Artist: Edguy
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: 2004
Rating: 3.5/5
“King Of Fools” is an EP. Keeping the title track company are four songs the band decided to leave off the upcoming studio album. King Of Fools is a mid-tempo song that’s nothing special in and of itself. It’s a short melodic gem, polished to the band’s usual standards. It has two pre-choruses, two choruses, an instrumental mid-section and one more chorus. In other words, the hair-splittingly polished expression of a compact song, with a heaping helping of melody, as a synonym for the music of Edguy. The difference between the title track and the rest of the material can be found in a slightly sharper sound for the title track, which sparkles in the pre-chorus especially through the singer’s performance and the guitar riffing itself, while the song otherwise has the typical peak in a melodic chorus, which is a hallmark of the band anyway. The production of the other songs follows in the footsteps of the previous studio record “Mandrake” (2001).
Interestingly, Edguy are kind of a cross between eighties and nineties Helloween. So as always, Edguy serve up gorgeous contrasts within the songs this time too: the fantastic “Kiske meets Dickinson” singing of Tobias Sammet, with tasteful, richly layered choir vocal lines always added in the chorus, polished keyboard arrangements, expressive melodic riffs, harmonic three-part picking and that signature double-foot power metal rhythmic drive.
The band also pulls off nice atmospheric contrasts from track to track. The title track is followed by the cheerful New Age Messiah, and after it the guys get a little more serious and deliver two mid-tempo songs, The Savage Union and Holy Water, of which the latter shines especially with its expressive, atmospheric chorus. With the last song, Life And Times Of A Bonus Track, Edguy take a big stylistic detour. It’s a track built on classical piano passages that recall, say, a ballad in the vein of All That I Bleed by Savatage. But the intended effect is exactly the opposite. Tobi’s deliberately off-key singing sees to that, since with it Edguy wanted to express their views on piracy in the music industry, and with a full dose of sarcasm they pulled it off effectively. Not only that, the song is proof that the guys genuinely have a blast whenever they find themselves in the studio. The EP offers a full dose of tomfoolery, with nearly every song except the title track containing at least one word that starts with the letter “f”. In short, “King Of Fools” is a good thing
Lineup
Tobias Sammet – vocals
Jens Ludwig – guitar
Dirk Sauer – guitar
Tobias Exxel – bass
Felix Bohnke – drums
Track List
01. King Of Fools
02. New Age Messiah
03. The Savage Union
04. Holy Water
05. Life And Times Of A Bonus Track
