Here Be Dragons

Everybody is guaranteed a good time when Tobias Sammet is in charge. AVANTASIA have become much more than the occasional, all-star supergroup that the German polymath promised back in 1999. With Sammet‘s other band, EDGUY, on a lengthy hiatus, his symphonic, multi-vocalist flights of fancy have become his main means of expression over the last ten years, and “Here Be Dragons” contributes plenty to the accelerating notion that AVANTASIA‘s music is what the German had in his head all along.

A more straightforward affair than 2022’s “A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society”, Sammet‘s tenth full-length under the AVANTASIA banner covers a lot of ground in a perma-grinning bid to best represent his joyous, more-is-more policy. It begins with “Creepshow”: a gleaming, oven-ready anthem that draws the crowds in with a fearsome chorus and impeccable power metal manners. Thereafter, “Here Be Dragons” blossoms in real time. The title track is a towering, stainless steel epic, with such a strong air of late ’80s QUEENSRYCHE that the presence of that band’s former frontman Geoff Tate seems mandatory rather than merely desirable. Overblown without chasing its own tail and imbued with a melancholy that belies its cryptid-saluting theme, it is the kind of ruthlessly executed but preposterous and theatrical conceit that only an instinctive showman like Tobias Sammet could get away with. Nothing else on “Here Be Dragons” reaches such progressive heights, but even when adhering to an unfussy, power metal template, AVANTASIA flood the zone with countless delicate but significant ideas. HELLOWEEN‘s Michael Kiske scales the octaves with his usual dexterity on “The Moorlands At Twilight”, very much at home amid the song’s fiery, organ-driven clatter, but audibly elated by its absurd grandiosity. Similarly, KAMELOT‘s Tommy Karevik is a natural fit for the upbeat and AOR-tinged “The Witch”, but it is Sammet‘s flawless, drama-packed arrangement that gives the Swede the perfect platform for his commanding performance.

Ultimately, Sammet‘s enthusiasm for the creative process is clearly rubbing off on his invited participants. PRETTY MAIDS legend Ronnie Atkins is a raucous, soulful whirlwind of energy on the mischievously gothic “Phantasmagoria”; MAGNUM‘s Bob Catley is an earthy marvel on “Bring On The Night”, which was plainly written with the British veteran in mind, and seems to double as a solid tribute to MAGNUM‘s late, great founder Tony Clarkin. The cameo-free power metal sprint of “Unleash The Kraken” aside, every one of these songs showcases the strength of Sammet‘s creative relationships, and the confidence that his stewardship gives these singers to do their respective things. And by including newer talents like SEVEN SPIRES‘ Adrienne Cowan, who lights up “Avalon” like a one-woman forest fire giving Sammet a run for his money in the scene-stealing stakes, AVANTASIA is priming the next generation of maniacally ambitious musicians to keep the fantasy metal freak flag flying. Former H.E.A.T. frontman Kenny Leckremo and prog-power icon Roy Khan (CONCEPTION / ex-KAMELOT) complete the vocalist roll call, with the latter’s “Everybody’s Here Until The End” bringing the curtain gracefully down with a moment of genuine poignancy. For all his flamboyance, Tobias Sammet has a big heart too. “Here Be Dragons” is as warm and welcoming as a Disney musical, but with more riffs.