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)
Fire on the Downline
Edguy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take your feet in your hands, swept by the sea
Oh it's too late to wonder where we went wrong
There's no time to win, to lose and to feel
Cries... they go unsung
Memories of plenty fading away
Cries of dying dreams
See them kids worn-out and pale
To the promised land they're drawn
All the way with a dream that turned into fear
To the other side where the wild winds blow
And the golden rivers flow
They've come all the way for survival
A long trail of tears
Take a look into the eyes of confusion
They carry the torch into the sea of delusion
Fire on the downline
It's the way of the world
Always out to find another dime
Fire on the downline
The game is on
To the evil above you crawl
While you're floundering and kicking around
The wheel of days and nights and no time to sleep
To the other side to one storey higher
Where one less digit is your name
Dying to live one more sunrise, defying fatigue
Throw yourself into a final illusion
See them dive into the tide of the grain
Fire on the downline
It's the way of the world
Always out to find another dime
Fire on the downline
The game is on
Fire on the downline - fire!
It's the way of the world
Always out to find another dime
Fire on the downline
The game is on
[Solo]
Fire on the downline
It's the way of the world
Always out to find another dime
Fire on the downline
The game is on
Fire on the downline - fire!
It's the way of the world
Always out to find another dime
Fire on the downline
The game is on
The lyrics of Edguy's song "Fire on the Downline" depict a grim picture of the world we live in. The song is a commentary on how the society is always on the lookout for making more money, and how it exploits the vulnerable in the process. The lyrics talk about the struggles of people who are trying to survive in a hostile environment, and how they are living in constant fear. The opening lines "No... no time to ponder, Take your feet in your hands, swept by the sea" suggest that there is no time to sit back and reflect on what's going on, and that one has to keep on moving to stay alive.
The chorus of the song "Fire on the Downline, It's the way of the world, Always out to find another dime" emphasizes how the world is always driven by greed and how people will do anything to make money. The lyrics also touch upon themes like lost dreams, hopelessness, and resilience. The lines "See them kids worn-out and pale, To the promised land they're drawn, All the way with a dream that turned into fear" depict the journey of people who are trying to find a better life but end up losing everything they have in the process.
Overall, "Fire on the Downline" is a poignant commentary on the harsh realities of the world we live in, and how our collective greed and apathy contribute to making it a hostile place.
Line by Line Meaning
No... no time to ponder
There is no time to think and consider the situation
Take your feet in your hands, swept by the sea
Take control and move forward despite the unknown
Oh it's too late to wonder where we went wrong
There is no use in dwelling on past mistakes
There's no time to win, to lose and to feel
There is no time for emotions or distractions, only for action
Cries... they go unsung
Painful and hopeless cries are unheard and ignored
Memories of plenty fading away
Memories of abundance are fading into obscurity
Cries of dying dreams
Dreams are dying and fading away
Where will they run to when there's nowhere to go?
There's nowhere to turn when there is no escape
See them kids worn-out and pale
These children are exhausted and sickly
To the promised land they're drawn
They are drawn to a better life and brighter future
All the way with a dream that turned into fear
Their dream has become a nightmare filled with fear and danger
To the other side where the wild winds blow
They go to the unknown, where winds and fate carry them
And the golden rivers flow
Where the rivers flow with a promise of riches and opportunity
They've come all the way for survival
They have traveled in search of survival from their bleak past
A long trail of tears
Throughout their journey, they have suffered greatly
Take a look into the eyes of confusion
Take notice of those who are lost and bewildered
They carry the torch into the sea of delusion
These lost souls lead others into the uncertainty of the unknown
Fire on the downline
Conflict and struggle in the world
It's the way of the world
This is how it is in the world
Always out to find another dime
There is always someone trying to make more money
To the evil above you crawl
Some will do anything to get ahead, even to serve the most wicked
While you're floundering and kicking around
Others are struggling, lost, and confused
The wheel of days and nights and no time to sleep
The never ending cycle of life leaves little time to rest and recover
To the other side to one storey higher
To move up in the world and improve one's status
Where one less digit is your name
Where people don't care who you are, only how much money you have
Dying to live one more sunrise, defying fatigue
Fighting exhaustion, people push to survive one more day
Throw yourself into a final illusion
People cling to false hope and desperate dreams
See them dive into the tide of the grain
People succumb to the routine and monotony of daily life
Fire on the downline - fire!
Conflict and struggle still exist
The game is on
The battle for survival and success continues
Contributed by Sarah R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.