Edguy
Vain Glory Opera

THE REVIEW

The best album by Edguy and there's no arguing about it.

Despite their young age, it really seems that these five guys have many years of experience, proving themselves as true masters with their “VAIN GLORY OPERA”! Naturally, they are sons of Germany, and as tradition goes, they choose to play “Power”, a beautiful genre characterized by fast, epic, powerful sounds… with lyrics about fantastic and surreal situations; moreover, it’s also the cleanest genre (naturally after the “White”) and generally far from all that damn occult crap!

Who are the members of this band? We can put it this way: Tobias Sammet (vocals) + Dirk Sauer (guitar) + Jens Ludwig (guitar) + Tobias Exxel (bass) + Felix Bohnke (drums) = EDGUY. Notice that this operation might almost enjoy the commutative property because the members (especially Sammet) can play multiple instruments, but perhaps this is the ideal lineup to bring out the best. Changing the order of the terms only changes the result a bit. To increase the allure of the album, we find guest appearances by (honorary guests) Hansi Kursch from Blind Guardian and Timo Tolkki from Stratovarius, who act a bit like father and uncle.

As with many power albums, it starts with a brief intro: "Overture", a good calling card that immediately shows us what we're dealing with, hurling us into wonderland. "Until We Rise Again", based on 100% power, talks about a futuristic world ruled by robots against whom men must redeem themselves to prevail. "How Many Miles" if you don't like it, I’ll ask: "How Many Miles" away are you from the stereo??!! Shivers down the spine when listening to the fourth track: "Scarlet Rose" My goodness!!! What a song!!! (If it’s summer and you’re wearing a coat, your hair will still stand on end!). This ballad starts with a sweet acoustic sound very well sung, preceding a spectacular riff deserving a standing ovation that does not allow you to sit still. "Out Of Control" makes me lose control (will it be the song?) where TWO DIFFERENT SONIC WONDERS reign caused by the muscle contractions of Tobias’s and Hansi’s vocal cords, in which the former tightens his glottic slit more, leading to a thinner voice, while the latter tightens it less, singing with a thicker voice but compensates with power that, to me, is earthquake-like (watch out for objects near the speakers if they’re not in a very stable position).

Guitar virtuosity, preceded by a start like “The Final Countdown”, shines in the title track OPERA by the titanic Tolkki along with Kursch's voice again. The seventh is "Fairytale", which with an elegant guitar solo gets promoted like the following "Walk On Fighting". The ninth corresponds to the second ballad of the album, which is "Tomorrow" (a catchy and indispensable piece). Finally, it concludes with a very hard piece and decidedly different from the other tracks, which is called "No More Foolin". Best album of the year 1998 along with “Nightfall In Middle Earth” by Blind Guardian and “Fireworks” by Angra (a power trilogy dated 98 that I recommend to everyone).

Now excuse me, but my acoustic path is suddenly in dire need of listening to this album. See you later!