Here Be Rose Plush Bunnies - A Review of Avantasia's Here Be Dragons

Tobias Sammet was perhaps the greatest singer and songwriter in the European power metal genre for an entire decade, spanning from Edguy's first moderately successful record Vain Glory Opera all the way to Avantasia's third output The Scarecrow. Since Tobias Sammet managed to deliver the goods and even exceeded expectations at times, critics and fans alike also pardoned his overtly arrogant statements in interviews when he claimed that each new record he released was a glorious masterpiece or a few odd experiments in form of soft pop songs and new wave cover songs glorifying the eighties. However, in the past decade and a half, Tobias Sammet's performances and releases have gradually been decreasing in quality while his self-centered comments and weird experiments have stayed exactly the same. While Edguy has already been on hold for many years, Avantasia's new studio record Here Be Dragons is sadly the project's weakest output thus far.

Let's focus on the negatives first to get them out of the way. Tobias Sammet's vocals sound tired, strained and powerless and he particularly struggles to hit higher notes on this album time and again. The use of the guest vocalists is a lot less inspired on this output than on previous efforts as they ressemble short cameos rather than adding anything creative to the respective tunes. Numerous songs can neither be described as power metal nor as hard rock tunes on this output. First single "Creepshow" for instance sounds like a poorly aged Culture Club single from the mid-eighties, "Against the Wind" is vapid ballad recalling an Elton John outtake from the nineties and "Everybody's Here Until the End" sounds like a Modern Talking tune produced for a reality talent show broadcast in the early years of this millennium. Title track "Here Be Dragons" is particularly difficult to categorize which isn't a compliment in this case since this vapid soft rock tune manages to go nowhere in about nine forgettable minutes.

The good news is that this record still includes a few positive elements to be fair. The dynamic, timeless and versatile production increases this album's quality significantly. "The Witch" featuring Kamelot's Tommy Karevik finds the perfect balance between atmosphere and catchiness. "Unleash the Kraken" convinces with creative songwriting offering multiple surprises in a compact running time of five entertaining minutes. "Avalon" is a versatile duet performed with skillful guest vocalist Adrienne Cowan that grows with every spin. The record's beautiful cover artwork is probably the last by legendary artist Rodney Matthews who will soon be celebrating his eightieth birthday this year.

The other tunes that haven't been mentioned thus far can be described as average Avantasia material that we have already heard in similar ways on previous efforts. Dedicated fans of old date might feel satisfied by this consistency while more adventurous listeners will criticize an obvious lack of progress. Depending upon your personal tastes, it might either be a joy or a bore to hear typical guest vocalists such as Geoff Tate, Michael Kiske and Bob Catley again.

My suggestion would be not to purchase any of the limited editions. Additional song "Return to the Opera" is an average and forgettable song that was excluded from the regular release for good reasons. The alternative versions of three regular songs from this album are neither better nor worse than what's offered on the regular version. Live songs by the band can already be enjoyed on numerous extended plays and the project's only regular live release that saw the light of day almost a decade and a half ago. My suggestion for Tobias Sammet would be to release another massive live output in the near future as this project might not fully convince in the studio but still delivers the goods in concert as I could witness myself shortly before the pandemic.

To keep it short, Avantasia's Here Be Dragons is only interesting for adamant collectors and faithful fans who have been following this project since its inception two and a half decades ago. Occasional listeners or fans who only own a record or two by this project can however invest their money into a concert ticket for this project instead or even give a younger power metal group such as Arion a chance. Here Be Dragons is an average release by Avantasia that I will probably soon be forgetting about.