Formative Albums, Part 8: The Scarecrow
The Scarecrow by Avantasia
Avantasia was another discovery from my early days looking into this whole "power metal" thing, when I fed the starting leads like Rhapsody into sites like Pandora to see what would happen. A supergroup project formed by Tobias Sammet of Edguy (another early discovery in their own right,) the idea was that Tobi flexed his industry connections, grabbed an all-star cast of singers from other bands, gave everyone a role, and created a story-driven metal opera. In fact, at the time, the Avantasia albums Pandora really pushed on me were literally called The Metal Opera Part 1 and The Metal Opera Part 2. Unlike later works from them, early Avantasia was not... exactly... subtle.
Metal opera projects seem to be more common in the genre these days. Heck, I've personally contributed to a few. This was my first exposure to the concept, though, and I instantly loved it. Not only was Avantasia music incredible in its own right, but they were a huge lead in discovering some other great bands; all I had to do was pick an Avantasia track I liked and look up where that particular singer was from.
The Scarecrow is the first of three albums in the Wicked Trilogy (also known as the Scarecrow Saga) as well as the dividing line between what I would consider to be Avantasia's older and newer eras. Compared to the Metal Opera albums, the Wicked Trilogy tells a more abstract story, with singers playing roles like "Fury" and "Inspiration" rather than roles like "Bishop Johann von Bicken" and "Regrin the Dwarf." Rather than a literal medieval fantasy story about a novice monk whisked off to a magical land, the Wicked Trilogy is a more of a headspace- and emotion-driven modern-day tale about the rise and fall of a talented but mentally unstable performer who is completely unequipped to handle his own fame (think a Syd Barrett or Michael Jackson archetype,) driven by an unrequited crush he can never really get over and at least a zillion bad influences and sketchy characters within The Industry. It has a newer sound, as well, veering away from pure Rhapsody-like metal and more into hard rock. Singles like "Carry Me Over" and "Lost in Space" sound--dare I say it?--almost radio-friendly.
Old-school fans were outraged, of course, but Tobi is used to that and has always been proud to follow his heart regardless. (In an interview, when asked what three singers he would pick for Avantasia if availability weren't an issue and he could have anyone he wanted, Tobi answered Bruce Dickinson and Paul Stanley because they were his idols/role models, "and Jon Bon Jovi just to piss off the purists.") As for me, I adored this. In fact, my memory is hazy, but I want to say the ahead-of-time release of the "Carry Me Over" and "Lost in Space" videos was what maybe made me buy the album? I do know that I've been on "Avantasia is working on a new album? Say no more, instantly preordred" status with them ever since, and they have yet to let us down.
It is worth noting that in a world where I usually shun spending money on fleeting experiences (I'm usually more the "Why pay to see a movie in a theater once when I can pay the same amount to own the DVD and have it on my shelf forever?" type) I ended up dropping almost a thousand dollars to fly all the way to Massachusetts, see Avantasia in concert complete with balcony seats, and fly all the way back home. And it was worth every penny. I gushed about it elsewhere, but to recap, they were an absolute bucket list item for me which, by their nature, included a lot of other bucket list items for me. (All they had to do was bring Jorn Lande along--which they did!--and that's like two dreams in one right there!)
Besides, I had the feeling that that show might have been my last chance to see them. Granted, at the time I was thinking that because Tobi keeps saying "getting everyone together for an Avantasia album is really hard you guys, this may be the last one" after every one they release, Bob Catley is approaching retirement age, etc. I wasn't thinking, like, that it would be my last chance to see a live event with a large audience before the entire world ended. But... you know.
Either way, I figured it would be the kind of literal once-in-a-lifetime experience I'd regret if I didn't jump on, so I jumped on it. And it was everything I could have dreamed, and more. In fact, all you need to know about how magical that experience was is that I sat completely entranced throughout the entire three-hour show without ever feeling the need (not just feeling but suppressing it; I mean not even feeling it at all) for a restroom break, and I'm a trans woman on spiro. This is a cross-posted entry that originated from https://kjorteo.dreamwidth.org/469919.html. Please leave all comments there; I am no longer actively maintaining my LiveJournal blogs.