Iconic guitarist and composer, Timo Tolkki, has announced the release of his latest single, “Faust”, inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s classic work. The track features Jeff Scott Soto (vocals), Jari Kainulainen (bass), and Peter Dellermann (drums).

The song delves into the eternal dilemma of Faust, a man who sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. The video was directed by Anderson Bellini, the director behind the documentary Andre Matos – Maestro do Rock. Check it out below.

“Musically, I tried to create something a bit more modern, with a lot of detail in the track, especially when listened to with headphones,” Tolkki explains. “I think it features some of the best guitar work I’ve been able to record in years. I felt deeply inspired while composing and recording Classical Variations and Themes 2: Ultima Thule. Nearly the entire album was composed in a place 40 km outside Helsinki, Finland’s capital, where I spent about a month and a half in a cabin in the middle of a beautiful nature.”

The video is inspired by the famous story of Faust, where the protagonist, dissatisfied with his life as a scholar, makes a pact with Mephistopheles. During the bargain, Faust succumbs to magic and worldly pleasures, which ultimately lead to tragedy. However, in Goethe’s version, Faust finds redemption through divine intervention and the pure soul of Gretchen, a young woman he seduces.

“This project was particularly special for me because I wanted to capture the essence of Faust’s inner conflict, as he struggles between the pursuit of knowledge and the ultimate price that comes with it,” adds Tolkki.