2016 was a big year for Tobias Sammet’s project Avantasia. The German supergroup released one of the best albums of 2016 with Ghostlights and performed for the first time in North America. Those that have been there since 2001’s The Metal Opera, know how important it was to attend their selected worldwide tour dates.
After the success 2016 brought for Avantasia, Tobi went into detail on the history of the project. He admitted it started when he was bored on the road with Edguy, wanting to do something different and collaborating with his biggest heroes. Tobi emphasized that dreams are possible and assured fans not to be afraid of going after their own dreams.
Tobi wrote the following on the band’s Facebook:
“The Story of Avantasia… I was just asked WHY I started Avantasia in 1999. Well, because I could! 🙂 And because I was bored on a tour bus, being on tour with Edguy, when I started to dream about doing an album featuring some of my biggest heroes. Not a “typical” album, but an epic work with a story that would justify having different singers like actors in a movie. Ridiculous idea… No record label was really interested in it even though I eventually managed to convince one to give a budget to an unexperienced 21-year-old semi-pro who didn’t know much. You know how it went on… If you have a dream, just run and cross fingers! Years later I wanted to let go and just focus on my main band Edguy, but no matter how much I love Edguy (25th anniversary, some shows and release in summer, YES! details soon) nothing compares to working as your own boss, going out and doing everything the way you believe it has to be done. You have a white canvas in front of you and nobody tells you where to put the tree and why a mountain doesn’t fit. That’s why I hate to listen to music industry people. They want to tell you where to put the tree but they can’t even tell the difference between a paintbrush and a dish mop themselves. They need to find a weak spot to justify grabbing your money by talking about stuff they have no clue about. Otherwise they would be musicians themselves, right? At least I have never read an interview of Mick Jagger telling the press that his original plan was to become an A&R manager at a struggling management company, going to concerts looking ridiculously important next to the guy behind the mixing board, ha! 🙂
However, if you are an artist, listen to your heart, and if you heed advice, make sure you KNOW and TRUST the source!!! What is your story as a musician? Any people who pick up an instrument from time to time?”
You will notice he hinted a special Edguy Anniversary package is in the works. The band has been together for 25 years, and it’s been twenty years since their debut studio release of Kingdom of Madness (technically their second album). We can only guess this means they will announce a tour. Hopefully, it would include North American dates.
