Avantasia: Ghostlights [2016]

Released	29 January 2016^[1]^[2]^[3]
Recorded	Gatestudio Wolfsburg, Germany^[1]
Genre	Power metal, hard rock,symphonic metal
Length	70:03^[1]
Label	Nuclear Blast
Producer	Sascha Paeth and Tobias Sammet

Ghostlights is the seventh full-length album by Tobias Sammet‘s rock opera project Avantasia. It was released on 29 January 2016.^[1]^[3] The opening track and first single “Mystery of a Blood Red Rose” was a candidate for the German representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, along with nine other songs.^[4] The Digibook edition of the album included a bonus track and a bonus CD entitled Avantasia Live, which featured songs recorded mainly during Avantasia’s 2014 performance at Wacken Open Air Festival.^[5]

Ghostlights scored the highest positions of any Avantasia release in several international music charts and marks the second time Avantasia has entered the US Billboard 200 albums chart.^[6]

The plot of the album concludes the story started on The Mystery of Time. Musically, it shows a darker and more theatrical tone than its predecessor, which Sammet claims to have been spontaneous, not planned.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Tobias Sammet.

No.	Title	Guest vocalist(s)^[2]^[3]^[12]	Length
1.	“Mystery of a Blood Red Rose”		3:51
2.	“Let the Storm Descend Upon You”	Jørn Lande (“Temptation”), Ronnie Atkins (“Magician”), Robert Mason (“Scientist I”)	12:09
3.	“The Haunting”	Dee Snider (“Nightmare”)	4:42
4.	“Seduction of Decay”	Geoff Tate (“Scientist II”)	7:18
5.	“Ghostlights”	Michael Kiske (“Mystic”), Lande	5:43
6.	“Draconian Love”	Herbie Langhans (“Eclipse”)	4:58
7.	“Master of the Pendulum”	Marco Hietala (“The Watchmaker”)	5:01
8.	“Isle of Evermore”	Sharon den Adel (“Muse”)	4:28
9.	“Babylon Vampyres”	Mason	7:09
10.	“Lucifer”	Lande	3:48
11.	“Unchain the Light”	Atkins, Kiske	5:03
12.	“A Restless Heart and Obsidian Skies”	Bob Catley (“Spirit”)	5:53
13.	“Wake up to the Moon” (Digibook edition bonus track)	Atkins, Kiske, Lande, Catley, Mason	4:43
Total length:			74:46^[1]

Sammet sings the part of “Aaron” throughout.

The Digibook edition bonus disc – Avantasia Live^[1]

All songs written and composed by Tobias Sammet.

No.	Title	Guest vocalist(s)	Length
1.	“Spectres”		6:04
2.	“Invoke the Machine”	Atkins	5:35
3.	“The Story Ain’t Over”	Catley	4:45
4.	“Prelude”		1:24
5.	“Reach Out for the Light”	Kiske	8:04
6.	“Avantasia”	Kiske	5:16
7.	“What’s Left of Me”	Eric Martin	5:55
8.	“Dying for an Angel”	Martin	4:58
9.	“Twisted Mind”	Atkins, Martin	6:29
10.	“The Watchmakers’ Dream”	Oliver Hartmann	4:47
11.	“Another Angel Down”	Lande	5:30
Total length:			58:47