Avantasia - Here Be Dragons
Genre: Power Metal, Rock/Metal; -By now Avantasia is an institution in and of itself, having reinvented the entire genre of power metal and forming it according to Tobias Sammet's design. But it should have become clear by now that that design has skewed and Avantasia aren't at that forefront any longer, no matter how much Sammet calls every new album "a masterpiece, and all the critics agree" and the most elaborate album he's ever done. It started roundabouts Moonglow (2019) - which was still a fine enough album - and was made abundantly clear on A Paranormal Evening With the Moonflower Society (2022), where everything that was once Avantasia was present, but dulled and emotionless. Enter Here Be Dragons, the most soulless Avantasia album to date.
Avantasia is now solidly a four man group under the leadership and songwriting of Sammet, with a few guest vocalists on each album. Gone are the days when a guitarist would drop by and toss in a kickass solo, or even some collaboration alongside Sascha Paeth. Paeth is a fine guitarist - with some great moments on this album - but he's just not... enough. We miss someone like Oliver Hartmann or even of course Henjo Richter. Of course, like every Avantasia album, Here Be Dragons has its chicken nuggets (chicken nuggets are objectively better than gold nuggets). This time mainly found near the end; Avalon is dark, broody and boasts a thick atmosphere and great delivery from Adrienne Cowan (Seven Spires). Against the Wind is a pretty decent, melodic power tune, great harmonies and Kenny Leckremo delivering some heat. The lyrics are cringy as hell though, we get it Tobi, you do what you want, you're still not immune to criticism.
The absolute highlight of the album however is Unleash the Kraken, which starts off standard but turns into an eclectic blend of rocky showmanship and belting power metal. Sammet sings it solo and belts out a couple of manic high notes - still got it. Could've used some Ronnie Atkins or Herbie Langhans for emphasis though. The few highlights aren’t enough to cover an entire album’s worth of uninteresting ideas and mostly lackluster performances; plenty of the tracks just seem like substandard rehashes of stuff Sammet’s already made before. Avantasia has just lost something – and here I’m not saying I want Sammet to return the Metal Operas – something that made it stand out. A bombastic element, a soulful element - something even A Paranormal Evening With the Moonflower Society had, even though Here Be Dragons does exceed that album in terms of actually good songs. I was on an Avantasia spell up until the release of this here album, but then the album was released and the whole spell kind of fizzled out and within a few days Here Be Dragons had proven pretty forgettable.
Standout tracks: The Moorlands at Twilight, Avalon, Unleash the Kraken
