Angels of the Apocalypse

Angels of the Apocalypse is the second full-length album by Timo Tolkki's metal opera project Avalon, released on May 16, 2014 in Europe and four days later in North America.[1]

Angels of the Apocalypse
Studio album by
Avalon
ReleasedMay 16, 2014 (Europe)
May 20, 2014 (North America)[1]
Recorded2013-2014
GenreSymphonic power metal
Length50:23[2]
LabelFrontiers Records
ProducerTimo Tolkki
Avalon chronology
The Land of New Hope
(2013)		 Angels of the Apocalypse
(2014)

It is the second part of the trilogy created by Tolkki, with the previous album The Land of New Hope being the third part of the story[3]

As with the previous effort, several heavy metal singers were invited to play the characters of the story of the album, with female vocalist Elize Ryd of Amaranthe reprising her role and Floor Jansen (Nightwish, ReVamp) playing the main character.[4] The rest of the cast includes Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire, Angra), David DeFeis (Virgin Steele), Simone Simons (Epica), Caterina Nix[5] (solo Chilean singer who is having her debut album produced by Timo Tolkki[6]) and Zachary Stevens (ex-Savatage, Circle II Circle).[6]

Background and recording

The album started to be composed in August 2013 in Greece, to where Timo travelled to seek inspiration.[6]

In October 2013, Timo Tolkki launched a news website for the project in which he announced the album, which was provisionally titled Avalon II.[7] Tolkki also announced he would be working with former Stratovarius bandmates Tuomo Lassila (drums) and Antti Ikonen (keyboards).[8][9]

In late January, Tolkki revealed the name of the album and the remaining singers.[5] Timo also announced that there will be a contest for guitar and keyboard players, with the winners getting a chance to perform a solo with him in one of the songs.[5]

Once again, the artwork was created by French artist Stanis W. Decker.

Timo stated he created some songs with a specific singer in mind.[6] The title-track will clock around 10:00.[6] He also described the music of the album as "darker and heavier" than its predecessor, which was necessary due to the "Apocalyptic scenes described in the lyrics".[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Timo Tolkki except Garden of Eden, composed by Nicolas Jeudy.

No.TitleGuest VocalistLength
1."Song for Eden"Fabio Lione0:46
2."Jerusalem is Falling"Fabio Lione5:19
3."Design the Century"Floor Jansen[6]4:25
4."Rise of the 4th Reich"David DeFeis4:43
5."Stargate Atlantis"Fabio Lione3:51
6."The Paradise Lost"Floor Jansen4:16
7."You'll Bleed Forever"Floor Jansen5:45
8."Neon Sirens"Zachary Stevens4:42
9."High Above Me"Caterina Nix, Elize Ryd, Simone Simons5:20
10."Angels of the Apocalypse"Floor Jansen, Caterina Nix, Elize Ryd, Simone Simons9:07
11."Garden of Eden"(instrumental)2:10
Total length:50:23[2]

Personnel
Instrumentalists
Vocalists
Additional cast
  • Nicolas Jeudy[6] - orchestrations
gollark: "former president Jacob Zuma was arrested for contempt of court", apparently.
gollark: Idea: task a recursively self-improving AI with maximizing the "coolness" of news events.
gollark: But this is boring, everyone has just gotten used to the fact that critical computer infrastructure has essentially no security and might break at any time.
gollark: Yes, but paying would be harder.
gollark: Politics is just not cool enough. We should make them fight duels or something.

References
  1. "TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON: 'Angels Of The Apocalypse' Album Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  2. Angels of the Apocalypse at iTunes
  3. "Interview with Timo Tolkki". Metal Traveller. April 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  4. "Floor Jansen is the main vocalist on Avalon II, the album and European tour planned for May 2014". Avalon Opera.com. 9 December 2013. Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  5. "Timo Tolkki's Avalon reveals the album title and the rest of the cast". Timo Tolkki's Avalon official profile. Facebook. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  6. "Timo Tolkki's Avalon - More Angels Of The Apocalypse Artwork, Album Details Revealed". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  7. "Launch of AVALON II". Avalon Opera.com. 5 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  8. "Tuomo Lassila Videogreeting". Avalon Opera.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  9. "Keyboardist Antti Ikonen joins Avalon line up and the Recordings of the new Avalon album start". Avalon Opera.com. 22 November 2013. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
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