There are moments when a side band becomes a full-time band due the success it earns, and it’s not something uncommon. THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA can be said so if one thinks of “Internal Affairs” days. And the German act AVANTASIA was born as a side project of Tobias Sammet (then singer of EDGUY), but it became a band and keeps releasing albums. But what one can expect from “Here Be Dragons”, the band’s new album? Tobias Sammet (producer, recordings), Sascha Paeth (producer, recording, mixing) and Miro Rodenberg (mastering) were the guys who built the sonority of the album, and no risk was taken on it: It’s clean and defined as the band usually sounds, but with a touch of modernity due the modern technologies of the studios. And the artwork of Rodney Matthews is excellent, with traces that can bring to mind something of EDGUY saw on “Space Police (Defenders of the Crown)”.

As everyone already knows, AVANTASIA is a band focused on the creation of music in form of Heavy/Power Metal symphonies, a kind of Opera Rock (here without being a conceptual album at first sight), with many guest musicians on the band’s album. But from some years ago, the band started to bring accessible influences of Hard Rock and even Pop Rock (“Bring on the Night” is truly a very accessible and commercial moment of the album) into its musical core (what caused many complains on internet) due the appreciation for catching melodies and hooking choruses. But it doesn’t mean that the band’s music isn’t good, and here on “Here Be Dragons”, it’s in a really very good shape, indeed.

The names of Roy Khan, Tommy Karevik, Ronnie Atkins, Kenny Leckremo, Adrienne Cowan, Michael Kiske, Geoff Tate and Bob Catley are already known for Metal/Hard Rock fans, all of them on the vocals. And their work gave a different flavor to “Creepshow”, “Here Be Dragons”, “The Moorland at Twilight”, “The Witch”, “Phantasmagoria”, “Bring on the Night”, “Unleash the Kraken”, “Avalon”, “Against the Wind”, and “Everybody’s Here Until the End”, and again the fans will become separated on two main groups: the ones that hate it and will keeping complaining and wish to go back to the past; and the ones that will receive “Here Be Dragons” with open arms. What’s left to say about the songs is that the band is working in great shape, turning each one of the songs into a moment of pleasure.

The complainers will keep in such a way; but the fans will love “Here Be Dragons”. No one, however, can deny that AVANTASIA keeps being a huge name on the Heavy/Power Metal scene.