I imagine most people associate the word "opera" to classical music, along with high pitched sopranos and even a few castrati singing about a strange drama. Figaro's Opera comes to mind, as you envision a man dressed in a tuxedo, a top hat and a classy mustache, facing an audience repleted with 19th Century noblemen.
I would not mark you off wrong, if such is the case. However, there are more, so to say, modern versions of this. With the rise of concept albums since the 1930s, and the ever-increasing nostalgia for Medieval chivalry, it was just a matter of time for something like a Metal Opera to appear. I must say, "The Metal Opera" is not the first opera, nor the only one. Then again, it is the most famous one, a truly incredible journey to the invented world of Avantasia.
Apart from a great storyline, the cast that this project bears is impressive. It has the all-stars from the Metal scene all across from drummers and bass players to guitars and vocalists. Tobias Sammet (Edguy) really put together a great show! And, adding to that, their only live album was recorded in Mexico, which gives them an extra point ;)
For now, I will leave a few of their songs, just to get you wondering. Next time I will go over the story! And just to let you know, here is the cast:
Guitars:
Henjo Richter (Gamma Ray)
Jens Ludwig (Edguy)
Norman Meiritz
Timo Tolkki (Stratovarius)
Bass:
Markus Großkopf (Helloween)
Drums:
Alex Holzwarth (Rhapsody)
Eric Singer (KISS)
Tobias Sammet (Edguy)
Singers: (The first name is their character in the opera)
Gabriel Laymann - Tobias Sammet (Edguy)
Lugaid Vandroiy - Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween)
Bruder Jakob - David DeFeis (Virgin Steele)
Falk von Kronberg - Ralf Zdiarstek
Anna Held - Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation)
Bailiff Johann von Bicken - Rob Rock (Warrior)
Pope Clement VIII - Oliver Hartmann (At Vance)
Elderane the Elf - André Matos (Shaaman, ex-Angra)
Regrin the Dwarf - Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray)
Mysterious Voice of the Tower - Timo Tolkki (Stratovarius)
Tree of Knowledge - Bob Catley
So here are a few songs, just so you get the idea.
How many bands do you know that compose songs, powerful songs, that have lyrics along the lines of "Ôi orôrôi rôrôrôi rôrôrôi rôrôrôi rôrôrôi ohrorô poPÔ" and "Tatrrrepôtetretrepiecôã-é-é-ô-hã-hén-Hén"? I know only one, but I've heard more than one cover.
Focus is a Dutch band, and though you may think that this is some weird form of their language, it isn't. It is senseless, or at least so it is to the outsiders, to everyone else. Maybe it has some meaning to the band itself, or maybe they simply enjoy have a great laugh. I'd probably go for the second one! But either way, this song is great!
I am leaving you a cover version, by Helloween (One of my favorite bands), because I think it sounds better than the original one. However, if you really like classic rock, you should go ahead and find the one performed by Focus. Enjoy!
Tatrrrepôtetretrepiecôã-é-é-ô-hã-hén-Hén Ôi trégueregué-dôi detêro deguedô A tataro teguereguedaw Teguereguedêro dêdow Ô-Éhr-Ôhr-Êhr-Êhr-Áhr-Ó Hé Hã He How
It may seem odd to present the title of a novel, and a movie, as I am doing, while I talk about Metallica's famous song, "One". However, I need to give a bit of background to this song, which, as Cesc commented on an older post, is "definitely one of "those" songs which are way deeper than meets the ear."
On one hand, we have Metallica. One of the forefathers of Thrash Metal, a genre characterized by it's aggressive, angry tones. Those who are able to distinguish the different genres of Metal will, usually, imagine a crazy-eyed soldier, screaming at the top of his lungs, holding two huge machine guns shooting in every direction. It's ironic though, that most of these bands actually promote the opposite, and their sardonic lyrics are full of scorn for war and corruption.
On the other hand, we have the American novelist and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Trumbo's novel, Johnny Got His Gun, is a pacifist novel that opposed World War II (It was published in 1939). In the novel, Trumbo tells the story of Joe Bonham, a soldier who wakes up in a hospital after being hit by an artillery shell. Joe soon realizes that he lost his legs and arms, that he cannot hear, see, smell or speak. However, his mind is intact, and thus he becomes a prisoner of his own body.
This first stanza introduces Joe's situation, as he is suddenly conscious of darkness around him and pain. In the movie, you can hear Joe's voice saying "How can you tell what's a dream and what's real, when you can't even tell when you're awake and when you're asleep?" A main theme throughout Trumbo's novel is Joe's need to communicate, to escape his living prison.
At the beginning of the movie/novel, Joe believes that he cannot move his arms or legs, that he cannot see, talk or hear, because of the instruments used to heal him. It is not until the doctors begin to remove stitches from his shoulders and torso that he realizes he has lost most of his body.
In the story, every doctor in the hospital believe that Joe doesn't have a conscious brain anymore, and that Joe cannot feel anything, either pain or pleasure, joy or sadness. It is on this belief that he is left under such terrible condition, without any attempt to help him.
Joe tries to kill himself by holding his breath. However, he fails to do so because of a machine that pumps oxygen into his lungs. In his dreams, Joe recurrently speaks to Jesus, and asks him to help him out, to take the darkness away.
To be "back in the womb" is, for Joe, to re-live his life, to create himself again. Because he cannot interact at all with with exterior, Joe is forced to live in his memories. However, it is those memories that make Joe's situation more vivid, as it pumps the life he must feel. And yet, by this point Joe knows he cannot go forward, that there isn't much left for him.
Though the second line of the stanza may seem a bit odd, it adds up much of the novel. Joe wished that he was either killed, by cutting of the tubes that kept him alive, or that he was shown to the world. The latter being so everyone could see the horrors that war brought with itself, since at the time, Nationalism was still on the rise, and many saw war as a glorious matter (Remember, Johnny Got His Gun is an anti-war novel).
These lines depict the despair that Trumbo wanted to convey in the first place. Joe is one because there is nothing else for him. All is lost, and there isn't any chance to regain what he has lost.
The last stanza of the song simply shows how Joe is. It is easy to understand the whole song if you read the book, or you see the movie. The last line encompasses the idea that War leaves hell on Earth, as Joe is a could be anyone that goes to fight of a war.
You can actually watch Johnny Got His Gun on Youtube. It's quite a harsh movie, but I recommend it. There is also a new, 2008 version, but I have no idea where to get it.
The music video of the song has many images from the movie itself. Try to pay attention to what he says, as it correlates with the lyrics in many ways.
