In 2001, Nikolo Kotzev (Brazen Abbot, Kikimora), delivered a three-set rock opera on the life of Nostradamus. Involved were some of the best singers around, including Glenn Hughes, Joe Lynn Turner, Goran Edman, Jørn Lande, Doogie White, Alannah Myles and Sass Jordan. Nikolo provided guitar and violin and was joined by three members from Europe, Mic Michaeli on keyboards, Ian Haugland on drums and John Levén on bass plus there was also the Sofia Strings Symphonic Orchestra. Kotzev is one of the most well-known Bulgarian musicians outside his own country, forming Brazen Abbot in Finland, and producing and mixing band such as Saxon, Molly Hatchet, Rose Tattoo and Messiah’s Kiss, which is why he was able to pull together such a cast for his musical.
I reviewed this back when it was first released by SPV, and I am not surprised it has come around again as even though it sold 50,000 copies at the time, it is one of those rock operas which has not really captured the imagination of the mass public, which is a real shame as there are some wonderful melodies, great shredding (check out “Henriette”) while vocalists such as Glenn Hughes always delivered a stunning performance. It is a very theatrical production and is something which deserves to be delivered to the public in that manner, which is why this is now being reissued as there was such a performance in 2016 to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the death of the French prophet Michel de Nostradamus. It had taken only fifteen years for it to make its debut, and any fan of theatrical rock musicals will do well to visit this so they can then compare it against the live version.
Rating: 8/10
