Biography
Demos, AFM years (1992-2003)
Edguy was founded in 1992 by 14-year-old students Tobias Sammet, Jens Ludwig, Dominik Storch and Dirk Sauer. The name "Edguy" was an affectionate epithet for their math teacher at the time. In 1994, the band released two demos, Evil Minded and Children of Steel. These tapes were sent to many record labels, all of whom rejected the band, believing they would be unsuccessful in the music business. Undeterred, they self released their ‘unofficial' debut album, Savage Poetry, in 1995. They signed with AFM Records shortly after, who offered to re-release Savage Poetry with more widespread distribution. The band rejected this proposal in favour of recording a new album, Kingdom of Madness, which was released in 1997, but drummer Dominik Storch left the band shortly after. 1998 saw the release of their second album, Vain Glory Opera, with friend Frank Lindenthal filling in on drums. This album helped expose Edguy to a wider audience, thanks in part to guest appearances from Timo Tolkki (Stratovarius) and Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian). The band was joined by new drummer Felix Bohnke and bassist Tobias ‘Eggi' Exxel later that year, allowing Tobias Sammet to solely focus on vocals (he had previously played bass as well handling vocal duties).
In 1999, Theater of Salvation was released. That same year frontman Tobias Sammet conceived the idea for the Avantasia project, a metal opera featuring well known vocalists and musicians from the rock and metal scene. Whilst Tobias focused on Avantasia, the band took the opportunity to re-record Savage Poetry, to make it widely available to newer fans, as the original had become a much sought after rarity.
Following The Savage Poetry re-recording was the band's fifth album, Mandrake, in 2001. The album was accompanied by their first promo video, for the track “All the Clowns”, as well as the Painting on the Wall single. The Mandrake album also led to the band's first headlining tour. Three shows were recorded in Europe and were the basis for Edguy's first live album, Burning Down the Opera. The band's contract with AFM had expired by this point, which led to them signing with Nuclear Blast Records in late 2003.
Nuclear Blast years (2004-present)
Edguy's first release for Nuclear Blast was the King of Fools EP in 2004. This preceded the Hellfire Club album, released shortly after. The song "Lavatory Love Machine" was also released as a single. The band's productivity continued into 2005 with the Superheroes EP and DVD, the latter featuring footage of the band live and in the studio, as well as a making of documentary for the video of the title track. This was followed by the full-length album Rocket Ride in January 2006.
Sammet spent much of 2007 relaunching the Avantasia project. Edguy returned to the studio in 2008 and recorded Tinnitus Sanctus, with a video being shot for the track “Ministry of Saints” in Belgrade, Serbia. After a contract renewal with Nuclear Blast in late 2008, the band released their first live DVD, Fucking with F***, in 2009. This featured live footage of the band shot in São Paulo, Brazil, on their Rocket Ride world tour in 2006. The band supported Scorpions on the German dates of their farewell tour in 2010.
Edguy released their ninth studio album, Age of the Joker, in August 2011. The band toured Europe and South America in support of the record, including dates with Slash and Deep Purple, as well as an appearance on the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise. In a recent interview promoting the latest release from his Avantasia project, Sammet revealed that a new Edguy album will be worked on in the summer of 2013, with a release tentatively scheduled for mid-2014.
On January 28, 2014 Edguy revealed that the album would be titled Space Police - Defenders of the Crown and released on April 18.
Style
Edguy's lyrics are often metaphorical, alluding to metaphysical or social themes: conformity ("The Headless Game", "Mysteria", "King of Fools"), dictation by the church ("The Kingdom", "The Pride of Creation", "Theater of Salvation"), and dangers of modern civilization ("Navigator", "The Devil and the Savant"). To express such themes, Edguy sometimes use esoteric and hermetic expressions. Yet some of their songs are light-hearted or comedic ("Das Reh", "Save Us Now", "Lavatory Love Machine", "Life and Times of a Bonus Track", "Trinidad"). Edguy does not claim to represent any ideology; Tobias Sammet claimed "[the band is] not political and we are not religious; at least there is no key message in our songs telling you what to think in terms of anything". Edguy also employs lengthy and epic sections in almost every album.
Hellfire Club revealed Edguy's interest in experimenting within music by integrating an orchestra into the production. The album featured a variation on Edguy's style, with a less grandiose, more progressive metal approach being embraced. The band's album Rocket Ride features even less power metal elements, and is arguably more oriented towards hard rock. Their next album, Tinnitus Sanctus, contains even more hard rock oriented songs; a large reduction of double bass drumming is evident, in contrast to Edguy's older albums such as Vain Glory Opera where there is very fast double bass which is common in the power metal genre.
When asked if the term "happy heavy metal band" applies to the band, Tobias rejected it and added:
We are a heavy metal band. We play angry, powerful, sometimes tongue-in-cheek metal. We are flamboyant and we don't take ourselves too seriously, but that goes for Van Halen too, right? Are they happy rock? No, they have a sense of humor and kick ass! Just like we do...
Studio albums
Savage Poetry (1995)
Kingdom of Madness (1997)
Vain Glory Opera (1998)
Theater of Salvation (1999)
The Savage Poetry (2000)
Mandrake (2001)
Hellfire Club (2004)
Rocket Ride (2006)
Tinnitus Sanctus (2008)
Age of the Joker (2011)
Space Police - Defenders of the Crown (2014)
Dragonfly
Edguy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or the dance on the rainbow itself
Bound to a track
Painting over the cracks
In his dreams they'd put up on the shelf
Little wind-up soldier
With a ball and a chain
Now you don't care as long
As you don't make it there
You wanna fly but not arrive
Calling you, calling you
You are the one to hear them
Calling you, calling you
Calling you, calling you
And you daddy won't approve
And when no one's awake anymore
He paints a picture of a strange looking fly
From a distant world
You light it and lo and behold
It's coming alive
Calling you, calling you
You always hear them speak
Derring-do, derring-do
Calling you, calling you
From a distant burning star
(Chorus)
You wanna fly so you drag on flies
Drag on dragonflies
From a suffocating room on a dragonfly
You're riding high when you nasalize
What you pulverize
Make your day and dream away on a dragonfly
Mayday mayday
I ain't fond of smoking
The buzzer knows in dire straits
Selfless without intention
Too late to intermediate
Smoking kills
Calling you, calling you
You are the one two three four
Calling you, calling you
Calling you, calling you
And your daddy don't approve
(Chorus x4])
We're getting high on a dragonfly
The song "Dragonfly" by Edguy appears to be about a person who dreams of escaping reality and flying away on a dragonfly, which may symbolize a vehicle of freedom and escape. They are dissatisfied with their current life and seek a different existence, but they are uncertain about what they want or where they want to go. The first verse suggests that the person may be searching for wealth or glory, but they may not be content with the results. The next verse talks about a wind-up toy soldier that is determined to reach its destination, but the person no longer cares about their destination as long as they are flying. The chorus suggests that the person is being called by their dreams, but they are unable to fulfill their desire because their father doesn't approve of what they want to do.
Towards the end of the song, the lyrics become more ambiguous and difficult to interpret. It mentions a painting of a strange-looking fly that comes to life when it is lit, suggesting that the dragonfly may be more than just a metaphor. The third verse mentions smoking and the dangers thereof, which may be a metaphor for the risk of chasing one's dreams. The repetition of the chorus towards the end of the song, with slight variations, suggests that the person is still being pursued by their dreams and that they are continuing to strive for something more significant.
Line by Line Meaning
Is it really the treasure of gold
Is the value in the material reward?
Or the dance on the rainbow itself
Or is it the experience of the journey?
Bound to a track
Restricted by a predetermined path
Painting over the cracks
Covering up flaws and imperfections
In his dreams they'd put up on the shelf
His ambitions and aspirations are only in his imagination
Little wind-up soldier
A person mechanically going through the motions
With a ball and a chain
Working towards a goal with a sense of obligation and restriction
Got destinations engraved on your mind
Focusing obsessively on achieving specific goals
Now you don't care as long
Regardless of the outcome, you're not concerned
As you don't make it there
As long as the destination is never reached
You wanna fly but not arrive
The dream is to have the experience, not the result
Calling you, calling you
The temptation of the dream is persistent
You are the one to hear them
You have a unique susceptibility to the fantasy
And you daddy won't approve
The dream is unacceptable to authority
And when no one's awake anymore
In solitude and quiescence
He paints a picture of a strange looking fly
An image of the object of desire emerges
From a distant world
Beyond the current realm of experience
You light it and lo and behold
The dream comes to life with indulgence
It's coming alive
The fantasy has taken on its own existence
You always hear them speak
The dream is incessant
Derring-do, derring-do
Challenges and heroism are part of the narrative
From a distant burning star
The dream is from a mythical and exotic origin
You wanna fly so you drag on flies
Your pursuit of the dream comes with consequences
Drag on dragonflies
The fantasy is linked to dragonflies as a symbol
From a suffocating room on a dragonfly
The dream is an escape from a constraining reality
You're riding high when you nasalize
The dream can be intoxicating
What you pulverize
The dream is linked to destruction
Make your day and dream away on a dragonfly
Indulge in the fantasy and let it carry you away
Mayday mayday
A call out for help
I ain't fond of smoking
Dislike of self-destructive behavior
The buzzer knows in dire straits
Things have become desperate
Selfless without intention
Acting without thinking of the consequences
Too late to intermediate
The situation has escalated past the point of mediation
Smoking kills
The self-destructive behavior has dire consequences
You are the one two three four
The pull of the dream is ubiquitous
And your daddy don't approve
The authority figure still disapproves
We're getting high on a dragonfly
The dream has taken over and we're lost in its reverie
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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