Weird.
EDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet has set "The Scarecrow" as the title of the third installment of his AVANTASIA solo project. The album is being produced by Sascha Paeth, who also played the rhythm guitar on the CD. The drums were laid down by KISS/ALICE COOPER drummer Eric Singer and the bass is being handled by Tobias himself.
Commented Sammet: "I am right now in the studio doing some vocal sessions. In about two weeks I am going to fly to England to work with a friend of mine on some vocals.
"Fans and record companies who are interested always ask me for the names of my guest musicians. I want you all to know that I am blessed to work with the best musicians, but I don't believe in making names more important than the music itself. I am working with some childhood heroes of mine and most important, with great personalities, true friends, and the greatest musicians you can think of.
"Producer Sascha and I just checked some new recordings and I have the feeling, that this is the strongest stuff we have ever worked on. It's hard to describe the material in a few words — it sounds very powerful, bombastic, very organic and alive. People who loved especially AVANTASIA Part 1 will love this one, although this time there is a lot more variation in style on there as well. Of course it's a metal album, but we even didn't stop at including some Celtic world music elements. But all that matters to me is that the music has to touch the soul and I swear to God: This material goes straight to your soul, because that's where it comes from. Sounds cheesy, but it's true. I am giving you my everything with this record and you will hear that in late summer!"
Check out photos from the recording sessions at this location.
The new AVANTASIA album will be a concept album featuring different singers singing different characters in a story. But the concept itself won't be a sequel to the first two AVANTASIA albums.
AVANTASIA's last release was the two-part epic called "The Metal Opera" (issued in 2001 and 2002), which featured an impressive array of guest vocalists playing the various characters of the opera, including Michael Kiske (ex-HELLOWEEN), David DeFeis (VIRGIN STEELE), Sharon Den Adel (WITHIN TEMPTATION), Kai Hansen (GAMMA RAY), André Matos (ANGRA, SHAAMAN), Timo Tolkki (STRATOVARIUS), Rob Rock (WARRIOR), and others.
For more information on AVANTASIA, visit
www.avantasia.net.
