Avantasia - What's this about an opera now?

[mastermaul]

First of all, let's look at wikipedia's "list of associated acts":

[quote][B]Scorpions, Kiss, Kamelot, Epica,[/B] Andre Matos, Place Vendome, Virgin Steele, Within Temptation, Impellitteri, [B]At Vance, Helloween, Gamma Ray,[/B] Magnum,[B] Revolution Renaissance, Masterplan,[/B] Aina, [B]Symphony X, Savatage,[/B] Jon Oliva's Pain,[B] Yngwie Malmsteen, Rhapsody Of Fire,[/B] Heaven's Gate, [B]Stratovarius[/B][/quote]

[I]Mother of fuck what sort of unbelievably amazing conglomerate is that?[/I]

I'll tell you. It is:

[img]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-j55DCZ4fL4/S7dtyyhnNHI/AAAAAAAAAOk/gyuOJyIKKUQ/s1600/avantasia_logo.jpg[/img]

A symphonic power metal project featuring [I]everyone ever[/I] brought together in one amazing tour-de-force of steel and raw power.

[quote]Avantasia is a heavy metal project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist and frontman of the group. 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 single, two full-length albums with the subtitle The Metal Opera, two EPs called Lost in Space, and Scarecrow trilogy, composed of The Scarecrow, The Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon.[/quote]

The project was originally formed to create [I]The Metal Opera[/I], a two album long continuous story in which multiple vocalists have different parts all strung together in a coherent compilation set in a fantasy world during the 17th century.

[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/The_Metal_Opera.jpg[/img]
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e8/The_Metal_Opera_Part_2.jpg[/img]

In addition to the EP's mentioned above, they have released a second story/project entitled the [I]Wicked Trilogy[/I], or [I]The Scarecrow.[/I]

[quote]"The Scarecrow is a tragic story of a lonesome creature, emotionally isolated from his environment and suffering from a distorted sensory perception. His feelings for the love of his life unrequited, he sets off on a journey exploring the left-hand path, striving for inner peace, ploughing his way to approval and eventually facing temptation at the inner depths of the human soul..."[/quote]

[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7c/Avantasia_-_The_Scarecrow_-_2008._Front.jpg[/img]
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4c/The_Wicked_Symphony_cover.jpg[/img]
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/29/Angel_of_Babylon_cover.jpg[/img]

I'm not going to post any music, it's just a youtube search away. But since most of their work is meant to be enjoyed as a single continuous work, it wouldn't feel right picking and choosing songs.