POWER OF TWO

On paper at least, Tobias Sammet and Bob Catley appear to have very little in common. Born in Fulda, Germany, 41-year-old Sammet is the leader of Avantasia (the name is a combination of ‘avalon’ and ‘fantasia’), a metal-opera project he founded at the end of the 1990s. Avantasia have grown steadily over the course of eight special-guest-strewn albums, to the point where demand for tours outstrips the logistical nightmare of doing them. In the past, Klaus Meine, Alice Cooper, Dee Snider, Biff Byford and Joe Lynn Turner are among the many to have stepped into Sammet’s fantasy world.

Catley, three decades older than Sammet, has spent most of his adult life fronting Brummie pomp masters Magnum. Which is where the connection began. In 2002, Magnum fan Sammet, invited Catley to sing on Avantasia’s The Metal. Then Sammet appeared on last year’s Magnum album , and joined them during a gig in Birmingham.