Avantasia

Avantasia is the side project of Edguy's Tobias Sammet. As such, the project is classified as Power Metal. The project has two albums out - The Metal Opera Parts I and II - and tells the story of Gabriel Laymann. The year is 1602, and the witch hunts are in full spring. When Gabriel meets up with his stepsister Anna, who awaits trial for witchcraft, he doubts his ways. Sneaking into a library, he finds a forbidden book. As he reads it, he is caught and imprisoned. While in jail, he meets with a man named Lugaid Vandroiy, a druid, who agrees to help Gabriel free Anna in exchange for his help in saving his homeworld, Avantasia.

The project employs many of Power Metal's greatest musicians, from vocal talents such as Tobias himself (Edguy), Michael Kiske (Helloween), Andre Matos (Angra) and David DeFeis (Virgin Steele) to such instrumental talents as guitarists Timo Tolkki (Stratovarius), Henjo Richter (Gamma Ray) and Jens Ludwig (Edguy), bassist Markus Grosskopf (Helloween), and drummer Alex Holzwarth (Rhapsody of Fire).

A new album, The Scarecrow, is due out late Summer 2007.

The Metal Opera Part I - (2001)
The Metal Opera Part II - (2002)