Avantasia

Tobias Sammet has released Avantasia's fifth and sixth albums simultaneously, available either separately or as a box set. Sammet is known for his entertaining approach: tongue-in-cheek, self-consciously cheesy hard rock/power metal with influences from rock operas, other metal sub-genres and stranger, non-rock additions. As with the preceding Avantasia albums, Angel of Babylon is littered with big names from the metal and rock worlds, including Jon Oliva, Jørn Lande, Russell Allen, Michael Kiske and Jens Johansson, to name a few. Although Angel of Babylon could be seen as the weaker of the two 2010 albums due to its comparative straightforwardness and absence of symphonic and weird/progressive elements, this makes it tremendously enjoyable. On the whole, it's immediately catchy, memorable, and fun, but that doesn't mean it's disposable or lacks replay value. Although it stands alone, it's best enjoyed if taken in hand with its co-release, The Wicked Symphony.