Avalon (Finnish band)

Lore & Background

The project was initiated by Frontiers Records founder Serafino Perugino, who in 2010 contacted Timo Tolkki about creating a metal opera. The debut album, The Land of New Hope, was released on 17 May 2013 and featured vocalists Elize Ryd, Rob Rock, Michael Kiske, Russell Allen, Tony Kakko, and David DeFeis, with guest musicians Alex Holzwarth, Jens Johansson, and Derek Sherinian. Tolkki stated that he found the metal opera concept fascinating and logical at that point in his career, citing his love of classical music and the limitless musical possibilities.

In October 2013, Tolkki announced a sequel, initially titled Avalon II. The second album, Angels of the Apocalypse, was revealed on 28 January 2014 with a cast including Simone Simons, Floor Jansen, Fabio Lione, David DeFeis, Elize Ryd, and Caterina Nix. A European tour was planned for May 2014. The third album, Return to Eden, was announced in early 2019, and the fourth, The Enigma Birth, was released on 18 June 2021. Shortly after that release, Tolkki announced the end of the Avalon project following a dispute with Frontiers Records.

Tobias Sammet of Avantasia initially responded with sarcasm to the project's announcement, noting similarities in title, guests, and timing, but later expressed goodwill toward Tolkki. Tolkki responded that no one owns a franchise to 'metal operas' and that the format lacks real dialogue between singers.

Reader's Guide

Avalon represents a notable entry in the metal opera genre, created by a former member of Stratovarius who had previously worked on similar projects. The project's significance lies in its ambitious multi-album narrative and its assembly of a wide range of guest vocalists and instrumentalists from across the power metal and symphonic metal spectrum. The involvement of figures such as Michael Kiske, Russell Allen, and Floor Jansen helped draw attention to the project, though it also invited comparisons to Avantasia, a more established metal opera. The project's dissolution after a dispute with Frontiers Records in 2021 marked the end of a nearly decade-long run. While not as commercially dominant as some contemporaries, Avalon contributed to the metal opera landscape by demonstrating that the format could sustain a multi-album conceptual saga with rotating personnel. Its legacy is tied to Tolkki's broader career and the ongoing popularity of the metal opera style.

Did You Know?

• The project was conceived by Frontiers Records founder Serafino Perugino in 2010, not by Timo Tolkki himself.
• The debut album featured six different lead vocalists: Elize Ryd, Rob Rock, Michael Kiske, Russell Allen, Tony Kakko, and David DeFeis.
• Tobias Sammet of Avantasia initially reacted with sarcasm to the project's announcement, calling it a 'funny coincidence'.
• The fourth and final album, The Enigma Birth, was released on 18 June 2021, shortly before the project ended due to a dispute with Frontiers Records.

Origins and the Metal Opera Vision

Timo Tolkki, already well known for his work with Stratovarius, Revolution Renaissance, and Symfonia, found a new creative outlet when Frontiers Records founder Serafino Perugino reached out to him in 2010. Perugino proposed a bold idea: a full-scale metal opera. The concept clearly resonated with Tolkki, who later explained that the format struck him as both fascinating and logical at that stage of his career. His deep affection for classical music made the parallel with traditional opera compelling, and he saw in the metal opera structure a canvas with virtually no musical boundaries for storytelling. The project, which would carry the evocative name Avalon, was formally established in 2013. What began as a phone call from a record-label executive thus became a vehicle for Tolkki to explore narrative-driven, multi-voiced compositions on a grander scale than his previous bands had allowed. The collaboration with Frontiers Records would define the project's trajectory from its very first note.

The Land of New Hope and the Avantasia Shadow

The debut album, The Land of New Hope, arrived on 17 May 2013 via Frontiers Records and immediately drew attention for its extraordinary roster of guest vocalists. Elize Ryd, Rob Rock, Michael Kiske, Russell Allen, Sharon den Adel, and Tony Kakko all contributed performances, while Alex Holzwarth handled drums and both Jens Johansson and Derek Sherinian added keyboard work. The album's timing, however, placed it squarely in the crosshairs of comparison. Tobias Sammet, the architect of Avantasia, whose sixth album had dropped just two months earlier, initially reacted with pointed sarcasm, questioning the extraordinary creativity behind the title, the guest list, and the release window. He later softened his tone, acknowledging that successful projects naturally inspire others and wishing Tolkki well. Tolkki himself pushed back against the notion of imitation, noting that no one holds a franchise on the metal opera format and that it does not involve the kind of real dialogue between singers found in true operatic works.

Angels of the Apocalypse: Expanding the Saga

In October 2013, Tolkki launched a dedicated news website for Avalon and used it to announce the sequel, initially labeled Avalon II. The casting process was deliberately staged, with singers revealed one at a time. Simone Simons, known from Epica, was the first name confirmed, followed by the announcement that Floor Jansen would take the leading vocal role. Tolkki also brought in two former Stratovarius colleagues, drummer Tuomo Lassila and keyboardist Antti Ikonen, to contribute to the recordings. On 28 January 2014, the album's final title, Angels of the Apocalypse, was unveiled alongside the remaining cast: Fabio Lione, David DeFeis, Elize Ryd, and Caterina Nix. In a gesture that invited fan participation, Tolkki announced a public contest for guitar and keyboard players, with winners earning the chance to perform a solo alongside him on one of the tracks. A European tour was scheduled for May 2014 to coincide with the album's release, signaling the project's ambition to build a live audience beyond the studio.

The Trilogy's Final Chapter and Dissolution

After a gap of several years, Tolkki announced in early 2019 that the third and concluding album of the Avalon trilogy, Return to Eden, was in the works, with Promises serving as the main working song. The project then moved into its final creative phase with The Enigma Birth, the fourth studio album, released on 18 June 2021. This record extended the conceptual saga that had threaded through all four releases, giving the narrative arc a further chapter before the curtain fell. However, the project's end came not from creative exhaustion but from a dispute with Frontiers Records, the label that had originally conceived the idea and distributed every album. Shortly after The Enigma Birth hit the shelves, Tolkki publicly announced the dissolution of Avalon. What had begun as an exciting phone call from Serafino Perugino in 2010 ultimately concluded in a business disagreement, leaving behind a four-album legacy of ambitious, multi-voiced metal storytelling that stood as a distinctive chapter in Tolkki's already varied career.