(C) 2016 www.metalmasterkingdom.com - photo: Navneet Johal
| AVANTASIA 2016 Touring Lineup Tobias Sammet: Lead vocals Jørn Lande: Vocals Michael Kiske: Vocals Ronnie Atkins: Vocals Eric Martin: Vocals Amanda Sommerville: Vocals/Backing Vocals Herbie Langhans: Vocals/Backing Vocals Michael “Miro” Rodenberg – Keyboards Felix Bohnke: Drums Sascha Paeth: Guitars Oliver Hartmann: Guitars Andre Neigenfind: Bass Toronto was treated to an exclusive performance by the German supergroup Avantasia this past April 13th, 2016 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. An impressive array of the top power/symphonic metal musicians descended upon Toronto to inspire and awe fans as they gifted our earbuds with the rock opera tunes that Avantasia is renowned for. With this particular show being the only Canadian show and one of three North American shows, fans came in from as far as Quebec and Ottawa in order to witness this once in a lifetime spectacle. The stage was set with the backdrop for Avantasia’s new album, Ghostlights (2016), a dressed up riser with a staircase leading down the middle and the famous intro to the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey paired with blinding house lights set the mood. Coming out in pairs, the 2016 touring musicians of Avantasia emerged onstage in addition to backing vocals Herbie Langhans and Amanda Sommerville who begin whipping their manes in glorious unison to the opening track “Also sprach Zarathustra”. Creator of Avantasia and musical mastermind Tobias Sammet appeared at the top of the staircase riser, striking a pose as he basked in the roar of the crowd. Some sound difficulties causes issues with his mic, much to his obvious annoyance, however the issue is quickly resolved and Tobias crushes the first tune of the night. After a little chit chat from Tobias, Avantasia kick into “Mystery of a Blood | Review By: Kirsti Heitz Photos By: Navneet Johal Venue: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, ON, CANADA Date: April 13th, 2016  (C) 2016 www.metalmasterkingdom.com - photo: Navneet Johal |
Red Rose” and we see none other than power metal god Michael Kiske appear at the top of the stair case, striking a pose and belting into those amazing Kiske-esque high notes. From then on a new face appears at the top of those staircases to the delight of fans as vocalists tap in and out to perform with Tobias for their respective songs.
(C) 2016 www.metalmasterkingdom.com - photo: Navneet Johal
 (C) 2016 www.metalmasterkingdom.com - photo: Navneet Johal | “The Striking Viking,” Jørn Lande, creeped around on stage scowling at fans in grim approval and absolutely crushing those gruff high notes. Ronnie Atkins performed with an old school aura and dramatic style, interacting with the crowd and egging them on to clap along to the beats and sing along. Eric Martin got to show off his vocal prowess in “What’s Left of Me” and “Dying for an Angel”. For “Unchain the Light” we had Ronnie and Tobias onstage for the main portions of the tune, however for a glorious 10-15 seconds of the chorus, we would see Michael Kiske pop onstage to throw in his vocals creating a moving unison between the leads. |
No musician was left out as we saw guitarist Oliver Hartmann take over the vocals with Tobias for “The Watchmakers’ Dream.” Even keyboardist Miro got to throw in some backing vocals for “Draconian Love,” a song that is apparently a duet about the sex life of crocodiles according to Tobias, where we saw backing vocalist Herbie Langhans take the centre stage alongside Tobias. It was a frenzy of mixing and matching as we witnessed an awe-inspiring union of superb vocals being paired in every way imaginable. I was quite keen on seeing Amanda Sommerville perform and she did not disappoint as she was able to add discreet backing vocals to perfection in addition to taking the centre stage and belting out lyrics for tunes like “The Story Ain’t Over” and “Shelter from the Rain.”
(C) 2016 www.metalmasterkingdom.com - photo: Navneet Johal
Avantasia performed a no-nonsense set with no opener, starting promptly at 7:45pm on the dot and proceeding through their set with German efficiency as Tobias keeps on reminding the crowd, and the guest vocalists, that they have a prompt curfew. However, when you have so many frontmen on stage it can be hard to stick to a schedule as they all wanted to interact with the crowd, give a little speech or simply chit chat. The interaction between the musicians and guest vocalists kept fans constantly engaged as they were instructed to sing along to a tune or wave their arms back and forth to what Tobias coined as their rip-off to the Titanic theme song, Avantasia’s tune “Farewell”. And on that note, did anyone catch Amanda and Herbie in a headbang-off during “Let the Storm Descend upon You”? Sorry Herbie, Amanda totally owned that one.
From the first batch of albums to their newest album, Avantasia hit fan favourites from all eras. An amazing show was topped off with an encore of Avantasia’s famous tune, “Lost in Space” and “Sign of the Cross” where all the vocalists joined on stage to join their voices in a glorious metal harmony. Kudos to guitarists Oliver, Sascha, bassist Andre, drummer Felix, keyboardist Miro and Tobias Sammet to being able to play for three hours straight. Be sure to check out Avantasia’s live show as they may not be touring again any time soon!
(C) 2016 www.metalmasterkingdom.com - photo: Navneet Johal
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