Orchid
4. Where Clock Hands Freeze
5. Sleepwalking
6. Savior in The Clockwork
7. Invoke The Machine
8. What's Left Of Me
9. Dweller In A Dream
10. The Great Mystery

I'll be honest, I have no idea what to make of Avantasia or Tobias Sammet at this point. Certainly, I've enjoyed Tobias in the past as the frontman of both Avantasia and Edguy, but the recent output of both bands has been anything but consistent. Avantasia's The Scarecrow turned the band away from symphonic power and had some downright shitty pop songs on it. Then you have Edguy who has been putting out mediocre albums ever since Rocket Ride in this reviewer's opinion. It's true that as recent as The Wicked Symphony and Angel Of Babylon that Avantasia has been very good, but I'm just not ready to forget that a large part of Tobias' recent output has been mediocre to bad. Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me like 5 times (Rocket Ride, Tinnitus Sanctus, Age Of The Joker, The Scarecrow) and well... shame on me. I've gotta go in with some skepticism here.

Listening to The Mystery Of Time it is better than I could bring myself to hope it could be. This is more symphonic album for sure and the orchestral instrumentation lets itself be known immediatly, not content to just be a background element. I find it to be a really nice touch and I like that the album is willing to revisit the roots of the project a bit. This isn't as straight up speedy symphonic power as the first couple releases, but it is powerful in a more melodic and subtle way. Basically, this album tends to sound more dramatic than bombastic. Not a bad approach at all, and I find the sound here totally enjoyable. Really, this seems like a good approach to both make something that sounds fresh and to deliver some storytelling through music. I wouldn't go into this expecting something totally heavy, but if you like that sort of broadway theatrical feel than this has a very cool sound and there is enough heaviness to satisfy me. Basically, this manages to have a lot of feeling and some softer moments without sounding as poppy as some of the tracks on The Scarecrow. All around the approach is just way better.

It's true the lead single Sleepwalking is kind of poppy and Tobias has said as much himself, but I'd consider it more of a ballad and not really that much poppier than some other power ballads. I question the wisdom in making it the lead single, but it's not a bad song. Some ballad moments are acceptable to me in the right context and if they have some power to them. That one does and so do the other ballad moments like in What's Left Of Me.

All in all, on The Mystery Of Time Tobias seems to really be onto something in terms of the sound/style. This album seems to have found a good delivery method for Tobias and I like that this feels happy and majestic. It actually takes me back to what I liked about early Edguy though this is not exactly the same sound. What The Mystery Of Time is is some very engaging music that keeps my attention with good melodies.

Also worth noting is that the vocal performances are better than I necessarily expected them to be. I don't think The Mystery Of Time has quite the vocal power of amazing talents like David Defeis and Sharon Den Adel for instance, but Kiske and Joe Lynn Turner do a pretty admirable job here and they suit the music this album delivers. I also totally dig the inclusion of Biff Byford on anything. He's an unusual choice and maybe not the most dynamic singer the band has ever seen, but he does bring a lot of personality and presence to the songs hes a part of. Ronnie Atkins' contribution on Invoke The Machine is also nice as his slightly rougher voice adds an element of heaviness to that track.

In conclusion, there is a lot to like about this memorable and powerful album. Easily digested, but not easily forgotten. I'd certainly recommend this to Avantasia fans and really any power metal fan. The Mystery Of Time is a unique and well put together album that I think will have a good deal of staying power. There are a lot of great songs here and picking highlights was extremely difficult. I just like the album more every time I listen to it. Credit where credit is due... Tobias can really make some great music when he has a vision and that's what this is. An epic one. This is a very good year for happy power metal already.

Highlights: Black Orchid, Invoke The Machine, The Watchmaker's Dream, Savior In The Clockwork, Dweller In A Dream

Rating - 4.5/5