AVANTASIA: 'Moonglow' Cover Artwork, Track Listing, Guest Vocalists Revealed

“Moonglow”, the next album from EDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet‘s AVANTASIA project, will arrive on February 1, 2019 via Nuclear Blast. Comprising 11 tracks, the new opus once again features several guest vocalists. This time around, Tobias worked not only with such well-known faces as Ronnie Atkins (PRETTY MAIDS), Jørn Lande (MASTERPLAN), Eric Martin (MR. BIG), Geoff Tate (QUEENSRŸCHE), Michael Kiske (HELLOWEEN) and Bob Catley (MAGNUM) but also with new collaborators like Candice Night (BLACKMORE’S NIGHT), Hansi Kürsch (BLIND GUARDIAN) and Mille Petrozza (KREATOR). The cover artwork was created by Alexander Jansson and can be seen below.

Comments Sammet: “It’s alive! After more than two years of hard work — and what felt like 71 overnight shifts back to back recently — we’re ready to unleash ‘Moonglow’ upon the universe. I believe it’s the most adorned and detailed album we’ve ever produced. Not over-ambitious, but there is a lot of love for detail in there. AVANTASIA is the ultimate playground for a musician’s wildest fantasies to come true: Celtic elements, world music elements, big choirs, atmospheric stuff, amazing guest vocal performances and, of course, all that wrapped up in what I consider to be the typical AVANTASIA sound.

“Someone in the music business just told me that the embellished nature of the sound makes it hard to market it, [that] it doesn’t fit in the contemporary musical landscape, and ‘if you take a look around, no one really sounds like that.’ Exactly! Thank you!

“I can’t wait to release ‘Moonglow’, take my friends of the AVANTASIA family and hit the road for the big ‘Moonglow’ world tour.”

“Moonglow” track listing:

01. Ghost In The Moon
02. Book Of Shallows
03. Moonglow
04. The Raven Child
05. Starlight
06. Invincible
07. Alchemy
08. The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
09. Lavender
10. Requiem For A Dream
11. Maniac
12. Heart (bonus track)

Regarding Petrozza‘s contribution to “Moonglow”, Sammet said: “He is evil and he kicks ass. He is a great guy, and a legend! And really cool.”

According to Tobias, Candice delivered “a killer performance” in the studio — “very soulful, a lot of feeling, enchanting… Amazing voice show has!”

Sammet has called Martin “one of the funniest and most soulful singers I have ever shared the stage with.”

Tate previously guested on AVANTASIA‘s seventh album, “Ghostlights”, which was released in 2016. He was also one of the guest vocalists for AVANTASIA at several European shows in the summer of 2017, including Rock Fest Barcelona, where his former band, QUEENSRŸCHE, also appeared on the bill.

Fonte: Blabbermouth.net