Nuclear Blast
2011
1. Robin Hood
2. Nobody's Hero
3. Rock Of Cashel
4. Pandora's Box
5. Breathe
6. Two Out Of Seven
7. Faces In The Darkness
8. The Arcane Guild
9. Fire On The Downline
10. Behind The Gates To Midnight World
11. Every Night Without You
Edguy are just one of those sad stories. The kind where you had a band you really liked and then they pretty much went to crap. At least that's my own telling of their story. It seemed like just when this band was heading to the top of the power metal heap with the heavy, melodic, and epic Hellfire Club they just sputtered and died in the goofiness of Rocket Ride. Tinnitus Sanctus was likewise a disappointment with some pretty shitty glammed up rock tracks. Like a lot of people with bands they used to like but lost their way I held on to a little hope though and here I am listening to the new one.
After listening to, Age Of The Joker, I can say that this one is certainly a step in the right direction. I'm not sure I'm ready to say Edguy is back in full form, but after the abysmal last two albums this is satisfying to hear.
The album starts off on a good note with Robin Hood which is a classic Edguy epic track and makes for a solid single. Maybe not my favorite they've ever done, but a lot better than I've heard from the band in some time. This song pretty much sets the tone for this album. Not the best material the band has ever released, but more power metal and more of what I want. This is, on a formula level, the kind of Edguy I enjoy with the music sounding more serious and epic and the band having their 'fun' with the music video. When Tobias Sammet's goofiness takes over or the band gets more poppy/glammed rock and starts referring to Edguy as more of a rock act is when I tune out. I want to hear those Iron Maiden and Helloween tones of their earlier stuff and thankfully I do hear that here as the music is more grounded in power.
The rest of the album mostly follows this trend back to normalcy. This is one of those albums I find hard to condense my thoughts though so I am going to indulge in a bit of track by track. Nobody's Hero has a nice straight ahead, heavy power feel that is refreshing to hear and brings in some good energy. Rock Of Cashel and Pandora's Box represent the kind of Edguy I probably like best with a slower roll and a huge sound. I've always enjoyed their really epic sounding songs and these are pretty satisfying. At times Pandora's Box does get a bit of a twangy rock sound to the guitar, but it actually works pretty well in the context of the song. Just a little bit of an odd reminder of what Edguy is coming back from.
From there Breathe is a pretty good upbeat power track and Two Out Of Seven I find a bit lacking. That one just sounds like a little too euro poppy for me. The keyboard beat doesn't really do it for me. Faces In The Darkness follows it with a better sound that includes some softer moments, a nice heavy roll, and a good choral section. After that comes The Arcane Guild which blazes ahead at high speed, but with a chorus that's just a tad too over the top sugary sweet for me. Continuing on, Fire On The Downline is a slower one with moments of sounding like a ballad and where the upbeat moments remind me of something that could have been done by Survivor. Wrapping up the album are the decent epic Behind The Gates To The Midnight World and the ultra sappy Every Night Without You which is one extra track this album just didn't need.
Age Of The Joker is basically an album with it's ups and downs, but the downs are more palatable than the ones on the last couple and the highlights are solid. I'm just not ready to say this band is back in full form. The highlights here don't quite grab me as much as in the past on a songwriting level and there are some weaker points here and there. Still... this is an encouraging album to hear. Maybe Edguy does have some form of future in my listening after all.
Highlights: Robin Hood, Rock Of Cashel, Pandora's Box
Rating - 3.0/5
2. Nobody's Hero
3. Rock Of Cashel
4. Pandora's Box
5. Breathe
6. Two Out Of Seven
7. Faces In The Darkness
8. The Arcane Guild
9. Fire On The Downline
10. Behind The Gates To Midnight World
11. Every Night Without You
Edguy are just one of those sad stories. The kind where you had a band you really liked and then they pretty much went to crap. At least that's my own telling of their story. It seemed like just when this band was heading to the top of the power metal heap with the heavy, melodic, and epic Hellfire Club they just sputtered and died in the goofiness of Rocket Ride. Tinnitus Sanctus was likewise a disappointment with some pretty shitty glammed up rock tracks. Like a lot of people with bands they used to like but lost their way I held on to a little hope though and here I am listening to the new one.
After listening to, Age Of The Joker, I can say that this one is certainly a step in the right direction. I'm not sure I'm ready to say Edguy is back in full form, but after the abysmal last two albums this is satisfying to hear.
The album starts off on a good note with Robin Hood which is a classic Edguy epic track and makes for a solid single. Maybe not my favorite they've ever done, but a lot better than I've heard from the band in some time. This song pretty much sets the tone for this album. Not the best material the band has ever released, but more power metal and more of what I want. This is, on a formula level, the kind of Edguy I enjoy with the music sounding more serious and epic and the band having their 'fun' with the music video. When Tobias Sammet's goofiness takes over or the band gets more poppy/glammed rock and starts referring to Edguy as more of a rock act is when I tune out. I want to hear those Iron Maiden and Helloween tones of their earlier stuff and thankfully I do hear that here as the music is more grounded in power.
The rest of the album mostly follows this trend back to normalcy. This is one of those albums I find hard to condense my thoughts though so I am going to indulge in a bit of track by track. Nobody's Hero has a nice straight ahead, heavy power feel that is refreshing to hear and brings in some good energy. Rock Of Cashel and Pandora's Box represent the kind of Edguy I probably like best with a slower roll and a huge sound. I've always enjoyed their really epic sounding songs and these are pretty satisfying. At times Pandora's Box does get a bit of a twangy rock sound to the guitar, but it actually works pretty well in the context of the song. Just a little bit of an odd reminder of what Edguy is coming back from.
From there Breathe is a pretty good upbeat power track and Two Out Of Seven I find a bit lacking. That one just sounds like a little too euro poppy for me. The keyboard beat doesn't really do it for me. Faces In The Darkness follows it with a better sound that includes some softer moments, a nice heavy roll, and a good choral section. After that comes The Arcane Guild which blazes ahead at high speed, but with a chorus that's just a tad too over the top sugary sweet for me. Continuing on, Fire On The Downline is a slower one with moments of sounding like a ballad and where the upbeat moments remind me of something that could have been done by Survivor. Wrapping up the album are the decent epic Behind The Gates To The Midnight World and the ultra sappy Every Night Without You which is one extra track this album just didn't need.
Age Of The Joker is basically an album with it's ups and downs, but the downs are more palatable than the ones on the last couple and the highlights are solid. I'm just not ready to say this band is back in full form. The highlights here don't quite grab me as much as in the past on a songwriting level and there are some weaker points here and there. Still... this is an encouraging album to hear. Maybe Edguy does have some form of future in my listening after all.
Highlights: Robin Hood, Rock Of Cashel, Pandora's Box
Rating - 3.0/5
No comments:
Post a Comment