Read Full Bio ↴Edguy is a power metal band from Fulda, Germany that was formed in 1992.
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)
Robin Hood
Edguy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shadows guide our way
Whispers from the fallen leaves
We've sworn to spare no pains
Moonlight falling through the boughs
When horses crump afraid
The tassel sounds revealing
Make no sound and rowel
Run for your lives
Run from the cries
Out of the dark of the damned lands
Your day to die
Robin Hood is after you
And he's not in a joking mood, no
You ride or die
He's out for bling again
Courting maids in hundreds
They say there's merry men and wine
You dream of what he does all day
What a folly life
He never shaves to show his face
Legend has that all he does all day
Is shooting, ducking and running from the law
Liberty, equality and a little love
Women, wine and song for every outlaw
Throw in some jealousy
And a pinch of need for fame
The king for every one
Who wants to be the same
Make no sound and rowel
Run from the cries
Run for your lives
Fly from the son of an arrow
Your day to die
Robin Hood is after you
And he's not in a joking mood
So you ride or die
He's out for bling again
Robin Hood:
King of thieves
Hero of outlaws,
Son of a father
Bewareth! He may be after you!
Bewareth! Ha ha ha ha ha!
The legend is a mile down the road
To blind the honest man
While the truth hasn't even the boots,
Its boots on you
Take what you desire
Make no mistake
Fire and duck! Fire and duck!
Let nemesis prevail
[Solo]
Stab in the back
Stab in the back
You will never see his face
Fire and duck!
One more stab in the back
What a day to kill disgrace
The legend is a mile down the road
To blind the honest man
While the truth hasn't even its boots
Its boots on yet
Make no sound and rowel, hahaha
Run for the cries
Run from your lives
Fly from the son of an arrow
Your day to die
Robin Hood is after you
And he's not in a joking mood, no
You ride or die
He's out for bling again
Your day to die
When Robin Hood can't find no one
Who would caress his Little John
You ride or die
He's out for bling again
The song "Robin Hood" by Edguy tells the tale of the infamous outlaw Robin Hood and his merry men, who ride through the endless woods with shadows as their guide. The lyrics describe the fear of those who are being chased by Robin Hood for their ill-gotten riches, as they try to run from the cries and hide from the son of an arrow. The song talks about the legend of Robin Hood and his daily activities of shooting, ducking, and running from the law, while courting maids and enjoying wine and music with his merry men.
The chorus of the song warns the listener to run or ride because Robin Hood is not in a joking mood and is out for bling again. The lyrics also touch upon the themes of liberty, equality, jealousy, and the need for fame. Ultimately, the song portrays Robin Hood as the king of thieves, the hero of outlaws, and the son of a father whom everyone should beware of.
The song has a fast-paced, heavy metal sound, complete with guitar solos and catchy choruses. The lyrics themselves lean more towards a storytelling style, bringing the legend of Robin Hood to life for the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
Ride across the endless woods
We are riding through forest without boundaries
Shadows guide our way
We are traversing stealth into the night with the help of the woods diminishing the light
Whispers from the fallen leaves
The leaves rustling in the wind are sending faint signals to us
We've sworn to spare no pains
We have taken an oath to endure no difficulties
Moonlight falling through the boughs
The moonlight filtering down through the tree branches is illuminating our ride
When horses crump afraid
The hysterical neighing of the horses is adding a sense of urgency
The tassel sounds revealing
The sound of the tassels dangling from the horse's saddlebags is exposing our location
As we shiver and we shake
We are trembling from the cold and fright
Make no sound and rowel
We need to move quietly and spur the horses with just a whisper
Run for your lives
Hurry and escape with urgency
Run from the cries
Flee from the shouts directed at us
Out of the dark of the damned lands
Leaving behind the darkness of cursed territories
Your day to die
Your death may come any day
Robin Hood is after you
Robin Hood is hunting for you
And he's not in a joking mood, no
He is serious and won't surrender
You ride or die
You leave with us or meet your death
He's out for bling again
He is once again planning a burglary
Courting maids in hundreds
Having relationships with several women
They say there's merry men and wine
The rumor is that there are men reveling with wine
You dream of what he does all day
You are curious about Robin Hood's everyday activities
What a folly life
What a foolish way of living
He never shaves to show his face
He wants to conceal his identity
Legend has that all he does all day
According to stories, Robin Hood spends his time
Is shooting, ducking and running from the law
In a continuous cycle of evading and shooting back
Liberty, equality and a little love
Believing in justice, fairness, and caring for others
Women, wine and song for every outlaw
Partying like true criminals with women, alcohol, and music
Throw in some jealousy
Add some envy to the mix
And a pinch of need for fame
And a desire to be known by many
The king for every one
The leader for everyone
Who wants to be the same
Who desires to follow the crowd
Fly from the son of an arrow
Flee from the shot of Robin Hood
Robin Hood: King of thieves
Robin Hood: Ruler of burglars
Hero of outlaws, Son of a father
Hero of bandits, the offspring of a parent
Bewareth! He may be after you!
Be alert! He could be coming for you!
Bewareth! Ha ha ha ha ha!
Be alert! Ha ha ha ha ha!
The legend is a mile down the road
The tale is distant
To blind the honest man
To confuse the truthful man
While the truth hasn't even the boots,
Although the reality hasn't even started yet
Its boots on you
We foot the bill of what's true
Take what you desire
Appropriate what you want
Make no mistake
Don't be fooled
Fire and duck! Fire and duck!
Shoot and dodge, shoot and dodge!
Let nemesis prevail
Let retaliation triumph
Stab in the back
Betrayed by someone we trusted
You will never see his face
You will never see him in person
One more stab in the back
One more betrayal
What a day to kill disgrace
What a day to kill a shameful act
When Robin Hood can't find no one
When Robin Hood can't find anyone
Who would caress his Little John
Who will tend to his loyal companion Little John
Contributed by Isabella F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
oncedelight
I love the way they don't take themselves seriously... One of the most creatives bands ever!
cristian martnez
edguy,pedaso de banda lo mejor del power-heavy de todos los tiempos,hellfire club,rocket ride y este album age of the joker, que obras maestras arriva el heavy metalllllllllllll. hay muchos bandas estupendas pero edguy me fasina saludos a todas los metaleros a huevoooooooooo
excusetheblood
some metal bands get so serious... nice to see a metal band with a sense of humor.
Sarim Faruque
And the humor isn’t over the top or gimmicky, unlike a lot of metal bands these days
Lone Wanderer
I pre-ordered the album yesterday. It´s gonna be a real joy listening to when this song sounds as good as it does
MetalPiano1
Haha no matter how many time I watch this, it never fails to make me smile. Thank you Edguy! :-D
PeacockFilletSteak
Three more days and the new album is mine! I'm really looking forward to this. I've been a fan since buying Hellfire Club some years ago. I don't think they have a bad album. I actually really like the direction they've been taking. They keep their roots but dabble in all kinds of styles. It keeps things really interesting and fun to listen to. A lot of bands stick with one sound and get boring fast. Edguy's not one of those bands.
Bagpuss A
Genius. Tobias and Edguy have preoduced another fantastic album, tongue firmly in cheek. Fantastic : )
Haineko404
Hahahaha xD Just OMFG, so fucking hilarious! ;D That's why I love them, there are faaaar too many metal bands who try to be serious, epic and poetic, these guys are just pure FUN! ;D Can't wait to see them live again~! <3
Mercy Cruz
jajajjajaja me mato de la risa y como siempre me encanto el tema EDGUY excelente felicitaciones desde Ecuador