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)
Nailed to the Wheel
Edguy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heading for the fork as you walk the path of life
A spell cast from the hiding woods, don't you close your eyes
The snake is waiting anytime to penetrate your mind
Don't you hear voices whispering, incline to walk down
Don't you see the shadow on the wall, angel eyes... the one cast out to fall
Calling me to look up to the sky we follow but we never know oh why
A vision revealing a child down where I've sure never been
An angel who's touching the flame, oh the angel is me
Nailed, nailed to the wheel - Nailed, let the cut run deep
Nailed, nailed to the wheel - Nailed, I said go - let bleed! - Go, - let bleed!
Feel it crawl, feel the magic coming over like a daze
Welcome as the poison for the cornered snake
Taste of sin, bitter sweet, never, never let us go
But never, never, never is a price we'd pay to grow
They call it original sin, some call it divine
The moment the evil appeared... the chance to decide
From children in cradles to hangmen who smile
Lick up the blood from the blade of your knife
Walk the stairway, leading down, ride on fire, take the crown
Your mind could be strong but your flesh will be mine
He's offering those kingdoms, they all could be thine
Rising powers, tempting gold, but at what price would it be sold?
It's all up to you...
[solo: Jens]
[repeat chorus]
The lyrics of Edguy's song "Nailed to the Wheel" talk about the journey of life that is paved with good intentions. As the human child navigates through the path of life, there are many distractions and dangers along the way. The lyrics mention a spell cast from the hiding woods, trying to penetrate the mind and voices whispering, inclining to walk down a dark path. The shadow on the wall and angel eyes, the one that was cast down to fall, is calling the child to look up to the sky, but they never know why.
The song talks about a vision revealing a child down where the singer has never been before. The child is an angel touching the flame, and the singer is that angel. The lyrics then move on to talk about being nailed to the wheel, where the cut runs deep and is bleeding. The song mentions sin, both original and divine, and the chance offered to decide. The child grows up, and their mind could be strong but the flesh might be weak, tempted by rising powers, tempting gold but at what price would it be sold. The lyrics say it's all up to you, and the song ends on this truest of notes.
Line by Line Meaning
Good intentions pave the way of the human child
People generally start on the right path with good intentions.
Heading for the fork as you walk the path of life
Life is full of decisions or forks in the road, that one must take to walk down the path of life.
A spell cast from the hiding woods, don't you close your eyes
Beware of temptations or traps disguised as spells cast from hiding places.
The snake is waiting anytime to penetrate your mind
Be mindful of the evil or wicked thoughts, lurking like a snake, waiting to penetrate your mind at any moment.
Don't you hear voices whispering, incline to walk down
Be attentive to the voices in your head, which may lead you down the wrong path.
Don't you see the shadow on the wall, angel eyes... the one cast out to fall
Be aware of the looming danger or the devil in disguise, often masked as an angel not to be trusted.
Calling me to look up to the sky we follow but we never know oh why
Even though we follow or pray to a higher power, we seldom know why we are doing so.
A vision revealing a child down where I've sure never been
The mind or heart reveals a path, unheard of or unexplored, something new and uncharted.
An angel who's touching the flame, oh the angel is me
A spirit or divine being that possesses the power of the inferno also lies within me or any individual.
Nailed, nailed to the wheel - Nailed, let the cut run deep
Suggests punishment, pain, suffering or sacrifice, as if penetrative suffering is a process of redemption or transformation.
Nailed, nailed to the wheel - Nailed, I said go - let bleed! - Go, - let bleed!
One commands the other to let the suffering take its course, let it flow freely and without mercy, like a severe wound.
Feel it crawl, feel the magic coming over like a daze
Suggests the dizzying feeling of being helpless or vulnerable to something overpowering or supernatural.
Welcome as the poison for the cornered snake
The omen of the end or a change that brings about a significant result, even if accomplished via unfair means.
Taste of sin, bitter sweet, never, never let us go
Sin is like a drug, with both negative and positive consequences that are both irresistible.
But never, never, never is a price we'd pay to grow
Our aspirations or growth objectives come at a cost, which is always to be paid.
They call it original sin, some call it divine / The moment the evil appeared... the chance to decide
The origin of sin may have divine or spiritual roots, based on sowing the seeds of evil, and therefore, the power to choose between good and evil.
From children in cradles to hangmen who smile
Denotes the broad spectrum of individuals who are capable of committing sin, including children to adult murderers who feel no remorse.
Lick up the blood from the blade of your knife
Suggests that the murderer or the person committing sin needs to remove all evidence of wrongdoing (the blood from the blade) to prevent being caught.
Walk the stairway, leading down, ride on fire, take the crown
Emphasizes the folly or stupidity of pursuing sin or enjoying unnatural highs, only to suffer severely as a result.
Your mind could be strong but your flesh will be mine / He's offering those kingdoms, they all could be thine
The ultimate triumph or accomplishment of sin is the complete takeover of one's body or mind, as our flesh is too weak to resist the devil's enticements or kingdoms.
Rising powers, tempting gold, but at what price would it be sold?
The devil often entices individuals with money, power and success, but the cost of losing their soul is too great.
It's all up to you...
The power of choices lies solely with the individual, and everyone needs to be responsible for their decisions, especially when it comes to sin.
[solo: Jens]
The solo is performed by Jens, a member of Edguy, but is not considered part of the song's lyrics.
[repeat chorus]
The chorus is repeated to remind the listener of the central idea of the song, which is sin's consequences, even if the rewards are initially tempting or alluring.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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