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)
Land of the Miracle
Edguy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I come knocking at your door
To dry the tears away.
The eventide is calling me to take a look into your eyes.
Pull me on and make me mesmerized
Riding on the wings of light,
Dreaming dreams and holding tight;
Leaving all my sorrow far behind.
To the land of the miracle where our love can make us fly, make us fly.
In the land of the miracle
We can find a reason why and how we can fly.
Open up the book of madness,
Read the page of life!
Who's the one to tell you what to do
And how to rise?
And if the stars would fall one day
I'd climb up to the sky
To put them back for you to save your smile.
Take a look into the book of fantasy and poetry and you will see:
What you can feel is everything you need to heal your crying mind,
The soul behind and everything that you may find inside your head...
A million years have passed away to make us head for the decay and to unlearn just
What we yearn for all day long: right to be strong and stick to our ideals,
Are they for real and do we just have lost the thread?
I believe in miracles they happen every day.
In your arms a dream comes true for me
(Isn't poetry one of the biggest gifts to forget our daily life of sorrow?)
The lyrics of Edguy's song Land Of The Miracle contain a message of hope and love amidst the struggles of life. The singer is coming to someone's door seeking comfort and solace from the sorrows of the day. The eventide calls him to look into the eyes of the person and be mesmerized. The singer describes riding on the wings of light, leaving all the sorrows behind, and entering the land of the miracle where they can find a reason to fly. The eyes of the person are the gate to the land of the miracle, where their love can make them fly. The singer talks about opening up the book of madness and reading the page of life, emphasizing that they shouldn't let others tell them what to do, but rather trust their own ideals and be strong.
The song continues with the singer expressing his belief in miracles, saying that they happen every day, and that he finds his dream coming true in the arms of the person he is with. The lyrics conclude with the question of whether poetry is one of the biggest gifts to forget the daily life of sorrow.
Overall, the song's message is one of hope, love, and the power of imagination to help us forget our daily struggles and sorrows. The lyrics encourage us to trust ourselves and hold on to our ideals to be strong and find our way to the land of the miracle where we can find reason and inspiration to fly.
Line by Line Meaning
Blinded by the fire and the sorrow of the day,
Overwhelmed by the intensity of life and its difficulties,
I come knocking at your door
I seek refuge and comfort in your presence,
To dry the tears away.
To find solace and relief from pain and sadness,
The eventide is calling me to take a look into your eyes.
The night beckons me to gaze into your soulful eyes,
Pull me on and make me mesmerized
Draw me close and enchant me with your magic,
Riding on the wings of light,
We soar high on a beam of hope and faith,
Dreaming dreams and holding tight;
We dream big and hold on tight to what we believe,
Leaving all my sorrow far behind.
Leaving behind our sorrows and regrets,
Your eyes are the gate
Your eyes lead me to a place of wonder and mystery,
To the land of the miracle where our love can make us fly, make us fly.
Where our love creates a world of wonder and magic,
In the land of the miracle
In a place beyond logic and reason,
We can find a reason why and how we can fly.
We find the inspiration and courage to take flight,
Open up the book of madness,
Explore the depths of the human psyche,
Read the page of life!
Discover the stories and experiences that shape us,
Who's the one to tell you what to do
Who has the authority to dictate your choices and actions,
And how to rise?
And how to overcome adversity and rise above it,
And if the stars would fall one day
Even if the universe seems to be falling apart,
I'd climb up to the sky
I would go to great lengths to reach you,
To put them back for you to save your smile.
Just to see you smile again, I would do anything,
Take a look into the book of fantasy and poetry and you will see:
Immerse yourself in the beautiful world of art and words,
What you can feel is everything you need to heal your crying mind,
The power of emotions can heal even the most wounded of minds,
The soul behind and everything that you may find inside your head...
The depths of the human soul and imagination are boundless,
A million years have passed away to make us head for the decay and to unlearn just
Through time and evolution, we have lost touch with our true selves,
What we yearn for all day long: right to be strong and stick to our ideals,
We long to be strong and true to our convictions,
Are they for real and do we just have lost the thread?
We question whether our ideals are still valid and if we have lost our way,
I believe in miracles they happen every day.
I hold on to hope and faith in the power of miracles,
In your arms a dream comes true for me
When I am with you, my dreams become a reality,
(Isn't poetry one of the biggest gifts to forget our daily life of sorrow?)
(Poetry is a powerful tool to escape the sorrows of everyday life.)
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JENS LUDWIG, TOBIAS SAMMET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind