EDGUY – Rocket Ride

The career of the German Comedy-Metallers Edguy is sort of symptomatic with the one of the Melodic Power Metal genre itself. A bit fumbling at first, then it burst out and produced some tremendous music for a while, before it moved into repetitive territory and just reproduced old ideas. Edguy’s last full-length album, Hellfire Club, was a prime example of the latter — filled to the brim with worn-out riffs and clichéd melodies, indicating that the relatively young band was already past its peak … then they took off on the most strategically timed Rocket Ride of their career.

This is namely by far the band’s strongest effort since the glory days of Vain Glory Opera and Theater of Salvation. The album is stuffed with everything you love to hate about this band — Tobi Sammett’s trademark vibraeaeaeaeto-drenched vocals, the powerful soundscape, the instantly moving melodies, and not to forget the unmistakeable sense humor. Quoting from the Promo CD cover: “Exclusive worldwide compact disc bonus track for unlimited AND limited edition ONLY.”

And, first and foremost, Tobi is back on track in terms of songwriting. The style has changed a bit — the sound is modern now, with (even) more accessible songs and less focus on speed. Actually, only two songs on the album feature mentionable amounts of double-bass drumming, and none whatsoever are true Speed Metal songs. Instead, the focus is on catchiness — the commercial aspect is likewise probably not forgotten here. Commercialism is usually not a good move, as the world is full of bands attempting similar moves and failing to the uttermost extent — Dark Tranquility, Metallica, In Flames, and TNT are just a few — but for the Edguy’s, it works very well. This may be due to the fact that their music was so melodic on the forehand that the change in pace didn’t matter that much, or it may be because this new directon pumped some fresh blood into Sammett’s creative veins. Whatever the reason, this album features some pretty darn cool songs.

“Wasted Time,” “Superheroes,” “Return to the Tribe,” the title track, and the ballad “Save Me” are all great tunes, but the best of them all is “Trinidad.” This is the album’s “funny” song, like “Lavatory Love Machine” of Hellfire Club, and it has become a downright adoring, instantly loveable, piece of happy and melodic music. Out for the musical equivalent to Paris Hilton’s pet dog “Tinkerbell”(?), this song is it – a song as warm, furry, and appealing hasn’t been produced since Mayhem’s “Chainsaw Gutsfuck.”

The album is not without downpoints — the pairing of Jens Ludwig and Dirk Sauer will never be featured among the guitar legends of Heavy Metal, and the soloing is entirely average this time also, Tobi’s voice is still on the edge of being annoying during the calmer parts, and the album is not too diverse. Also, there are a few fillers present — “Matrix,” and “Out of Vogue,” for example.

Still, the band more than makes up for this with the charm and overall freshness of the product — if you feel down one dark afternoon, then this Rocket Ride may be a very good alternative to a more risky, chemical one. A kickass disc for everyone who believes Heavy Metal is allowed to grin from time to time.