Customer Reviews

Rocket Ride

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

What happens after a metal band delivers a perfect album? It depends. Iced Earth and Nevermore screwed badly on their following CDs. But like Iron Maiden with The Number and Piece of Mind, Edguy strikes a great album after the absolute Hellfire Club.

Rocket Ride is no Hellfire for sure, but it's an awesome, intriguing album that after a few listens will become one of your favourites. At first, what you will notice is the lack of agression, rawness, cohesion and overall quality that defined Hellfire, where everything seems to match perfectly.

But Rocket Ride has more melody, Edguy's unique humour, drama, variety and definitely risk. It definitely shows that Edguys in not your average metal band, because they can make something completely different from a perfect album, and still seems plausible and worth listening.

While some songs are among the best (if not the best) in Edguy's career, others will keep you thinking: what these ****ers had in mind? While I still believe that Hellfire is a better album, the fact that Edguy can leave the comfort zone and defy our senses make this album entirely worthwhile, because it's a**-kicking metal of best quality and notsomething you find on the usual Helloween-wannabe band of the week.

So let's go for the songs:
- SACRIFICE: non-traditional, 8-minute opener, takes you to a mix of opposite emotions you never felt in your life. Hope and despair, happiness and sadness, light and dark, challenge and defeat, aggression and subordination, it's all there. Listen to believe. One of the best ever.
- ROCKET RIDE: that silent, low guitar riff, Tobi's scream, a defying vocalization, some mid-song Megadeth-like guitar solos, a perfect bridge, all ending in a great Majestic chorus. Oh, how great this song will sound live.
- WASTED TIME: starts a mix of slow, sad keyboard and guitar parts, then BANG!!! Perfect riffs, melodies all around, almost spoken and retreating vocals, that suddenly becomes your boss kicking your a** and then an Edguy's signature chorus, but better. Marvellous, to say the least.
- MATRIX: The first weird one, crazy key intro, Matrix-movie-inspired-lyrics, a great chorus that makes you hum it (even if you don't want to).
- RETURN T0 THE TRIBE: a perfect Stratovarius-like song, very much like HC's We Don't Need a Hero. Cheesy-melodic-high-note chorus, wannabe-heavy guitar riffs and so on. But then there is Tobi's vocalized "guitar solo", which is absolutely hilarious (and a good solo BTW).
- THE ASYLUM: best song here. Starts slow, sad, a series of Ohohohohohohs and BANG!!! Tobi screams, heavy riffs, you suddenly start jumping in the middle of the street, raise your fists during the aggressive bridge, and raise your voice to sing the best song in Edguy's career (perhaps in recent metal history).
- SAVE ME: how a ballad should be. Cheesy, panties-wetting, but not too much. Tobi sounds a little bit like Kiss' Paul Stanly and some parts remind me of Savatage's When The Crowd Are Gone with Britney(!!!). I hope they make it acoustic.
- CATCH OF THE CENTURY: a great hard rocker about someone who thinks he's better than everyone else, the songs grows, leading you to a majestic all-singing chorus that screams the song title as a life statement. Tobi's delusional ending is absolutely hilarious - Ahhhhh! Helicopter...
- OUT OF VOGUE: the perfect show opener. Fast key and heavy guitar start, epic key parts for Tobi entering the stage, almost spoken initial words, singalong chorus, instrumental part for Tobi saying Good Evening, afterchorus slow part for clapping hands, a Maiden's Murray-Gers like guitar solo duel and ending abruptly to start the second song immediately.
- SUPERHEROES: same song as in the EP. Not my favourite, but that Batman-TV-series-theme-song-like bass intro and the melodramatic chorus are quite funny and catchy. I would replace it for any of the other EP songs.
- TRINIDAD: the unexpected mix of Edguy's humour and chorus, caribean music and some Rolling Stones. Weird, but it catches you when you don't expect. At least you can travel to Jamaica and not have to listen to Bob Marley.
- F*****G WITH FIRE: did you ever wonder if Edguy loves Motley Crue and other hair bands? Well, they do and here is the tribute. You can picture Edguy in a big, dark stage, all with heavy makeup, high heels, stomping their feet, playing bad boogies.

I am a big Edguy fan. I love all of their albums and I was really excited when I heard that they had come out with a new cd. I looked around and read some rather mixed reviews of this album. So I was a little apprehensive when I bought it, then I listened to it...This album was quickly added to my list of favorite albums. One of the things some fans didn't like about it was that it drifted away from their power metal roots. In fact it did. This album is not power metal it is melodic metal. I don't think this change took anything away. I actually think that this is their best album. What I liked most about this album was that you could tell that the band enjoyed making every song, it was all so natural. There is an underlying humor throughout the whole thing, especially in Tobias' lyrics. So if you go into this expecting to hear another power metal album, then you will be disappointed. I recommend that you don't expect anything from this album but, a good time. Cheers to Edguy who continue to impress.

Edguy's last full length, Hellfire Club, was absolutely a landmark and a breath of fresh air for metal. Rocket Ride continues in the same vein and is consistently good - if you heard the excellent Superheroes EP, you have a pretty good idea what to expect - and it's already gotten a lot of listens over the past month or so even though there isn't any one song on here that totally sends me through the roof like the very best ones on HC. I'd probably give this one 4.5 stars if I could.

Standout tracks for me are Wasting Time and Catch of the Century - two uptempo, shorter, and very catchy tunes, the sort of thing that Edguy is almost alone in doing these days - and The Asylum, a longer and more structurally varied track that's in the line of Mandrake and The Piper Never Dies. Superheroes is an instant classic with notably good lyrics. But while the diversity on the album is enormous (every track stands out, unlike so many totally homogenous power metal albums), the quality is also consistently high, and there isn't one throw-away track on the whole album, which is great. On the other hand, there isn't anything really fast and agressive, and I think the album would have been better for having something a little more violent for contrast.

With Rocket Ride, Edguy will continue to annoy folks who think that metal has to consist only of "epic" songs about dragons, kings, and steel; there's not a fantasy cliche in sight, and there's quite a lot of joking around. If Hellfire Club's "Lavatory Love Machine" wasn't your cup of tea, then Catch of the Century, Trinidad, and, ah, the Fire song aren't going to do it for you this time either, not to mention the cartoony cover art. But me, I'm glad there are some bands with this level of technical ability who are willing to just rock out and have fun - and when Tobi and the guys get out on tour for this one, don't miss it. You'll never have a better time at a show.

Edguy have done it again - released an album of quality HR/HM tunes. Seriously, the third release in a row where this group have melded their talented songwriting to sturdy metal and good time hard rock. Some people have accused this release of being a touch too commercial, but what band obsessed by commercial recognition would start off an album with a track over 8 minutes long? Admittedtly the tunes are in general a touch less 'metal' but my gut instinct is that this just happens to be the tunes they chose on merit rather than a concerted decision on the bands part.

The melodies and the hooks the band are known for are still here - check out tunes like Wasted Time which rides a simple yet very effective riff. The solos are of course pretty darn nifty and everything is syncromeshed to perfection. Production by the band and Sascha Paeth is well done, but there is a slight lessening of the 'sheen' on this knob job, a tiny reduction of the polish in comparison to Hellfire Club. Which actually doesn't detract from the album at all.

And while we're comparing this to their previous album I'd have to admit that track for track this probably loses on points to both Hellfire Club and Tears of a Mandrake, despite this being quite a strong disc.

Another tiny gripeI have is this seems less of a team effort in terms of songwriting credits, all but one track being written by Mr Sammet - only Jens Ludwig gets a look in with a co-credit for the music of Out of Vogue.

Still these small gripes don't add up to too much - the album is full of the fun we've come to associate with Edguy and the aforementioned Sammet has again come up with a vocal performance many other metal singers would give their larynx for. And given how excellent their previous couple of albums have been they've set themselves pretty high standards to try and match.

All up I'd recommend splashing out your cash for this disc. Edguy have, if not improved on previous efforts then at least they've continued in the same vein. There is plenty of grunt in the tunes, pleasing musicianship and some good use of slow/fast dynamics with the tracks and over the album as a whole. Enjoy!

this is the best album i've bought in a long long time. it stayed in my stereo for a long time and i still didn't get tired of it. if you like metal and 80's hair bands you will love this album. i got turned on to this band with hellfires club and it is also awesome. RR is a little more upbeat and i can say i love every song. i just can't say enough about this band and i would love for them to have a major tour through the USA along with say Hammerfall. that would be a killer show. this is a must have cd along with HC. i promise you won't be disappointed. i go way back to the beginning of maiden, scorps, priest and i'm still rockin.

Although there have been mixed views on this album, I am one of those who like it very much. In fact I would put it in my top 5 albums of 2006 (either number 4 or 5). Yes, there are some moments where that slightly weird, wacky, German Edguy humor is done just a bit too much, but there are some outstanding tracks on this album as well which make it a worthy purchase for Edguy fans or fans of melodic hard rock/metal.

To me Edguy have always sounded like a cross between Iron Maiden/Bruce Dickinson and Def Leppard, with their previous albums leaning more towards the Iron Maiden/Dickinson type metal sound with Def Lappard type hooks and melodies. With "Rocket Ride" though, they have moved away from that sound a bit, this time leaning more towards a Def Leppard type commercial sound. That's not to say though that Edguy have "wimped out", as some tracks on "Rocket Ride" have a really powerful sound.

The album kicks off with a bang with "Sacrifice", an 8 minute mix of light and shade, piano, power riffs, pumping beat, and the hooks and melodies all Edguy fans love. This is one stand out track.
The title track is also one of the albums best, a fast paced rocker with a mellow moment of reflection in the middle which builds up before the guitar solo, and then the track bursts with pace again.
"Wasted Time" is a classic. With an intro high on atmosphere, it builds up the anticipation before the big riffs come. Then we get acoustic guitars and a soft vocal before the track again rocks with a great chorus to sing along with. Again, a killer guitar solo and another mellow moment in the middle before it kicks off again with that chorus. Wow, this track is good!
"Matrix" is a good track, but not as good as the first three. This one is more commercial in its sound, but it's another with a good chorus.
"Return To The Tribe" is another song that isn't too bad, but it isn't a stand out. It's another typical fast paced Edguy rocker.
"The Asylum" clocks in at over 7 and a half minutes, and is my favorite track of the album. Like some of the other tracks on the album, this is one which builds up and has a mix of light and shade. Starting with acoustic guitar and vocals only, it sounds quite mellow as if it's going to be a ballad. But then you can tell by the way Sammet builds up with the vocals that something big is coming, and man...it sure does. A high pitched wail, power riffs and drums kick in, followed by a more mellow, melodic verse. Then the power builds up again to the chorus. This track is high on intensity and power. The break/guitar solo starts off mellow and builds up as per the formula of the song, to finish powerfully. I think this is one of Edguys best songs ever, I love it.
"Save Me" is a ballad, and a very good one, perhaps Edguys best ballad so far.
"Catch Of The Century" is another pretty good track, more of a hard rock type song than metal. It finishes with a bit of that wacky Edguy humor but this doesn't detract from what is a good song.
"Out Of Vogue" is nothing fantastic, but it's not too bad. Just another average Edguy rocker.
"Superheroes" is the track picked to be a single, so as you would expect it is very commercial in its sound. It has a guitar part which sounds like the theme music for a comic book hero TV show or something, but it fits well with the song. There is a chorus which you just can't help singing along with, and is one of the better tracks on the album but not meant to be taken too seriously.
"Trinidad" is cr#p. This is a prime example of that Edguy humor done too much. It's obviously intended as a joke song, but it's just over done. A little bit of humor is okay, but this isn't that funny and even if the lyrics were serious the style of the song doesn't appeal to me with that Caribbean type sound to it. This sort of song should be relegated to being a bonus track at the end of the album, or as a bonus track on a single if they feel the need to do it at all.
"F#cking With Fire (Hair Force One)". With a title like that it's obvious that this is another example of Edguy humor. However this one is better than the previous because at least this one has some power to the song and you do find yourself singing the chorus!

I got the digi-pack version of this album which also has a bonus live track "Land Of The Miracle". Nothing special with this track, it's ok, but a live ballad? Not a good choice for a bonus track.

In conclusion, this album has some excellent tracks which really are stand outs, and some others which are pretty good too. However what lets it down is the finish. To finish off with these joke songs is just a silly idea in itself, and it's this that prevents me from giving the album a 5 star rating. This is a shame because the album did deserve to have a better finish after being so good up until then.

I also recommend getting the "Superheroes" EP if you like this album. It has four non-album tracks plus a piano only version of "Superheroes" which sounds really good. The non-album tracks are quite good, especially "Judas At The Opera" which has Michael Kiske sharing vocals in a song with many changes in it. In fact, I like these songs better than those at the end of the album itself!

Edguy truely is a great band. They stormed into the Power Metal scene and became one of the big names in power metal. They gave us classic albums like Theater of Salvation and Hellfire Club. Edguy's music evolved, just like most other bands. They started taking a more Priest-Maiden approach to their music in more recent albums such as Hellfire Club. However, this album is more of a devolution.

Don't get me wrong, this album is desecent and has some nice songs. Sacrifice is a great song with some nice time changes and guitar work that go along with Sammet's great voice. Return to the Tribe is nice up-lifting tune that has that signature Edguy feeling to it. Out of Vougue is a heavy tune in vein of Under the Moon.

However, this album has its share of forgettable songs. It is painfully clear that Edguy are trying to appeal to the mainstream with this album. Most bands try to make singles that will get a lot of radio time and all, but Edguy are pushing it to a point that they are jeopardizing the large fan base they created when they first came up.

Again, this album is by no means a bad album. The pros and the cons weigh each other out and the album itself is definetaly worth a purchase, but we all know that Edguy are much more capable than this.

This album is awesome but for me the songs they consider the hits and singles aren't as good. I think superheroes is meciocre along with [...] with fire and catch of the century. Save me is the only exception to this but there are some hidden gems on rocket ride that make up for the singles...return to the tribe and trinidad are super catchy, wasted time is great and the asylum is amazing!!! probably won't hear em live but enjoy em here!

I have to say this album really grew on me and the only reason why I didn't like it as much before was because I was so used to listening to Hellfire Club, Mandrake, and Vain Glory Opera and this album just sounded so different to me. But after a while, I gave the album more listens, and realized it's still good metal with Edguy elements. The album has lost a lot of the dual lead guitars you can hear in previous albums, it's not as heavy as Hellfire Club, there's more keyboards present, guitar riffs are simpler, solos are shorter, melodies vary from typical Edguy to pop-like hooks, and the album only has a few moments of real speed metal (Return to the Tribe, Rocket Ride). F**king With Fire is a great 80s hair metal song that's kind of got a similar feel to Hellfire's "Lavatory Love Machine." Superheroes has a silly Edguy feel to it and it has a rather catchy hook that you can't help but to sing along with it. Sacrifice is an interesting opener, it's somewhat similar to Mandrake's Tears of a Mandrake, but with a softer interlude with pianos and short guitar solos. A lot of the old Edguy sound has been simplified but this album shows a different side of the band musically, which isn't always a bad thing. In this case, fans are pretty mixed about this album, but me personally, I enjoy it as a solid metal album because I like a good variety with the band's I listen to and it's nice to see bands who like to experiment out of typical cliches and formulas.

Plenty of people have written more detailed reviews of this album, so I'll keep mine fairly short.

I bought this album for the song "Matrix" which was the only song on this album that I'd heard before. Honestly, I was completely blown away. It would be unfair to call any song on Rocket Ride "filler." Some songs are better than others, but all represent a sincere effort on the band's part to make a quality track.

Edguy's musicians are first class, and their lead singer reminds me a little of Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden (That's a really good thing!). If you're a fan of Iron Maiden, Skid Row, or the Scorpions, you really can't go wrong with Edguy. I favor heavier metal usually, but the catchy , anthemic material that Edguy favors is just awesome. I am not much of a "sing along" kinda guy, but I can't help it with some of Edguy's music. This album made me freak out and order a huge amount of Edguy cds, and I'll be loyal fan of theirs from now on. The only fault I can find with Rocket Ride is the stupid album art, but who cares?

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