AVANTASIA Mainman: 'I Don't Want To Reproduce Something That Someone Has Done Before'

Mark Dean of MyGlobalMind webzine recently conducted an interview with EDGUY and AVANTASIA mainman Tobias Sammet. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

MyGlobalMind: After the last AVANTASIA tour, you said the chapter for AVANTASIA is closed and now you are back with a new album and tour. So what is the reason for opening another chapter in AVANTASIA history?

Tobias: I am a liar, arent I? [laughs] No, seriously, it was meant to be over because I just wanted to focus on EDGUY. I just thought after having finished a successful tour with a show in front of eighty thousand people at Wacken Open Air. Having just delivered a number one DVD that went to the top of the charts in Germany, Austria, Sweden and several other countries, I just felt that it was time to call it a day and focus on a new EDGUY record and give that my 120% effort into that album. That's what I did,but after a while, the album was finished and we went on tour with EDGUY. I then discovered myself sneaking into the music room in my basement and working on new song fragments and being creative. I just discovered myself composing new music and being creative. All of a sudden and after a while, I realized that this is the quintessence of a new AVANTASIA album.

MyGlobalMind: Where do you get your inspiration from to create the musical pieces on your records? Does it come from reading, or maybe something else?

Tobias: I think that the biggest inspiration is just if you go through life with open eyes and just write about it. It has the highest value for me, from a philosophical standpoint, if you write about what's in you, how you perceive the world around you. Not so much about watching a movie, and saying, "Hey, I'm going to write a song about this." This is really dull. It can be funny at times if you write about Robin Hood, for example. It can be a lot of fun to do those kind of things. In general, when it comes to AVANTASIA and meaningful lyrics, I don't want to read a book and write a song about it. I just don't want to write about a novel. I don't want to reproduce something that someone has done before. I just want to write about what I really care about myself.

MyGlobalMind: Some people say you changed your musical style too much in the last seven years. On the cover artwork to the new record, we see the line "A Rock Epic" (no "Metal Opera") and also guest musicians like Ronnie Atkins, Joe Lynn Turner or Eric Martin are signs that the new album goes more into the hard rock direction, than power metal. Sound-wise, what can we expect from "The Mystery Of Time"?

Tobias: It's really hard for me to judge myself, I never really sensed or realized that I had changed. EDGUY and AVANTASIA started out as hard rock bands (particularly EDGUY). I have never drawn a line between hard rock and heavy metal. To me, anything that was valid to play Monsters Of Rock in the Eighties to me was great music. I did not make a big difference between DIO, IRON MAIDEN and DEF LEPPARD. It was all great music and that has always reflected on my music that I play myself. As a musician, I think we just get better throughout the years as we get more experienced. We have the skills now to transport the needed mood of a song. When you take an early album, we also had songs like "Sign Of The Cross", "Avantasia" and "Farewell". Those kind of songs are not necessarily considered to be speed metal. Nowadays, we have different ways to make those type of songs, and produce them in a different way. I think that is a very subjective perception, if you say that we have changed over the years. To cut a long story short, "The Mystery Of Time" has five uptempo songs, we have five double-bass songs, we have choirs, a full orchestra. If that qualifies to be a heavy metal record, then it is a heavy metal record.

MyGlobalMind: Have you heard from the new metal opera TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON (featuring Michael Kiske, Sharon Den Adel, Russell Allen)? It's nearly the same concept like AVANTASIA has, even the title is very similar. Is this annoying to you? Lots of people will compare AVALON this year with your new album.

Tobias: There are a lot of metal operas out there, and I have to deal with that. If something is very successful, or even not successful, then other people may feel inspired by it. It's Timo Tolkki. [laughs] What can I say?! He's a great guy and he does what he does. I wish him the best of luck.

MyGlobalMind: Your main band EDGUY is also a well known metal act, even outside the genre. Is it hard for you to be successful with both bands and switch between them, especially when it comes to songwriting?

Tobias: No, not really, because I have that work ethic where I want to give 100% to whatever I am doing. Whenever it's time to work on a new EDGUY record, I do it with all of my power, all of my energy and all of my heart. The same for AVANTASIA. I never work at two things at the same time. I perceive it more as a blessing much more than a curse or a burden. I am a member of one of the most successful heavy metal bands from Germany in the last twenty years. At the same time, I have this wicked side project giving me the chance to work with the musicians that I am a huge fan of, or have been a huge fan of for years. To be creative on a second field, it's just a blessing, and I'm really thankful for having both. You will not hear me complain about that.

Read the entire interview from MyGlobalMind webzine.