New Ayreon EP! Ayreon vs. Avantasia

[Wyvern]

That's right, Arjen has enlisted the vocal talents of his "arch rival" Tobias Sammet (Avantasia, Edguy) to record an explosive, over-the-top version of the 1973 Alice Cooper hit, Elected. The song will be featured on a 4-track EP released by InsideOut Music/SPV (release dates: 25 April for Germany/Austria/Switzerland; 28 April for Europe). The EP includes 3 other tracks: an acoustic live radio session of the 01011001 track E=mc2 with Marjan Welman on vocals, Ride the Comet taken from the album 01011001, and a touching piano-only version of the Human Equation track Day Six: Childhood featuring Joost van den Broek and Marjan Welman.

Kind of funny since I was thinking how both new albums share some musicians, and double irony that they cover an Alice Cooper song, while the Coop sings on "The Scarecrow".

 

[wdiv]

So what makes them "arch rivals" ?

 

[Vegard Pompey]

So what makes them "arch rivals" ?

They both make metal operas.

 

[Wyvern]

They both make metal operas.

Morover I think the fact that both enlisted Bob Catley for their last effort, I was thinking about it the other day and now this comes out.

Now without being harsh, Avantasia metal opera is a poor happy euro power metal conceived effort, while Ayreon works are great stuff (even the "weak" 01011001), on the other hand "The Scarecrow" not being a opera is a kick ass album. In anycase they used arch rival in quotes as a gimmick.

NP: Impaler - 'Dead as A Doornail'

 

[tsorl]

Morover I think the fact that both enlisted Bob Catley for their last effort, I was thinking about it the other day and now this comes out.

Jorn Lande also!

In anycase they used arch rival in quotes as a gimmick.

Exactly, and with both of them having a similar twisted sense of humor they ride this gimmick to the maximum, just look at this snippet from the official press release:

On January 25, 2008 the rock operas of Arjen Lucassen and Tobias Sammet, respectively Ayreon's 01011001 and Avantasia's The Scarecrow, were released simultaneously. The music press, always eager for a story, called this event the 'Clash of the Titans', gleefully portraying the two musicians as bitter rivals and urging each to comment on the other in countless interviews. There was much speculation about which album would be more successful, but upon release both albums immediately charted in several countries around the world. When asked about the so-called rivalry, Arjen explains: "I'd not yet even heard Tobias's album, but when I found out he'd managed to get my all-time favourite artist Alice Cooper to guest on The Scarecrow, I totally freaked out and sent a hate-mail to Tobias's MySpace. Fortunately, he never received it".

Coincidentally however, Tobias, who was fed up with having to talk about Arjen in interviews, grudgingly decided it was time to get acquainted. He emailed Arjen, and in the stream of email and insults that followed "it turned out that Tobias hated me just as much for having got Bruce Dickinson to guest on an Ayreon album, haha!" Arjen explains. Despite their mutual hatred, the two musicians eventually hatched a plan to put some fuel on the fire created by the press by doing the unthinkable: recording a song together. The result is a mind-blowing over-the-top cover version of Elected, the original version of which was a big hit for Alice Cooper back in 1973.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

Bruce Dickinson > Alice Cooper.

I haven't heard a single Avantasia album yet. I don't like Edguy, so I didn't bother. Sammet sounds like Dickinson with a cold, in my opinion.

 

[Wyvern]

Bruce Dickinson > Alice Cooper.

I haven't heard a single Avantasia album yet. I don't like Edguy, so I didn't bother. Sammet sounds like Dickinson with a cold, in my opinion.

a) with all due respect what Dickinson have to do on this?
b) Alice Cooper is a institution way bigger than Bruce, to the point Dickinson appears in the Alice Cooper tribute. I haven's seen a tribute to Bruce

Jorn Lande also!


Exactly, and with both of them having a similar twisted sense of humor they ride this gimmick to the maximum, just look at this snippet from the official press release:

True, I forgot Jorn

NP: Jezabel - 'Signos (10x)'

 

[Vegard Pompey]

a) with all due respect what Dickinson have to do on this?

Sammet hated Arjen for getting Dickinson to guest on Flight of the Migrator, and I was also describing Sammet's voice as "Dickinson with a cold".

 

[Wyvern]

Sammet hated Arjen for getting Dickinson to guest on Flight of the Migrator, and I was also describing Sammet's voice as "Dickinson with a cold".

I can't relate both vocalist even with an atomic amplifier, but it's your opinion. Besides Bruce part in "Flight Of The Migrator" wasn't that spectacular (and I'm a fan of the album).


NP: Trouble - 'Pray For The Dead'