Former HELLOWEEN Singer To Guest On AVANTASIA Album

Former HELLOWEEN vocalist Michael Kiske will guest on the forthcoming album from EDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet's AVANTASIA project.

Kiske has appeared on every AVANTASIA album so far, including the first two full-length releases, "The Metal Opera" (2001) and "The Metal Opera Pt. II" (2002).

Commented Tobias: "Michael's voice and singing have had a huge influence on me when I was young. HELLOWEEN's 'Eagle Fly Free' lit the spark for me back then; it made me want to become a singer at age 12.

"Michael appears on several songs; two are fast and anthemic tunes, my personal 'Eagle Fly Frees,' if you want. Crystal clear and high singing. If uptempo music sounds like that, I don't get tired of it. And still, it is not a copy of early HELLOWEEN or early AVANTASIA.

"It's great to have Michael sing those kinds of tunes. He's a good guy! Great job, great voice!"

AVANTASIA's forthcoming album will feature additional guest appearances by Klaus Meine (SCORPIONS),Bob Catley (MAGNUM),Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR),Jorn Lande (MASTERPLAN, ARK, MILLENIUM, VAGABOND, THE SNAKES) and acclaimed drummers Eric Singer (KISS, ALICE COOPER, BLACK SABBATH) and Alex Holzwarth (RHAPSODY OF FIRE, ANGRA, SIEGES EVEN).

Regarding the new AVANTASIA album's musical direction, Sammet recently stated, "We've got quite many songs, and it ranges from epic ballads to metal opera. From pop to hard rock to folk to speed metal. My best friend, who co-wrote the story of 'The Metal Opera' back then, just listened to some of the tracks and he said that it will blow people away and enchant AVANTASIA fans and it will surely piss people off . . . It's just enchanting music. And these days honest and good music is kind of offending to some, that's pretty sick, isn't it? But as long as I get goose bumps hearing majestic music, I do not really care if I am fashionable or not."

The most recent album from AVANTASIA, "The Scarecrow", was one of the 20 best-selling albums in whole Europe during the fourth week of January 2008, according to a press release.

"The Scarecrow" was released on January 25, 2008 as a standard CD as well as rare picture (double) vinyl. It features a long list of guest musicians, including Bob Catley, ex-MASTERPLAN frontman Jorn Lande, ex-HELLOWEEN singer Michael Kiske, Alice Cooper, KISS drummer Eric Singer, SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker and GAMMA RAY's Kai Hansen. The album produced a Top 10 German hit single, "Lost In Space", and entered the national charts in 15 countries, with the CD landing in the Top 10 in four countries.