Concept Project CDs!

Aina - Days of Rising Doom (The Metal Opera)

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2003 - A concept album with a very good story (e.g. The Lord Of The Rings).  Music is a broad range of Prog Rock & Metal with a lot of symphonic arrangements on this record.
 

Guest Musicians:
Sascha Paeth (Heaven`s Gate)
Robert Hunecke-Rizzo (Heaven`s Gate)
Amanda Somerville
Miro
Sebastian Thomson
Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween, Supared)
Damian Wilson (ex-Threshold)
Glenn Hughes
Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia)
Thomas Rettke (Heaven`s gate)
Olaf Hayer (Luca Turilli)
Cinzia Rizzo
Rannveig Sif Sigurdardottir
Andre Matos (ex-Angra, Shaman)
Candice Night (Blackmore`s Night)
Sass Jordan
Marko Hietala (Nightwish)
Simone Simons (Epica)
Oliver Hartmann
Herbie Langhans
Olaf Reitmeier
Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater)
Jens Johansson (ex-Malmsteen, Stratovarius)
T.M. Stevens (Steve Vai)
Alex Naschke
Emppu Vuorinen (Nightwish)
Thomas Youngblood (Kamelot)
Erik Norlander (Lana Lane)

To be continued...(they said and we hope!)
 

Gary Hughes Once & Future King - (Part 1&2):
        
Web Site

2003 - There are parts of the album that naturally sound like Ten or a Hughes solo project.  The story is of King Arthur and the myths behind the legend. It is told through a series of songs spanning two separate albums and guest vocalists playing the parts of various figures involved in the story.

The Singers:
Damian Wilson (Threshold, Ayreon) - Prologue Narrator
Gary Hughes as King Arthur
Lana Lane as Guinevere
Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) as Lancelot
Irene Jansen (Karma) as Morgana
Bob Catley (Magnum) as Merlin
Sean Harris (Diamond Head) as Galahad
DC Cooper (Symphorce) as King Aelle
Sabine Edelsbacher (Edenbridge) as Nimue
Doogie White (Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen) as Mordred
Harry Hess (Harem Scarem) - Epilogue Narrator

Gary Hughes: Guitar, Piano, Keyboards
Arjen Lucassen: Keyboards intro "Excalibur"
Chris Francis: lead guitars
John Halliwell: guitars
Greg Morgan: drums
Steve McKenna: bass
Paul Hodson: keyboards
Graham Woodcock (The Quest): additional keyboards

Tobias Sammet's Avantasia - The Metal Opera (Part 1&2):
   
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2002 & 2001 - Avantasia's The Metal Opera is the concept album masterpiece created by Edguy vocalist Tobias Sammet.  Features members of some of the leading power metal acts like Helloween, Gamma Ray, Stratovarius, Virgin Steele, Rhapsody and, of course, Edguy.

Arjen Lucassen's Star One - Space Metal
  cd         Live - cd & dvd

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2002 - Prog-metal/rock project featuring members of Edge Of Sanity, Symphony X, Ayeron & Startovarius.  
The straightforward and hard-edge metal side-project was a reaction to the soft and atmospheric Ambeon release a year earlier. Although Star One was initially intended to be a single-singer band, it quickly transformed into a multi-singer band featuring singers Russell Allen, Dan Swan�, Damian Wilson and Floor Jansen, and later toured with most of this stellar cast during the Intergalactic Space Crusader Tour 2002.
 

Daniele Liverani's Genius: A Rock Opera (Part 1 & Part 2)

     

2002 Part 1 - Heavy metal rock opera featuring Mark Boals (ex-Malmsteen, Ring Of Fire), Lana Lane, Daniel Gildenlow (Pain Of Salvation), Chris Boltendahl (Grave Digger), Joe Vana (Mecca), Steve Walsh (Kansas), John Wtton (Asia, Uriah Heep), Oliver Hartmann (ex-At Vance), Midnight (ex-Crimson Glory) & many more. Frontiers Records.

2004 Part 2 - "In Search of the Little Prince",continues the journey of Genius, portrayed by Mark Boals of Ring of Fire, and Pain of Salvation�s Daniel Gildenlow as Twinspirit 32, as they travel through 80 minutes of melodic progressive metal madness. Missing from the first chapter are John Wetton, Steve Walsh, Midnight, and several others. In their place are Symphony X�s Russell Allen, Angra�s Ed Falaschi, and a horde of additional singers. Continuing to provide narration is Ring of Fire and Steve Vai�s bassist Phillip Bynoe.