On disc: Edguy

 
 The Savage Poetry
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Mandrake
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Mandrake
 
- Volker Raabe -
 
 


 
 Burning Down The Opera
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 King Of Fools
 
- Anika Peterson -
 
 


 
 Tinnitus Sanctus
 
- Philip Thelen -
 
 

Tinnitus Sanctus

(Nuclear Blast - 2009)



 
 

 

The new album from German metal heroes Edguy is titled Tinnitus Sanctus. After the great success of Tobi's other project Avantasia there was time to release the new Edguy album.

First song Ministry Of Saints is a quite typical Edguy song. Refrains to sing along and straight riffs. I think this could be a great single version and it is a really great live song! Sex-Fire-Religion reminds me of some Rocket Ride tracks. It is more straight hard rock than melodic metal. But there are better tracks on this album. So is Pride Of Creation, another typical Edguy tune! Fast, melodic and great refrains. I really like the slow vocal part in the middle of the song. Nine Lives is again more hard rock style, but a great tune, too. And now one of my favorites: Wake Up Dreaming Black. The charismatic melody at the beginning is leading through the whole song and the chorus is blowing you away! Dragonfly is (again) more in the hard rock section, but again a nice one. In my opinion the choir in the refrain is a bit too much. But if you like Save Me off Rocket Ride you will also like Thorn Without A Rose, a really nice ballad in the same style as Save Me. You also should check out the following 9-2-9 which is a charismatic song to sing along. I am really surprised about the choirs in the beginning of Speedhoven, together with Ministry Of Saints one of my faves! Fast, melodic riffs are provoking to bang the whole song. You can read in the title of Dead Or Rock: this one is really hard rock orientated. Again a nice song. And for all the guys who waited for a fun song as Trinidad or Life And Times Of A Bonus Track: You should listen to Aren't You A Little Pervert, Too?. This song sounds like a country song with funny lyrics. Later it turns in to a fast country song ;-). All in all I can say that I like this album more than Rocket Ride, but it is not one of my faves. It is worth to check out and if you have the chance to catch the limited edition you will be rewarded with an extra disc: Live In Los Angeles from the Rocket Ride world tour.
 
 










Philip Thelen


  
up 













King Of Fools

(Nuclear Blast - 2004)



 
 

 

This 5-track EP is just an appetizer for the coming album Hellfire Club. But only King Of Fools will be on the album, the 4 other tracks are non-album tracks. King Of Fools is a typical Edguy song, a mid-tempo one with straight guitar riffing and a heavy groove. Only it seems to me that it's a little more aggressive... Especially the vocals vary in comparison with their last releases.

With the Filmorchester Babelsberg they recorded New Age Messiah and Holy Water. Due to the orchestra this songs get a movie sound track appeal. A straight up-tempo rocker is The Savage Union. Here the guitar riffing remind me a little of Accept...
The last track - Life And Times Of A Bonus Track - is a piano ballad and shouldn't be taken too serious. In their own humor they think about the sense or senselessness of bonus tracks. Quite funny.

Let's wait and see what the album will bring... But with their new label Nuclear Blast they have the chance - if the album is good enough - to make themselves more known outside Germany.
 
 










Anika Peterson
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)

  
up 










Burning Down The Opera

(AFM Records - 2003)



 
 

 

Late 2001 the German youngsters did their first headlining tour and decided to record the show for a live album. As support act the band proofed that they can burn down the place. The headlining show focussed on the current release Mandrake, but they surely played some old tunes. The Mandrake world tour was pretty successful! The played more then 60 shows in 23 countries incl. sold out shows in Europe, Russia, USA, Mexico, Japan, Australia, South America, etc. When they started their career the critics called them Helloween clones, the quintet proofed them wrong! The set list incl. Land Of The Miracle, Painting On The Wall, The Pharaoh, Vain Glory Opera and many more, at all 15 songs. Not necessary to go into detail about the songs. No complains about the sound quality - a clear and powerful sound. Not just the lyrics can be understood, also the words Tobi addresses to the audience. Fun to listen to, Tobias Sammet is an entertainer which is obvious to everybody who saw them live and now also to the ones who never saw them live. The live document carries the atmosphere of their live shows and drag you into the event. Close your eyes and you can feel the atmosphere, be part of this event. Great!

This album is also a good possibility for melodic metal fans who aren't familiar with the Germans or to fans who just discovered this genre. A kind of 'best of' release from Edguy.

A limited digi-pack of the double CD is available, but strictly limited! The album comes with a 32 pages booklet with more then 130 pics, lyrics of all songs and details about all shows of the world tour.
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
up 










Mandrake

(AFM Records - 2001)



 
 

 

In the beginning Edguy were classified as Helloween copycats, but through the years and albums they released they developed their own sound / identity. Mandrake is the most mature release of the German 5-piece. Tears Of A Mandrake got it's special sound from the roaring Hammond organ. Golden Dawn is a faster, powerful track which shows their roots. The ballad Wash Away The Poison starts with a piano intro and shows the emotional, more mellow side of Tobias Sammet and Co. But there are pounding metal tracks which have more than just simple metal riffs, e.g. Jerusalem with the acoustic guitar or Pharaoh which has elements of oriental music. A large musical variety offered on Mandrake and proof all critics wrong who saw just some Helloween clones in Edguy. These days the band is established in the metal scene and playing live got them a following. If they continue their way, the future is bright for the symathetic band.
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
up 










Mandrake

(AFM Records - 2001)



 
 

 

Actually it ain't necessary to tell much about Edguy - our German heroes from Fulda - coz they getting better with every album. It would be disappointing, if mastermind Tobias Sammet and his main band couldn't keep the high musical level, especially after the release of Avantasia. Edguy's latest opus Mandrake is impressing you with great song writing, a powerful production and killer tracks like Wash Away The Poison and Nailed To The Wheel. This album should be part of every collection of a true metal fan and it proofs again that German bands offer great metal these days. On Mandrake you won't find a filler, just killers and that shows the high quality of the quintet. The Germans and especially mainman Sammet are part of the premier league of German metal and they don't rest on their laurel's which songs like The Pharaoh, Painting On The Wall and All The Clowns proof. They fought their way to the top and Mandrake shows that they grow up. Excellent!
 
 










Volker Raabe
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)

  
up 










The Savage Poetry (Version 2000)

(AFM Records - 2000)



 
 

 

The German youngsters of the melodic power metal elite offer a kind of re-release. Actually the songs are the first they released back in 1995, but they re-recorded them! Due to the re-recording the songs which are great songs, can now shine brighter! The version 2000 is more powerful. I can recomment this album to all fans of melodic power metal.

Thanks for fighting to release the album this way!
 
 






Claudia Ehrhardt


  
up 





 
 • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com