The Land of New Hope

The Land of New Hope
Studio album by Avalon
Released May 17, 2013
Recorded 2012-2013
Genre Symphonic metal
Power metal
Heavy metal
Label Frontiers Records
Producer Timo Tolkki
Avalon chronology

The Land of New Hope
(2013)		 Angels of the Apocalypse
(2014)

The Land of New Hope is the first full-length album by Timo Tolkki's metal opera project Avalon. The album was released on May 17, 2013 in Europe and May 21, 2013 in the US.[1]

According to Tolkki "I sort of rediscovered myself musically in the process of making this album. I wrote the story first and started composing the music after that. My aim was to write memorable songs with good melodies that would support the story...On this album you will find a lot of different dynamics...with some songs that are fully orchestrated and sound very very big."[2]

Tolkki plans to release a trilogy about this concept, and The Land of New Hope is the end of the story[3]

Several heavy metal singers were invited to play the characters of the story of the album, with female vocalist Elize Ryd (Amaranthe) and vocalist Rob Rock (Impellitteri) appearing to be the main characters and singing on most of the songs. The remaining vocalists performing on the album were Michael Kiske (Unisonic, ex-Helloween), Russell Allen (Symphony X, Allen-Lande), Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation) and Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica).

The artwork was created by Stanis W. Decker and will be released in 2 versions - regular cd and deluxe edition with a 30 minutes documentary plus a promotional videoclip for the song "Enshrined in My Memory".

Story

"It’s A.D. 2055 and most big cities of Planet Earth are either flooded with tsunamis or destroyed by earthquakes and fire. The whole infrastructure and communication system has broken down. The destruction is total. A small group of survivors leaves for a quest to find a sacred place known as The Land of New Hope. It is an old fairytale that has been told since decades, but very few has actually ever believed of its existence. They travel far on a journey that is full of dangers and come across a seer who guides them further. She explains to them that The Land of New Hope does exist, but it is guarded by a Keeper and only those who are pure in heart can pass him. They wander further towards their ultimate destiny…."[4]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Timo Tolkki. 

No. TitleGuest Vocalist Length
1. "Avalanche Anthem"  Russell Allen, Rob Rock, Elize Ryd 4:52
2. "A World Without Us"  Elize Ryd, Russell Allen, Rob Rock 5:42
3. "Enshrined in My Memory"  Elize Ryd 4:05
4. "In the Name of the Rose"  Elize Ryd, Russell Allen, Rob Rock 4:26
5. "We Will Find a Way"  Rob Rock, Tony Kakko 4:24
6. "Shine"  Elize Ryd, Sharon den Adel 3:36
7. "The Magic of the Night"  Rob Rock 4:42
8. "To the Edge of the World"  Rob Rock 5:01
9. "I’ll Sing You Home"  Elize Ryd 5:01
10. "The Land of New Hope"  Michael Kiske 8:53

[5] [6]

Personnel

Singers

Additional cast

Chart positions

Country Position[7]
Finland 7
Sweden 42
Switzerland 59
Norway 80
Germany 90

References

  1. ↑ "Timo Tolkki's Avalon - The Land of New Hope EPK (Official)". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  2. ↑ "Frontiers". Frontiers.it. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  3. ↑ "Interview with Timo Tolkki". Metal Traveller. April 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "Frontiers Records Showcase. Highlighting the best new melodic releases available". Melodicrock.com. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  5. ↑ "TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON: 'The Land Of New Hope' Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.Net. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  6. ↑ "The Land of New Hope: Timo Tolkki's Avalon: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  7. ↑ "Timo Tolkki's Avalon: More 'The Land Of New Hope' First-Week Chart Positions". Blabbermouth.net. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2014.

External links