EDGUY Frontman Discusses Forthcoming AVANTASIA Albums

Tobias Sammet's (EDGUY, AVANTASIA) official webmaster Harmon Caldwellrecently conducted an interview with the German singer/songwriter about AVANTASIA's forthcoming "The Wicked Symphony" and "Angel Of Babylon" albums that will be released on April 3, 2010. The entire question-and-answer session is reproduced below.

Q: Tobias, 2009 was quite a busy year for you. You toured with EDGUY and produced two new AVANTASIA albums — "Angel Of Babylon" and "The Wicked Symphony" — that will be released in early 2010. Did you manage to sleep at all in 2009?

Tobias: Not a lot, really. But when you love what you do, it doesn't feel like stress. I travel the world and whenever I have a few weeks off, I go to the studio to make another dream of mine come true. It's so satisfying to be creative; others go bowling or play golf or go scuba diving, I try to write the ultimate song or just record a duet with Klaus Meine [SCORPIONS] and Alice Cooper. And every now and then, I interrupt the sessions to play a festival with EDGUY. You call that a workaholic? I would rather say I am happy, a pleasure-seeker. I can afford being terribly hedonistic, if you like, only that my form of hedonism isn't really bad for my health or anyone else's.

Q: As long as you don't have to go on stage with laryngitis? Or have a bottle of white wine and a cigarillo?

Tobias: Haha, true! I might have a wine or a cigarillo at times. But it doesn't happen every week. I am not too hard on myself, but I try to take care of myself. I loathe drugs and I am no smoker or heavy drinker! That being said, earlier this year I had a bad laryngitis and high fever. We had to postpone EDGUY shows, but I didn't wanna let the fans down and so I went on stage in Sweden, although the doctors had told me I wasn't able to go on stage yet. That's what competitive performers do; we are insane. Sometimes things happen that you can't control. We just played a show where I blew my voice during the first five songs because the stage sound was bad and I couldn't hear myself. It just happens; that's part of the whole thing, but no big deal. Two days later the voice is back on track. It's got nothing to do with self-abuse or wrong behavior, it's the collateral damage of my life, rock 'n' roll!

Q: So back to the creations of 2009... what is the state of the production of your two new AVANTASIA albums?

Tobias: Well, first of all, those two albums are not a creation of 2009 only. When we recorded "The Scarecrow", we had already written the second chapter of it. That was way back in 2006, but I had so many more ideas, so I continued to compose. You know, songwriting is nothing I do to fulfill a contract. It is more of a basic instinct. I have to do it, no matter what. I don't think about how many songs I need for an album when I have an idea or a vision. I feel like a messenger of the Gods when I have one of those melodies that get me goosebumps. It's very emotional and beyond any thought of the music industry. That's why I will always be mad at people who wanna tell me what to do. What the fuck do they know?

Q: Okay, so we're going to get two full albums?

Tobias: Yes, and I swear, there is not one single song that doesn't deserve to be on there. We have 22 songs, we have classic metal stuff, epic metal stuff, but it is that combination of silent tunes and heavy tunes, the dynamics that make those albums what they are. We have MEAT LOAF-ish choirs, epic orchestral parts and great melodies. Fast stuff, slow stuff, traditional hard rock stuff. Great ballads, I am very happy. This musical is a movie for your soul, you close your eyes and listen and you will be taken on a journey. To me, I got the feeling that this is the most intense musical journey I have ever set off on. This is AVANTASIA at its best, man. I gotta quote a friend: This is not another project, it's a fucking epic.

Q: Will the two albums be released separately or as a box set?

Tobias: The plan is to do both. One deluxe edition featuring both albums in a box and the two CDs seperately as well. So fans can decide what they wanna buy and I think this is fair. The production of those albums was quite expensive; I've paid it out of my own pocket and I invested over two years of work. I really count on my fans to buy the stuff, there is no rip-off excuse, haha! If they won't, I have thrown away the provision for my old age.

Q: Are there any details or song titles that you can share with us?

Tobias: You know, we will come up with all sorts of details on the website when it's time to do so. I don't wanna ruin the excitement. There is a song called "The Wicked Symphony", it's a ten-minute track featuring a vocal battle between Jorn Lande [MASTERPLAN], Russell Allen [SYMPHONY X] and me. There are many unusually long songs, one little epic is called "Blizzard On A Broken Mirror", it's a duet of a friend of mine and me. I will not reveal the name of this guy yet, but AVANTASIA fans know him. There is another vocal legend recording right now, but I won't reveal his name until I hear the performance, I am superstitious. I guess we will confirm it on the website before the end of the year.

Q: Okay, last question... You've worked with KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick on his solo album. When is this album gonna come out and what can you tell us about it?

Tobias: Bruce contacted me in early 2008 because Eric [Singer, drummer of KISS] had played him our AVANTASIA stuff and Bruce liked my voice. He was working on a solo album and so he asked me if I could imagine singing a song. We became friends and when I was in Los Angeles last year, we completed the lyrics and I came up with some melodies and we adjusted and recorded it. The song rocks I think, it's a SKID ROW-ish gang-vocal anthem, sounds like classic KISS during their "Revenge" era. I don't know when the album is gonna come out but I will spread the word as soon as I know any details. Bruce is a super-nice guy, and he deserves all the best. Working with people like him reminds you of the reason why you are doing this, it's the very basics. Sitting together with a friend and letting two worlds collide to create some piece of music! I should do that more often!