Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
25th April 2013
Avantasia - The Mystery World Tour 2013
Many did not really think this would become true, but after long planning and preparations, Tobias Sammet re-animated his all-star project AVANTASIA to tour with the new album 'The Mystery of Time'. In Oberhausen, a fulminate show of about three hours was awaiting you and about threethousand fans followed the call.
AVANTASIA is the solo project of Power Metal singer Tobias Sammet, best known as singer of the band EDGUY. Sammet is singer and song writer of the super group, often being referred as rock opera since it features many known vocalists and musicians. The project’s name AVANTASIA is a combination of the words “Avalon” and “Fantasia”, describing “a world beyond human imagination”, as the booklet says. The project more or less consists of three parts. The first part with the name ‘The Metal Opera’ consists of two CDs with 23 titles in total, dealing with the fictive story of monk Gabriel in early 17th century. The music is marked by the writing style of an opera with participation of many different vocalists and musicians. The second part consists of the EPs Lost in Space Part I & II and the The Wicked Trilogy, composed of the albums The Scarecrow, The Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon. The third part finally begins with the new album ‘The Mystery of Time’, out in March 2013. http://www.tobiassammet.com / http://avantasia.net / https://www.facebook.com/avantasia
Music & Performance
In Oberhausen, around 3,000 people showed how to survive without oxygen. When AVANTASIA entered the stage punctually at 20:30 for their more than three hours lasting show, the hall was absolutely packed and it was hot inside. But no one really cared about that, the crowd enthusiastically welcomed Tobias after the well-known theme from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ for the first song of the evening, ‘Spectres’. AVANTASIA are best known for their Rock Opera style, featuring several guest musicians on their albums. And so, also the shows on this tour had to offer big names: Eric Martin (Mr. Big), Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween/Unisonic), Bob Catley (Magnum), Ronnie Atkins (Pretty Maids), Tobias & Felix (Edguy), Oliver Hartmann, Amanda Somerville, Thomas Rettke (Heavens‘ Gate) and several more. People in the hall were really excited to see this show, there were many fans coming from abroad, others were attending more than just one show of the tour. And this admiration for Sammet and his project was perfectly transported by loud screaming, singing and extensive clapping. 
The show itself was extraordinary, not only by its length. The stage design was perfect for this kind of show with two levels, providing a lot of space for all protagonists to act. And also the light show was fantastic. It is a while ago I saw such a great and well balanced light show, illuminating stage, musicians and of course, occasionally also the audience. When the first track ‘Spectres’, presented by Sammet alone, was over, the first guest musician entered the stage. It was Ronnie Atkins from PRETTY MAIDS who offered a great vocal performance. Followed by Kiske and Catley, it was soon time for heartthrob Eric Martin from MR. BIG. Well, he had aged a little, but still tried to be charming towards the girls, trying to speak a little German too. He was telling how much he liked the girls and then, he tried to read from a paper a German sentence to invite girls: “Komm in mein Schloß (come into my castle) und… fuck!” This break was really funny. Soon, he finished the line… “und ich zeige Dir meine Avantasia Plassensammlung (and I show you my Avantasia record collection)”. Some kind of nonsense, but funny at the end.
During the show, not only the well-known guest singers had their time, also the band members were put into the centre of the show every now and then. Rettke and Somerville (who were mainly acting as backing singer) could also prove their fantastic vocal talents, either in solo performances (like Rettke did for ‘Scales of Justice’) or in duet, like the fantastic one of Sammet and Somerville during ‘Sleepwalking’. The mood in the hall was fantastic and also on stage you could see how much fun all artists had. They were posing, making jokes and laughing a lot, especially Eric and Michael were real joke-machines. Musically and vocally, anyone was delivering a top performance and so, more than three hours just spun away. It was really a long playing time and some people might have thought, that a bit shorter would have done it as well. But at the end, anyone was really happy to see such a long show with a set, that was overall very melodic and balladry. But good quality and joy in playing was on high level until the very end. Before the last song, Sammet introduced all participant and then, ‘Sign of the Cross’ was presented by all artists together. Great end of the show!
Setlist
01. Intro: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey)
02. Spectres (Tobias Sammet)
03. Invoke the Machine (Ronnie Atkins / Tobias Sammet)
04. Black Orchid & Prelude (Ronnie Atkins / Tobias Sammet)
05. Reach Out for the Light (Michael Kiske / Tobias Sammet)
06. Breaking Away (Michael Kiske / Tobias Sammet)
07. The Story Ain't Over (Tobias Sammet / Bob Catley)
08. The Great Mystery (Tobias Sammet / Bob Catley)
09. Scales of Justice (Thomas Rettke)
10. What's Left of Me (Eric Martin / Tobias Sammet)
11. Promised Land (Eric Martin / Tobias Sammet)
12. Sleepwalking (Tobias Sammet / Amanda Somerville)
13. The Scarecrow (Ronnie Atkins / Tobias Sammet)
14. Stargazers (Oliver Hartmann / Michael Kiske / Ronnie Atkins / Tobias Sammet)
15. Farewell (Tobias Sammet / Amanda Somerville / Michael Kiske)
16. Shelter from the Rain (Michael Kiske / Tobias Sammet / Bob Catley)
17. In Quest For (Bob Catley / Tobias Sammet)
18. The Wicked Symphony (Bob Catley / Ronnie Atkins / Thomas Rettke / Tobias Sammet)
19. Lost in Space (Tobias Sammet)
20. Savior in the Clockwork (Ronnie Atkins / Eric Martin / Tobias Sammet)
21. Twisted Mind (Atkins/ Eric Martin / Tobias Sammet)
22. Dying for an Angel (Tobias Sammet / Eric Martin)
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23. The Seven Angels (Michael Kiske / Tobias Sammet / Bob Catley)
24. Avantasia (Michael Kiske / Tobias Sammet)
25. Sign of the Cross (Everybody)
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 10
Sound: 7
Light: 10
Total: 9 / 10
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.black-cat-net.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/vorndranphotography / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)
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