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)
Tears of a Mandrake
Edguy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Predicting invasions and pain
A child can see through the stranger
The Watcher's eye, the noble liar
It's time for the merchant and his help for sale
Blades to cut wicked flesh
On a merchantman he counts his money
The sea he'll cruise is blood and fire
Oh father I can't see a lane
They make you a pawn in the game
For we all are deaf, dumb and blind
After the storm when the magic has gone
Drown in the tears of a mandrake
Pawn in the game, invisible chains
Try to move, you'll feel as they graze
After the storm when the magic has gone
Drown in the tears of a mandrake
Fading away, the final decay
Try to move, break out from your chains
When you're off to the hall of the serpent
See the cynic who's counting his gold
While gun runners, priests and clairvoyants
Are dancing around the rising demon
You are taught to eat up all the crap they shit
Parading your nuts on a silver plate
Kill your brother by the blade they sell
For you don't unite
They reap your bondage sowing evil
There's no use to tell what I've seen
They know how to make you believe
Just what they want you to know
Tears of a mandrake - yeah
Drown in the tears of the mandrake
Pawn in the game - Drown in the tears of a mandrake
The lyrics of Edguy's song Tears of a Mandrake depict a world ruled by the powerful, where the masses are blind to the truth and are manipulated by those in control. The first stanza points to an all-seeing watcher who is a liar, and a merchant who sails away on a sea of blood and fire. The second stanza speaks of being a pawn in a game where you are unable to see the way forward, and where your attempts to break free lead to being grazed by invisible chains. "After the storm when the magic has gone," you are left with the tears of a mandrake, which, in folklore, are said to have magical properties and cause madness when pulled from the ground. In the final stanza, there is a suggestion of sacrificing your own beliefs and brotherhood for the sake of the powerful.
Overall, the song seems to be a condemnation of those in power who use manipulation and deceit to maintain their control over the masses, and shows the struggle of those seeking to break free.
Line by Line Meaning
Gaze at the leaving clairvoyant
Watch as the fortune-teller departs
Predicting invasions and pain
Foretelling of upcoming wars and suffering
A child can see through the stranger
Even a child can see through the deception of newcomers
The Watcher's eye, the noble liar
The all-seeing eye is a deceitful figure
It's time for the merchant and his help for sale
It's time for the salesman to offer his assistance for profit
Blades to cut wicked flesh
Knives used for cutting evil flesh
On a merchantman he counts his money
On a ship, he counts his wealth
Then he sails away
Afterwards, he departs
The sea he'll cruise is blood and fire
The ocean he sails upon is filled with chaos and destruction
Oh father I can't see a lane
Father, I cannot perceive a path
They make you a pawn in the game
They turn you into a mere pawn in their game
For we all are deaf, dumb and blind
Because we are all ignorant and unaware
After the storm when the magic has gone
Following the typhoon after the enchantment has dissipated
Drown in the tears of a mandrake
Suffocate under the anguish of the mystical mandrake plant
Pawn in the game, invisible chains
Being used as a pawn, bound by unseen shackles
Try to move, you'll feel as they graze
Attempting to act will result in a feeling like being sanded down
Fading away, the final decay
Fading out of existence, devolving into decay
Try to move, break out from your chains
Attempt to move and break free from the chains trapping you
When you're off to the hall of the serpent
Journeying to the place of the serpent
See the cynic who's counting his gold
Observe the pessimistic one tallying their wealth
While gun runners, priests and clairvoyants
Meanwhile, merchants of arms, clergymen, and fortune-tellers
Are dancing around the rising demon
Are joyfully celebrating the emergence of the demonic entity
You are taught to eat up all the crap they shit
You are trained to ingest all the garbage they excrete
Parading your nuts on a silver plate
Displaying your testicles on a valuable platter
Kill your brother by the blade they sell
Murder your fellow man with the weapons they vend
For you don't unite
Because you do not unite together
They reap your bondage sowing evil
They profit from your enslavement by spreading wickedness
There's no use to tell what I've seen
There is no point in explaining what I've witnessed
They know how to make you believe
They know how to manipulate your beliefs
Just what they want you to know
Only what they desire you to comprehend
Tears of a mandrake - yeah
Tears shed by the mandrake plant
Drown in the tears of the mandrake
Suffocate under the anguish of the mystical mandrake plant
Pawn in the game - Drown in the tears of a mandrake
Being used as a pawn in their game, suffocate under the anguish of the mystical mandrake plant
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JENS LUDWIG, TOBIAS SAMMET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind