Defenders Of The Faith, le forum Metal

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Following the success of Timo Tolkki's Avalon debut album The Land Of New Hope, guitarist Timo Tolkki has already started working on a sequel to his first Metal Opera, slated for a 2014 release on Frontiers Records. The entire cast of musicians will be revealed one by one in separate video blogs. The first singer from the cast reveled is Simone Simons of Epica fame. She is not singing the main rôle on Avalon II, which is a working title for the album, but the final name will be revealed later.

Tuomo Lassila, the founder of the legendary Finnish Power Metal band Stratovarius, will join his old bandmate Timo Tolkki for the recording of the drums and percussion parts on the second album of Tolkki's Avalon Metal Opera, due for release on Frontiers Records in 2014.

Lassila founded Stratovarius and came up with the name of the band in 1984, so next year marks the band's 30th Anniversary. Tuomo Lassila's drumming style is world famous from the first Stratovarius albums like "Dreamspace" and "Fourth Dimension" and his versatility as a drummer will bring to the record a great flavor of world class drumming. Lassila currently plays percussion in the Symphony Orchestra of the city of Lohja in Finland.

Timo Tolkki said: "I am extremely happy to have Tuomo on board for this album and look forward to the contributions he will give to the music".

Lassila joins Simone Simons (Epica), who was previously announced as the first guest vocalist for the untitled album.

Will Timo Tolkki ever get rid of the Stratovarius inheritance? After Tuomo Lassila, the next ex-Strato member to join Timo Tolkki's Avalon's line-up for the second album is Antti Ikonen. The band's site states: "The original keyboard player of Stratovarius Antti Ikonen has joined the line up of Avalon. He played all keyboards on the classic Stratovarius albums such as Fright Night, Twilight Time, Dreamspace and Fourth Dimension."

About this, Timo Tolkki had this to say: "It is incredibly refreshing to create and play new music with old friends and the spirit and the atmosphere have been absolutely great and positive!"

Finnish composer/producer and guitar player Timo Tolkki has set "Angels Of The Apocalypse" as tht title of the follow-up to TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON's debut album, "The Land Of New Hope". Due in May via Frontiers Records, the CD will feature guest appearances by the following singers:

* Floor Jansen (NIGHTWISH, REVAMP, AFTER FOREVER)
* Simone Simons (EPICA)
* Fabio Lione (RHAPSODY OF FIRE, ANGRA)
* David DeFeis (VIRGIN STEELE)
* Elize Ryd (AMARANTHE)
* Caterina Nix

Other musicians which will appear on the album include two other former members of STRATOVARIUS: Tuomo Lassila (STRATOVARIUS' founder) on drums and Antti Ikonen, the original keyboard player of STRATOVARIUS.

Timo Tolkki has also announced a contest for guitar and keyboard players. Now you have the chance to play a solo with Timo Tolkki in one song of the album. Please send one MP3 that contains your solo playing to this email address: solos@tolkki.org. The winner will receive a backing track and will play his/her solos to this. The MP3s for the contest have to be received no later than February 16 to be considered.

Jansen sings lead vocals on the first single and promotional video from "Angels Of The Apocalypse". The single and the video will be made available in March.

The recordings for the new TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON CD are taking place at East Sound Studios in Helsinki, Finland.

Tolkki's sequel to his first metal opera will feature 11 tracks.

Everflow a écrit :Il doit se souvenir de la fois où il lui a pissé dessus sur scène...

As for the players on the album, Tolkki finally managed to reunite the legendary STRATOVARIUS Dreamspace lineup, calling Antti Ikonen and Tuomo Lassila to play keyboards and drums respectively. “It was really nice and brought good vibes and freshness to the album,” tells Timo. “Definitely the right move.”

The amazing cast of vocalists appearing this time includes NIGHTWISH singer Floor Jansen – who takes care of the lead vocals on the first single 'Design The Century' – along with Simone Simons (EPICA), Fabio Lione (RHAPSODY OF FIRE), David DeFeis (VIRGIN STEELE), Zachary Stevens (ex-SAVATAGE, CIRCLE II CIRCLE), plus Elize Ryd (AMARANTHE) - who appears again after contributing to the first album - and the stunning Chilean singer Caterina Nix, who is working on her debut album which is also produced by Tolkki. “Some songs were written with a specific singer in mind, while for some others I decided based on the knowledge that I had on how he or she would perform. I am particularly happy of how this record sounds especially two songs You’ll Bleed Forever and the 10 minute title track are among my favourite ever,” says Tolkki.

Once again the stunning artwork is provided by the French artist Stanis W. Decker and the first pressing of the physical edition will be available in a glossy digipak.

Angels of the Apocalypse final tracklisting:
'Song For Eden'
'Jerusalem Is Falling'
'Design The Century'
'Rise Of The 4th Reich'
'Stargate Atlantis'
'You’ll Bleed Forever'
'The Paradise Lost'
'Neon Sirens'
'High Above Of Me'
'Angels Of The Apocalypse'
'Garden Of Eden'

Frontiers Music Srl recently announced the return of TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON with the release of the long-awaited third chapter in his metal opera, "Return To Eden", on June 14. Today, the lyric video for the second single, "Hear My Call", featuring Anneke Van Giersbergen on lead vocals, has been made available. Check it out below.

Five years in the making, "Return To Eden" marks a new return for the legendary ex-STRATOVARIUS guitarist and composer Timo Tolkki. Following a few personal issues which forced him to take a step back from the spotlight, Timo started the writing process for the new album and, with the help of the Italian producer Aldo Lonobile (SECRET SPHERE), completed this outstanding comeback album. A convincing and inspired release, Timo's hunger to create is stronger than ever. As with previous releases, a slew of heavyweight guest vocalists were brought in to handle lead vocal duties. "Return To Eden" features appearances by renowned Dutch singer Anneke Van Giersbergen (ex-THE GATHERING), Zak Stevens (ex-SAVATAGE), Todd Michael Hall (RIOT V), Mariangela Demurtas (TRISTANIA, ARDOURS), and Eduard Hovinga (ex-ELEGY).

"I would like to say… Tolkki is back!" exclaims Timo. "I feel that this is one of my best works to date and I believe the whole cast of singers and musicians truly went above and beyond the call of duty. We managed to create a really great record. I hope the fans will like it."

Tolkki has traveled a hard road to get to today, but he is back and more determined than ever to take back his rightful place in the metal scene that he so much deserves after all these years.

Formed in the autumn of 2012, TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON released its debut album, "The Land Of New Hope", in May 2013. A follow-up effort, "Angels Of The Apocalypse", was issued in May 2014.

Although AVALON has been described by the media as a metal opera, it really is a vehicle for former STRATOVARIUS guitarist Timo Tolkki to express his music in various formats using high-quality musicians. It doesn't have a permanent lineup except for Tolkki.

The project's name comes from the film "The Mists Of Avalon", which tells the story of King Arthur. The film describes Avalon as a place likened to "heaven" that normal mortals cannot see and it is divided by mist. It is one of Tolkki's favorite films.

"Return To Eden" track listing:

01. Enlighten
02. Promises (feat. Todd Michael Hall)
03. Return To Eden (feat. Mariangela Demurtas, Zachary Stevens, & Todd Michael Hall)
04. Hear My Call (feat. Anneke Van Giersbergen)
05. Now and Forever (feat. Todd Michael Hall)
06. Miles Away (feat. Zachary Stevens)
07. Limits (feat. Eduard Hovinga)
08. We Are The Ones (feat. Anneke Van Giersbergen)
09. Godsend (feat. Mariangela Demurtas)
10. Give Me Hope (feat. Eduard Hovinga)
11. Wasted Dreams (feat. Zachary Stevens)
12. Guiding Star (feat. Mariangela Demurtas)

Timo Tolkki - Lead Guitar, Bass
Andrea Buratto - Bass
Antonio Agate - Piano, Keyboards
Giulio Capone - Drums, Piano, Keyboards
Jami Huovinen - Drums
Aldo Lonobile - Guitar
Santtu Lehtiniemi - Additional Guitars

INFINITE VISIONS, the new band formed by ex-STRATOVARIUS guitarist Timo Tolkki, has announced that Timo's longtime STRATOVARIUS bandmate Jari Kainulainen has joined the lineup as bassist.

Timo states: "I would like to welcome my old friend Jari Kainulainen to INFINITE VISIONS. Having played and toured with him makes me really happy and lucky. Jari Kainulainen is the best bass player in the world for me. I cannot wait for the tours!"

Jari was in STRATOVARIUS from 1993 through 2005, recording and touring behind such classic albums as "Episode", "Visions", "Infinite" and "Elements". Jari is also the bassist of MASTERPLAN.

The INFINITE VISIONS lineup is rounded out by Timo on guitar, Jorge Segersbol (ANCESTRAL DAWN) on vocals and Jimmy Pitts (ETERNITY'S END) on keyboards, with the drummer to be revealed early next month. The band is currently in the midst of recording a five-song demo to be presented to labels worldwide.

The debut album by INFINITE VISIONS will be titled "Union Magnetica" and feature 10 songs, including "Voice Of Tomorrow", "You Rock My World", "Sonata Black", "Dangerous" and "Infinite Visions". The disc will be recorded at the end of 2020, with plans to tour for the album when it is released next year, and to perform at festivals as well in 2021.

Legendary guitar virtuoso Timo Tolkki has recently launched a new project under the name Infinite Visions. However, the career of the latter was extremely short. The reason: not reaching the crowdfunding goal for the release of debut studio album. More can be read below.

has has called it quits after failing to raise sufficient funds to record its debut album. Band recorded demo and you can listen it below.

Official statement: Unfortunately, as Infinite Visions did not meet its crowdfunding goal there will be no album and the band will not continue. The band would like to offer their sincere thanks to the 56 contributors to the crowdfunding campaign. Your support was much appreciated. As it was an "all-or-nothing" campaign your contribution amount will be returned to you by HitHit.

"As a farewell to the fans, Infinite Visions are posting the five songs that were recorded for their demo, including two unreleased songs, "Dangerous" and "Voice Of Tomorrow" (Erik Kraemer pre-production vocal demo). Some "bonus tracks" are also included: the keyboard demo by Jimmy Pitts for "Dangerous" and the unmixed drum tracks by Pawel Jaroszewicz for "Voice Of Tomorrow".

"Now my Plan is to release Union Magnetica as my solo album perhaps with names like Elize Ryd, Sharon Den Adel, Russel Allen, Rob Rock etc. My Plan is to release this Solo Album next autumn and tour it Worldwide."