Avalon (Finnish band)

Timo Tolkki's Avalon (also known simply as Avalon) is a metal opera project created by Timo Tolkki (formerly of Stratovarius, Revolution Renaissance and Symfonia) in 2013.[1]

For other uses of Avalon in music, see Avalon (disambiguation) § music.
Timo Tolkki's Avalon
OriginFinland
GenresSymphonic power metal
Years active2013–present
LabelsFrontiers
Websitetolkki.org
MembersTimo Tolkki

According to Tolkki "I find the Metal Opera concept fascinating and logical to me at this point of my career. I love classical music and just like in Classical Opera, in the Metal Opera you can also create stories and have almost limitless possibilities musically".[2]

History

The Land of New Hope (2013)

The project's debut album, The Land of New Hope, was released on 17 May 2013 through Frontiers Records. The album features performances by vocalists Elize Ryd, Rob Rock, Michael Kiske, Russell Allen, Sharon den Adel and Tony Kakko, as well as the participation of guest musicians Alex Holzwarth on drums and both Jens Johansson and Derek Sherinian on keyboards.[3]

Tobias Sammet, German musician and mentor of Avantasia, another metal opera which had its 6th album released in March 2013, received the news of Timo Tolkki's own project with initial sarcasm, stating: "Wow, someone is extraordinarily creative here: the title, the guests, the timing... What a funny coincidence, isn't it?! But there have been thousands of Metal Operas, especially after Avantasia. Such is business...".[4] However, he later stated: "There are a lot of metal operas out there, and I have to deal with that. If something is very successful or even not successful then other people may feel inspired by it. It's Timo Tolkki (laughs) what can I say, he's a great guy and he does what he does. I wish him the best of luck."[5]

When asked about if he was aware that this project would be compared to Avantasia, Timo replied that "Nobody owns a franchise to 'metal operas' which is not really an operatic format because it doesn't have any real dialogue between the singers."[6]

Angels of the Apocalypse (2013–present)

In October 2013 Timo launched a news website for the project in which he announced the sequel to The Land of New Hope, which was provisionally titled Avalon II.[7] The cast of guest musicians will be revealed one by one.[7] Simone Simons of Epica fame is the first confirmed singer.[8] Floor Jansen will play the leading role.[9] It was also announced that Timo's former bandmates in Stratovarius, drummer Tuomo Lassila and keyboardist Antti Ikonen will play on this album.[10][11]

A European tour was planned for May 2014, coinciding with the release of the album.[9]

On 28 January Timo revealed title of the album (Angels of the Apocalypse) and the rest of the cast: Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire, Angra), David DeFeis (Virgin Steele), Elize Ryd (Amaranthe) and Caterina Nix.[12] 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.[12]

In early 2019, Timo Tolkki announced the third Avalon album and remaining part of the Avalon trilogy, the album Return to Eden, with the main working song, Promises.[13][14]

Members

Instrumentalists
Name Associated bands The Land of New Hope Angels of the Apocalypse Return to Eden
Timo Tolkki Stratovarius, Revolution Renaissance, Symfonia, Allen-Lande guitar, bass on all tracks guitar, bass on all tracks lead guitar
Alex Holzwarth Rhapsody of Fire drums on all tracks
Mikko Härkin Sonata Arctica, Symfonia, Luca Turilli's Rhapsody keyboards on all tracks, except 8
Derek Sherinian Dream Theater, Black Country Communion, Yngwie Malmsteen, Planet X, Sons of Apollo keyboards on track 8
Jens Johansson Stratovarius, Yngwie Malmsteen, Cain's Offering keyboards on track 8
Sami Boman Silentium orchestration
Tuomo Lassila Stratovarius drums on all tracks
Antti Ikonen Stratovarius keyboards on all tracks
Nicolas Jeudy orchestration
Andrea Buratto Secret Sphere bass
Antonio Agate Secret Sphere, Icon & The Black Roses piano and keyboards
Giulio Capone Temperance drums, piano and keyboards
Aldo Lonobile Secret Sphere, Death SS guitar
Santtu Lehtiniemi additional guitar

Singers
Name Associated bands The Land of New Hope Angels of the Apocalypse Return to Eden
Elize Ryd Amaranthe lead vocals on tracks 1–4, 6, 9 lead vocals on tracks 9-10
Rob Rock Impellitteri lead vocals on tracks 1–2, 4–5, 7-8
Russell Allen Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob, Allen-Lande, Star One lead vocals on tracks 1–2, 4
Michael Kiske Unisonic, Place Vendome, Kiske/Somerville, Helloween lead vocals on track 10
Tony Kakko Sonata Arctica lead vocals on track 5
Sharon den Adel Within Temptation lead vocals on track 6
Floor Jansen Nightwish, ReVamp, After Forever, Star One, Ayreon lead vocals on tracks 3, 6–7, 10
Simone Simons Epica lead vocals on tracks 9-10
Fabio Lione Rhapsody of Fire, Vision Divine, Angra lead vocals on tracks 1–2, 5
David DeFeis Virgin Steele lead vocals on track 4
Zachary Stevens Circle II Circle, Savatage lead vocals on track 8 lead vocals on tracks 3, 6, 11
Caterina Nix Aghonya lead vocals on tracks 9-10
Todd Michael Hall Riot V lead vocals on tracks 2–3, 5
Anneke van Giersbergen The Gathering, Anneke van Giersbergen lead vocals on tracks 4, 8
Mariangela Demurtas Tristania lead vocals on tracks 3, 9, 12
Eduard Hovinga Elegy lead vocals on tracks 7, 10
Chiara Tricarico Temperance additional backing vocals on track 9

Discography
Year Album Peak positions
BEL (Wa)
[15]		 FIN
[16]		 SWE
[17]		 SUI
[18]
2013 The Land of New Hope 102 7 42 59
2014 Angels of the Apocalypse — 42 — —
2019 Return to Eden — 7 — —

References
  1. Avalon - The Land of New Hope on May 17th March 14, 2013. Retrieved on March 29, 2013. Grande Rock.
  2. Timo Tolkki returns. Frontiers Records. Retrieved on March 30, 2013.
  3. TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON: 'The Land Of New Hope' Details Revealed Blabbermouth.net. March 14, 2013. Retrieved on March 29, 2013.
  4. Nightangel (21 February 2013). "Exclusive Tobias Sammet (Avantasia) interview for Kiske Fanclub". Kiske Fanclub. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  5. Dean, Mark (23 March 2013). "Exclusive Interview with Tobias Sammet (Vocals) (Avantasia, Edguy)". My Global Mind. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  6. "Interview with Timo Tolkki". Metal Traveller. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  7. "Launch of AVALON II". Avalon Opera.com. 5 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  8. "First singer for Avalon II revealed!". Avalon Opera.com. 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  9. "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 12 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  10. "Tuomo Lassila Videogreeting". Avalon Opera.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  11. "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.
  12. "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.
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-05-09. Retrieved 2019-05-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON: 'Promises' Video Released". Blabbermouth.net. April 23, 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-09-10. Retrieved 2013-06-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "Suomen Virallinen Lista". Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  17. "SwedishCharts.com: Avalon - The Land of New Hope - A Metal Opera page". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. 24 May 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-16. Retrieved 2013-06-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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