ALBUM REVIEW: A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society – Avantasia

After the original duology of The Metal Opera Pt. I and Pt. II, it seemed almost greedy to expect more from AVANTASIA, the ambitious power metal project from EDGUY’s Tobias Sammet. Yet, like some kind of glorious phoenix of melodic metal, AVANTASIA’s rebirth on The Scarecrow has seen them go from strength to strength – in the process developing an almost band-like family of collaborators and an enviable discography, eclipsing and outliving many of its forbears (including EDGUY).

A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society is yet another epic addition to the band’s legacy and, in many ways, picks up where predecessor Moonglow left off. That album’s darker sensibilities are more fully embraced here, with Sammet inciting the grandiose, the joyous and the melancholy in equal measure via Gregorian chants, dramatic pianos and sweeping guitars. Buried beneath the pseudo 80s dramatism however is still a bedding of traditional 00s power metal, with AVANTASIA unashamed to occasionally bare their roots.

That duality is clear from the outset, with fittingly titled opener Welcome To The Shadows drawing the listener in through sinister pianos and horror-film pipe organs before exploding into a typically upbeat AVANTASIA chorus. The chorus is an upright-jolt of a hook backed by choirs of Sammet and company’s voices, with the whole track setting the stage for an album of gothic candour and power metal pomp. Kill The Pain Away achieves a similar sound, somehow shifting from dramatic choirs in its opening to 80s power ballad magic. As Sammet duets with NIGHTWISH’s Floor Jansen, the two’s smooth and powerful voices in perfect unison, the song’s hard rock chorus makes a huge impact. Elsewhere on the album, I Tame The Storm carries the same contrast. It’s a track that somehow gets away with melding Jim Steinman-esque choruses with theremin-sounding synths before adding Jørn Lande’s gritted voice to the mix, as if all these competing elements were somehow natural company. These songs, with their all-hands-on-deck choruses and fantastical trappings, feel like a natural progression of AVANTASIA’s sound over the last decade.

For the older fans, hungry for metal at inappropriate speeds, A Paranormal Evening… still has plenty to offer. Early on in the album is The Wicked Rule The Night, a number heralded by the ear-shattering opening screams and accompanying guest Ralf Scheepers. The song quickly becomes one of the heaviest to ever grace an AVANTASIA record, as punchy down-tuned riffs and relentless double-kicks provide the backdrop to Scheepers‘ piercing Painkiller-on-painkillers yells. On the other end of the spectrum is The Inmost Light, an early Euro-metal anthem through and through where sewing-machine drums and hammering snares give way to crunchy, fast riffs and soaring guitar leads. It’s probably the closest we’ve heard to classic EDGUY in a long time and with Sammet joined by the one and only Michael Kiske the song is a mesmerising nod to a bygone era of the genre.

On the less metallic side of things, AVANTASIA’s pop sensibilities pour out most during the ballads on A Paranormal Evening. Misplaced Among The Angels opens with piano-tinkling that has shades of SAVATAGE’s Broadway-infused showstoppers before going full Bad Animals-era HEART in its fist-pumping electric section. Indeed, Sammet’s vocals here could rival Ann Wilson – his emotive belting on Misplaced Among The Angels is absolutely arresting and potentially the performance of his career. While Misplaced Among The Angels has some hard rock bite, Paper Plane does away with such formalities entirely. The instrumentally restrained ballad is expertly crafted with delicate pianos and synths, turning its ENYA-meets-A-HA-meets-MAGNUM vibes into an unexpected highlight for the album.

As the stage sets on the deceivingly varied A Paranormal Evening…, the ten-minute closer Arabesque provides a suitably lavish final curtain. It’s a proggy musical journey incorporating bagpipes, Middle Eastern-inspired riffery and all the counterpoint vocal parts you can shake a stick at. Like The Scarecrow years before it, it’s a wide-reaching epic that rewards repeated listens.

While a lot is made of the various guests across AVANTASIA albums, it’s clear on A Paranormal Evening… that the additional voices are just more colours for Sammet’s palette. Vocal parts are as expertly layered as ever, building the luscious and full soundscape for the record – undoubtedly aided by AVANTASIA collaborator Sascha Paeth, among others. However, despite the many rich contributions to the record, it’s Sammet’s vocal performance that stands out most across A Paranormal Evening…, both in there simply being more of it, but also in the passion of his delivery. Sammet is clearly on top form on the album and it’s a joy to hear.

On paper, A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society shouldn’t work. It flits between power metal, power ballads, goth, pop and prog at the drop of a hat. However, AVANTASIA’s biggest achievement is how cohesive the record feels as a whole. Tobias Sammet’s song-writing has a distinctive style that acts as a common thread across the album’s various ups-and-downs. Moreover, A Paranormal Evening… seems to act as a smorgasbord of the band’s history, offering something for all types of AVANTASIA fans while still feeling like another step forward for the band. While it’s impossible to tell where the band will go next, A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society is a monumental moment for AVANTASIA.

Rating: 8/10

A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society is set for release on October 21st via Nuclear Blast Records.

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