Avantasia is a symphonic metal project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist and frontman of the power metal group Edguy. The project's title is a portmanteau of the words "avalon" and "fantasia" ("fantasy") and describes "a world beyond human imagination" (a quotation from the booklet). The project consists of a self-titled EP, two full length albums with the subtitle The Metal Opera, two EPs called Lost in Space, and the upcoming album The Scarecrow.

In Spring 1999, during Edguy's Theater of Salvation tour, Tobias Sammet began to write down his ideas for a metal opera, a concept album with many guest musicians. When the tour was finished, he carried this plan out, recruiting well-known metal players like Kai Hansen and the ex-Helloween singer Michael Kiske. The project was recorded with a core band of four members - Sammet playing keyboards and arranging orchestration, Henjo Richter playing guitar, Markus Grosskopf playing bass and Alex Holzwarth on drums. In 2001, the self-titled EP and the first full-length album, The Metal Opera, were released. The project was completed in September 2002 with the release of The Metal Opera Pt. II.^[1] At the end of 2006, Sammet confirmed the rumours of a third Avantasia album, due for release in 2008. On March 24th 2007, the name was stated to be "The Scarecrow".[1] The confirmed guests are Rudolf Schenker, Sascha Paeth, drummer Eric Singer and singers Bob Catley, Jørn Lande, Michael Kiske, Alice Cooper, Roy Khan and Oliver Hartmann.^[2]

The project is described as a "Metal Opera" because it has an underlying plot and each role has its own singer, though it's not an opera by the classical definition. It's merely a collection of pieces, which refer to the individual points of the plot printed in the booklet.

From a stylistic view, the majority of the songs are melodic power metal meshed with a voluminous sound, many orchestral passages and choral parts, gaining Avantasia recognition as symphonic power metal. One song from each part, "Inside" and "In Quest For" respectively, is accompanied almost exclusively by piano. The first part also contains three short instrumental pieces.

The most complex piece is the first song of Part II, "The Seven Angels", featuring seven of the eleven singers. The song is over 14 minutes long and contains a classical "stanza/refrain" part, two guitar solos, choirs, a passage with piano accompaniment, and an epic finale. It also plays an important part in the plot, as it serves as summation of the first part, and has caused discussion due to the inclusion of lyrics not printed in the booklet.

Christendom and the Roman Catholic Church play an important role in the plot. Men of the Church like Pope Clement VIII are criticised for thinking that they hold the only truth and that they have to keep the normal people ignorant for their own good, not realising that the Church men themselves are too blinded to recognise the truth. Criticism like this appears very often in Sammet's works: many Edguy songs like "The Kingdom" (1996) or "Theater of Salvation" (1999) contain themes, plot and dialogue very similar to those found in Avantasia.

• Henjo Richter - Guitar
• Jens Ludwig - Guitar
• Norman Meiritz - Guitar
• Timo Tolkki - Guitar
• Markus Grosskopf - Bass
• Alex Holzwarth - Drums
• Eric Singer - Drums
• Tobias Sammet - Keyboard, Bass (Lost in Space)
• Frank Tischer - Piano

• Tobias Sammet - Gabriel Laymann
• Michael Kiske - Lugaid Vandroiy
• David DeFeis - Bruder Jakob
• Ralf Zdiarstek - Bailiff Falk von Kronberg
• Sharon den Adel - Anna Held
• Rob Rock - Bishop Johann von Bicken
• Oliver Hartmann - Pope Clement VIII
• Andre Matos - Elderane the Elf
• Kai Hansen - Regrin the Dwarf
• Timo Tolkki - Mysterious Voice of the Tower
• Bob Catley - Tree of Knowledge

• Avantasia (EP) - 2001
• The Metal Opera - 2001
• The Metal Opera Part II - 2002
• Lost in Space Part I (EP) - 16th November 2007
• Lost in Space Part II (EP) - 16th November 2007
• The Scarecrow - 25th January 2008

• Tobias Sammet's official (Edguy & Avantasia) website