Customer Reviews

Vain Glory Opera

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"The inofficial but until now only true successor of Helloween's 'Keeper Of The 7 Keys' - milestones whose success Helloween couldn't achieve again after recognizing that they were at a commercial dead-end." So far the latest prereview of EDGUY's "Kindom Of Madness" published in the German 'Evil Message Magazine'. But it would be very unfair to call those 4 guys from Fulda (Germany) a simple "Helloween-copy". With their ability to write catchy songs which will stick to the listener's ears, the 4 guys (average age: 18 years!) have already got something what many musicians will never achieve.

At the latest after listening to the 18-minute track "The Kingdom" which deals with the Inquisition and the suffering and burning of many innocent people, the slightest rise of critique is mortified. It's hard to imagine that 18-years old greenhorns would be capable of writing such a song. "The Kingdom" does not act boring or tiring, because it lives from fast, harmonized lead lines and also from expressive and emotional lead vocals.

The icing on the cake was the co-operation with "True Metal" defender Chris Boltendahl, vocalist of Grave Digger. Altogether the song provides a contrastive atmosphere, romantic on the one hand, medieval and gruesome on the other. Those bombastic songs should drive Metalfans crazy.

EDGUY are a refreshing young band who don't trim their sails to the wind and follow the roots of sounds that were topical in their kindergarten days. EDGUY wanted to use these already existing stylistic elements which have impressed them since the days of their predecessors and to give the sum of those elements something unique by using mainly elements of an extreme form : driving power and anthem-like melodies.

Some words of Tobias Sammet / Edguy (singer, bass player & main songwriter):

"Right, all you enthusiastic or flabbergasted listeners. Call us Old Metal, True Metal, Soft Metal, Rock or Pop band. We can live with all these names. We make the music about whose supposed death (Metal-) journalists have already cracked their brains and haven't found a result yet, music that will make some people happy, others may be slandering about it. Some tracks on "Kingdom Of Madness" might be compared to what some people call 'Teutonic Melodic Metal of the 80s'. We know that we haven't developed a new revolutionary style but our songs come straight from the heart - the honest way. We make good songs with some great melodies and such songs will always live, also in other music genres than Metal."

There is nothing more to add, only that I am very much convinced, the band will make their way because who of us was so self-confident like these guys do in their age to follow their aim so consequently? At least not me!

This is the kind of album that none of the tracks are filler material, nor will make you bored. The real gem in EDGUY is the singer. He sounds as a mix of Dickinson, Kiske, Halford and Tate. Amazing!

I read that a guy didn't like the song "Vain Glory Opera" because it reminded him of a Europe's song. Isn't this prejudism or what? Indeed the introduction is similar to the final countdown but the song has its own identity. As well as the album. It is probably the best album of Edguy second maybe only to Sammet's only other creation Avantasia part I. Great vocals, combining Dickinson, Defeis and Kiske, speedy solos, and suberb chorus. You will not regret purchasing this album.

Based on the strength of Avantasia (which in itself is pure brilliance), I decided to reach into the roots of Edguy. VGO isn't bad at all, although at times it can seem a little dated to say the least. For example, the title track 'Vain Glory Opera' reminds me of Europe's 'Final Countdown' with those same trumpet keyboard intro's, and it just makes me want to hit the 'skip' button on the CD player. Also, Tobias Sammet's singing style definatley changed later for Avantasia (where the similarity to Bruce Dickinson is even more obvious). On VGO however, his singing vibrato is a little more 'jagged' and so his unintentional impression of Fergal Sharkey (The Undertones) is rather hysterical. If you don't know The Undertones, think 'tropical bird mating call'.
Here is the key selling point though: "Out of Control". This is a great track that melds power crunch riffs with harmonious singing melodies. Of course the real treat on this track is the appearance of Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian) who, in my opinion, has the most unique voice out there in power metal. Amazingly, Hansi only sings one line in each chorus but it complements the song like you wouldn't believe. It is such a shame that Hansi did not return to appear on Avantasia...
In any case, VGO is ok, and some of the other tracks like 'Until We Rise Again' and 'Walk On Fighting' help carry things along. However, this album showcased the beginnings of the band, and fortunatley they've since improved. So if you wanted to hear Edguy or Tobias Sammet, go for the throat and get Avantasia - the 'Metal Opera' puts them in the same ranks as the big guns (Seventh Son, Mindcrime etc).

This is, in my opinion Edguy's greatest album. Edguy are one of the best metal bands today and this album rocks! songs like "vain glry opera" and "out of control" alone make it worth to buy the entire album. Ofcourse there are many more great songs in this one. The voice of the lead singer is excellent and reminds me of the good days of Bruce Dickenson(Iron Maiden's lead singer).Buy it now, and you won't regret it

This is not an effort of discovering the lukewarm water or the black thread.It's pretty much the try of a young band to earn themselves a place in the metal scene.It's a good album(a better one than their previous effort,"Kingdom of Madness" and a better one too than the follow up "Theater of Salvation").This is Edguy at their 100%.Power,melody,good music,good lyrics,Sammett sings decently on this...an enjoyable album.

If you're interested in trying out Edguy for the first time, I would recommend starting here. This is Edguy's heaviest and fastest album, and I believe it has the best songwriting as well. No, Edguy is not doing anything original, and others have pointed that out. But they have occupied a niche in power metal, and those who have a special affection for this genre, as do I, would do well to look into this band. I would describe this album as a cross between Helloween and Grave Digger (or maybe mid-period Blind Guardian). It has a thicker and heavier sound than Helloween or Gamma Ray ever had, but it's more complex and melodic than Grave Digger. Most of the songs on this album have something to offer, but I almost wish they had cut the album off at track 8 ("Walk on Fighting"). Track 9 is one of the cheesiest ballads I've ever heard, track 10 is full of profanity and really does not seem to fit in with anything Edguy has ever done, and track 11 is a cover of an 80s dance band (a good rendition, but nonetheless not quite fitting in). My favorite track has to be "Fairytale" with its excellent guitar work and a poignant chorus.

This is undoubtful one of Metal's best 10 albums ever written and it reminded me, beside the many comparisions mentioned by my fellow Edguy fans, also of Virgin Steel's "Noble Savage" and Angra's early works.
This is THE PERFECT METAL ALBUM. And, please forgive me, you are accusing the influence of previously written metal music and already well known singing technique. Where on Earth will you find something original these days? Or don't you know what David Bowie once said on John's funeral: "John often used to say that before Elvis there was nothing, well I am saying now on this rainy morning that after John's gone, all our muses will vanish and leave for a new heaven....". So be satisfied with God's blessing: the perfect metal music. Not ever, not from Germany, not of the decade. Just ..perfect music with soul.
Metal rules. No. True music rules, no matter if metal or else.
Stay safe!

Many of the reviews below are OK -but ( and I have been helped
quite a lot from other people when buying CD:s - and when You're
spending 40-50 bucks a month - that's not unimportant )
I really would like to balance the obvious hype around this album.
Yes - it is very good, intense and wellproduced - but it
is NOWHERE near the later album Theather of Salvation
And the guy below who compares Sammet/Edguy to
Gamma Ray/Kai Hansen has to be a real joker !!!
Sammet can write good songs , but they are all very
similar. Hansen on the other hand is probably Europes
premiere metal-song writer alltogether , just compare
his works on the Keepers-album back in the Helloween-days
to the Gamma Ray albums " Somewhere out in Space " and
" No World Order " - there is no way in this universe that
Sammet can take on those masterpieces !!!
And to compare Blind Guardian to Edguy is also
" whacked " ; B.G is much more " rawer " than
Edguy and they have one of power metals best singers
( I fully agree with " Overture al " above - if they
had kicked Sammet of this record and made Kürsch
the lead singer - there is no limit to how good it could have been )
Still , it is a nice CD from a great power metal band -
but be sure not to choose this over it's successor
" Theatre of Salvation " if you're forced to choose.......
Good luck !

this cd is not that good but it has 4 of edguys vary best song thay are vain glory opera, fary tail, hymn, and the bonus song but hear i am. i will tell you that this cd is worth the price of the import just for those 4 songs this is the 3rd best all round cd from edguy that amazon has to offer