Timo Tolkki's Avalon
Angels Of The Apocalypse

Last year we all thought Timo Tolkki was pretty silly for doing an album like 'The Land Of New Hope' since it was such an obvious plagiarism of his old friend and collaborator Tobias Sammets project that has a bit more "fantasia" in it. This year, we're thinking he's silly for a whole other reason - namely the music that, in my opinion, just takes it way over the top.

Despite having names like loor Jansen, David DeFeis, Simone Simons, Fabio Lione and then some, as well as a replay role from Elize Ryd, 'Angels Of The Apocalypse' feels very much like a rush job. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Timo Tolkki and what he's done as a song writer. In my book he's one of the best - all categories. But when I listen to his Avalon albums I feel that respect fade because a truly great song writer should be able to take on any kind of music and do it well but this rock opera just doesn't cut it for me.

I thought the first part was pretty good, and that's why I'm so disappointed in Tolkki for just copying the first part straight off and then multiply the content with a hundred for this second part. Everything is bigger on this album - the choirs, the keyboards, the guests and the music in itself. But it gets a bit too much, if you ask me. A bit silly and pathetic at its times, and some of it is due to the exaggerated use of broken English by the vocalists. Last time there were mostly vocalists that had good pronunciation. This time every other song has it - it's like a tsunami hitting the music and only a speech therapist could love this. Then there's the grand and epic sound of it - why must they take it over the top? It just sounds ridicules when the enormous choirs joins in and the keyboard orchestration pounds out like shockwaves. And then, on top of that, a vocalists that can't even pronounce the lyrics. It's almost sad how bad it goes at times on this album.

But there are positives as well. Everything they tone down and scale down is good - like the ballad You'll Bleed Forever, the concluding epos Garden Of Eden and also High Above Me a few tracks before. David DeFeis makes a memorable job on Rise Of The 4th Reich, all though the song in itself is pretty lame. I also think Tolkki plays his guitars pretty well but that's about it. Everything they can't put a strain on the excessive grandness just gets too much and as a whole I feel the album is a display in how to ruin an album by not keeping it simple.

Overall, 'Angels Of The Apocalypse' is a disappointment compared to the first album. It's recycles too much of it's ideas and then exaggerates them way too much. The album lacks real killer tracks and the best with the album is hardly beating the worst third of the first album. You can't rely on scaled down ballads to rescue you when you have an eleven tracks big album full of epic, bombastic Hollywood metal. Less is more, Timo!

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