Avantasia - London Review

Before yesterday, it had been essentially a whole week since I last went to a gig. That sort of sitting around and doing nothing just will not do - but given how often I seem to be getting to gigs at the moment this 'dry patch' came to an end yesterday evening, as I travelled up to London to catch a relatively rare UK headline show from the power metal/rock opera supergroup Avantasia. Those who have read some of my power metal gig reviews in the past will know that the UK has never really been a hotbed for such. Sometimes power metal tours just miss the UK out altogether, but generally a sole London show is included. This can be frustrating to those of us who do not live in London - but I have got used to travelling up to the capital over the years for bands of all descriptions, including power metal. When Avantasia come to the UK, then, it is London that they head for. Their first UK appearance actually came at the 2013 iteration of Bloodstock Open Air - but their subsequent three have all been in London. I saw the band for the first time at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town back in 2016 - and I remember the show being fantastic. With no support act, the band performed for the best part of three hours - with plenty of material from career highpoint Ghostlights (which I reviewed here) included in the setlist. It is one of those gigs that always sticks in the memory due to how good the performance and the setlist was. I was gutted, then, to miss the band's next London show in 2019 - but I can only assume that it clashed with other plans or work commitments got in the way. My job is very flexible when it comes to taking annual leave, but occasionally it is not possible for whatever reason - so the 2019 Avantasia show fell by the wayside. Until last night, that was the last time the band visited the UK. I do not think that 2022's A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society (which I reviewed here) was supported by a proper European tour - so it took the band releasing their tenth studio album Here Be Dragons (which I reviewed here) to get them back on the road in Europe. The 2022 album was supported by some touring, but the activity seemed stripped back. Avantasia requires a lot of schedules to combine neatly - and in 2022 I imagine that most of those who would have been involved were out with their own bands following the pandemic. 2025 is Avantasia's big return, then. Here Be Dragons is their best album since Ghostlights in my opinion - so it was fitting that its tour saw the band return to the UK, and at the larger Roundhouse this time. Leader and frontman Tobias Sammet had also promised that this tour would be the band's biggest and best yet. Even without taking to account any stage set, the sheer talent involved in the touring party seemed impressive - with Sammet joined by long-time vocal collaborators like Pretty Maids' Ronnie Atkins and Mr. Big's Eric Martin; alongside some newer faces like Kamelot's Tommy Karevik and H.E.A.T's Kenny Leckremo. This version of Avantasia looked a bit different from the 2016 iteration, then, with past tour regulars like Michael Kiske and Jørn Lande absent - but the current crop of vocal talent, whilst perhaps less established in Avantasia lore at this point, is nevertheless a force to be reckoned with.

The Roundhouse is a good venue, but it really seems to struggle with large crowds. I have been stuck in long queues at the venue before, despite arriving with time to spare, and last night was no different. I was in the venue long before the music started, but the band were asked to delay starting their set due to not everyone being in the venue by 8pm. The delay was only around 10 minutes, but it nevertheless looked pretty unprofessional on the venue's part - given that they must have to deal with crowds of this size on a regular basis. Regardless of this frustration - all was forgotten once the curtain dropped and Sammet was stood in the centre of the stage surveying all in front of him, with the musicians that make up Avantasia as a live act filling the stage. Stage set-wise, the performance felt bigger than the 2016 show - with gothic fencing around the stage, whilst various images from the band's albums were shown on a screen at the back of the stage. Despite these touches, it was the music that did the talking. Opening with the short single from the latest album, the punchy Creepshow got the show underway perfectly. There were much more epic songs to follow, but the hooky anthem worked well as an intro - and saw Sammet in fine voice. Whilst he did leave the stage for a few numbers, giving some of the other singers a chance to shine, he was on stage for well over two hours of the near three hour show - and his voice held up really well. Clearly he had plenty of help, with a three-strong choir essentially singing throughout the whole set to provide depth, but given the number of shows and the length of each it is clear that Sammet has real stamina. He shared the stage with at least one other singer during most of the songs, though, and Seven Spires' Adrienne Cowan was up first - lending her soaring voice to the old-school power metal of Reach Out for the Light. Cowan was also part of the choir, alongside Firewind's Herbie Langhans and Moonlight Haze's Chiara Tricarico, so she sang an awful lot throughout the night - but was allowed to really let rip during this second number. 22 songs were played in all, covering most of the band's catalogue - although, interesting, nothing from the two albums preceding Here Be Dragons were played. Perhaps Sammet agrees with me that they represent the weaker end of Avantasia - but with over half of the new album included there was a lot of focus on the now, with Karevik then taking the stage for the gothic melodrama of The Witch. Given the ensemble nature of Avantasia, it was interesting to see how the vocal arrangements played out live. Some of the songs were essentially as performed on the original album, with the relevant singer present, but other songs were shaken up somewhat depending the vocal talent available. Karevik later duetted with Sammet on Here Be Dragons in place of Geoff Tate, giving the song a floatier edge, whilst Langhans often performed songs previously performed by Lande - with both Devil in the Belfry and Let the Storm Descend Upon You benefitting from his raspy power.

Atkins also picked up some of Lande's parts, as was later showcased during the pulsating Promised Land - but he also shined on songs written for him, such as the new Phantasmagoria and whilst duetting with Langhans on the aforementioned Let the Storm Descend Upon You. The lengthy epic was one of the highlights of the set, but there were a couple of other big moments which came before it. Martin's voice is certainly not what it was, although he sounded better last night than when I saw him with Mr. Big last year, but the warm ballad What's Left of Me always sounds good when he brings it to life - and he is such a character on stage that he added to the overall vibe. He later formed a surprise duo with Atkins for both Promised Land and Twisted Mind - but perhaps the biggest cheers of the night were reserved for Bob Catley. The Magnum frontman, so often a mainstay of Avantasia live, was unable to participate in this tour due to a recent operation - but he was able to make it down to London as a one-off. Sammet seemed genuinely emotional watching Catley sing the Magnum-esque The Story Ain't Over, an Avantasia live favourite, and the latter also added his warm voice to Shelter from the Rain later in the set. Catley's contribution to the night might have been brief, but it was clear to everyone on stage how much it meant to them that he made it to London - and there was a lot of love for him in the room. Playing festival shows with Avantasia last year likely helped Catley heal following the death of his long-time Magnum bandmate Tony Clarkin - so seeing him take the stage again following the brief Magnum tribute tour in January was special. There were plenty of highlights towards the back end of the set, too, as this was when some of the more epic tracks where wheeled out. Sammet was sometimes absent during this numbers, but the other singers more than held their own. Sammet did shine during the creepy The Toy Master, though, but perhaps the overall highlight during this part of the show was Karvik and Leckremo giving The Wicked Symphony an epic makeover - the two contrasting vocalists delivering two of the performances of the night. A lot of big favourites, alongside the epics, were included during this part of the night, too, with Tricarico getting a moment to shine during the soaring ballad Farewell - before Sammet and Atkins duetted with real power during the folk metal epic The Scarecrow. Guitarists Sascha Paeth and Arne Wiegand were on fire all evening, but perhaps it was during The Scarecrow where their soloing really shone. There was a lot of great lead playing throughout, then, alongside some fluid soloing from Michael 'Miro' Rodenberg (keyboards/vocals) - with the bombast of the the musicians further bringing the songs to life. It was then left to the heavier and creeping Death Is Just a Feeling to round out the main set - after which the lights went down and a piano was wheeled onto the stage. The encore then followed, with Sammet leading the band through a re-arranged version of Lucifer, initially from behind the piano, before the band's trademark closing medley of Sign of the Cross and The Seven Angels brought the curtain down on what had nearly been three hours of music at this point - with all of the singers on the stage at the end. The setlist was:

Creepshow

Reach Out for the Light

The Witch

Devil in the Belfry

Phantasmagoria

What's Left of Me

Dying for an Angel

Against the Wind

Here Be Dragons

The Story Ain't Over

Avalon

Let the Storm Descend Upon You

Promised Land

The Toy Master

Twisted Mind

The Wicked Symphony

Shelter from the Rain

Farewell

The Scarecrow

Death Is Just a Feeling

-

Lucifer

Sign of the Cross/The Seven Angels

I really enjoyed seeing Avantasia back in 2016 and I really enjoyed seeing them again last night. Seeing a band like this with so many moving parts pull of a show seemingly effortlessly is always impressive - but the way the songs were brought to life by all involved was a joy to behold. The atmosphere in the room was great, with everyone singing along throughout, and thankfully the live sound mix throughout the venue was very clear. All of the vocalists really shone, then, and the show was another really memorable one in a year which has already produced a few.