Artist: Edguy
Label: Nuclear Blast
Released: 2006
Rating: 4/5
A “Marvel”-style comic-book cover with a court jester lost in the vast expanse of outer space, riding a shark-toothed rocket, with an alien lady companion in tow, shows plenty of guts on Edguy’s part, since it’s the usual custom that metal album covers are anything but “jokey”. Edguy have made it clear in the past that they like to reach for the tools of positivity, and fun is part of that, the band’s always upbeat outlook. Edguy are basically crafting a special breed of power metal that could be christened ”joke metal”. Catch Of The Century trivially confirms it. That song is a parody of the petty-bourgeois scramble for glitz and glamor, which in the new millennium has driven a good chunk of the Slovenian blokes and gals nuts too!
“Rocket Ride” is no joke. That is clear right from the opening track. Sacrifice, which kicks off the album, is an eight-minute song at a mid-tempo, with a dreamy pre-chorus and a typical Edguy chorus, where Tobi’s “Dickinson-style” vocal is delicately wrapped in the pomp of choir multi-harmonies, which is a familiar staple of the band and is with us all the way through this time too. Usually the opening tracks of heavy metal albums are a “supersonic-speed shred-fest” that’s supposed to scare the weaklings stiff right away, and fill the “true metallers'” balls with its scorching destructive heat! Edguy don’t follow that rule this time, and the melancholy and splendid sophistication of Sacrifice are the exact opposite. It also shows how open the label Nuclear Blast is to this kind of challenge. Next comes the title track, which on that front is much better suited to opening the record. Its main riff is a classic move of modern German metal. Wasted Time spins in the same spirit. So the band’s trademarks are standard issue. Melody “uber alles”! Edguy have always been renowned for the exceptional knack of bandleader and “wunderkind” Tobias Sammet for writing hair-splittingly polished arrangements, which any healthy ear with a sense for music catches like a venomous bug in no time. Edguy’s other standard customs are Return To The Tribe, Catch Of The Century, Out Of Vogue and Superheroes, which was also released as an EP single.
Matrix is, after Sacrifice, the second peak of ”Rocket Ride” and another mid-tempo number. It’s graced by perfect production balance, with an artful addition of keyboards that lift the atmosphere to realms of high drama in the transitional sections. The song stands out for its mature verses, written under the obvious inspiration of the film trilogy of the same name, with a simple message. Where to find the wisdom of survival in the two worlds we live in, without losing your marbles in the process. The first is the wretched world of “prostituting yourself for money” and the second is the one meant to be about living your own personal religion – living yourself, which even the great and holy Dr. Janez Drnovšek recently realized. So, a world of lies versus a world of truth. Across a whole lifetime. The Asylum is the third peak of the record, with an excellent melancholic touch. It describes a world you take refuge in, where “broken hearts dance inside broken dreams”. Save Me is also a nice change of pace on “Rocket Ride”, and with a different production, like some Poison record from the eighties, it could have become a glam metal hit. Trinidad is an excellent closer, because it literally lifts “Rocket Ride” up. With Trinidad, Edguy wrap up “Rocket Ride” in the style of their “jokey” metal. Given the South American temperament of the song’s arrangement, I’ll bet my left nut that the experienced metalhead and producer, ex-Heaven’s Gate guitarist, Sascha Paeth, had a hand in it, more than usual. Fucking With Fire (Hair Force One) carries such a dose of jokiness that Edguy labeled it a bonus track. Whether it belongs on “Rocket Ride” is for you to judge. Edguy are obviously brimming with ideas and simply don’t know where to put them all! Alongside Save Me, Fucking With Fire is another parody of makeup-and-hairspray glam metal, which once knocked American teenage girls off their feet like it was a bet.
Among the faster moments of the record, it’s essential to single out the fantastic guitar duel in the middle of Return To The Tribe. The first solo is especially impressive, since it’s dusted off through an unusual wah-wah effect, in which the guitar solo sounds like a baby crying, and soon after like a sparkling pig squeal.
Edguy deliver another fantastic record, marked by overall compactness, since you simply can’t find a weak spot on it. The melodies are big and polished again, with the guitar riffs glowing prominently through Edguy’s pomp and symphonic epicness. Edguy prove that with “Rocket Ride” they’ve grown yet another step!
Lineup
Tobias Sammet – vocals
Dirk Sauer – guitar
Jens Ludwig – guitar
Tobias Exxel – bass
Felix Bohnke – drums
Production
Sascha Paeth & Edguy
Track list
01. Sacrifice
02. Rocket Ride
03. Wasted Time
04. Matrix
05. Return to the Tribe
06. The Asylum
07. Save Me
08. Catch of the Century
09. Out of Vogue
10. Superheroes
11. Trinidad
12. Fucking with Fire (Hair Force One)*
*….bonus track
Album length: 60:04
