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)
The Devil & The Savant
Edguy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
reach out for the stranger
As you sign the deal tonight
Icarus's your only guide
See the haggard child of sun
To the tempting fires you run
Pass the gate and realize
Casting evil eyes
Down at your dark lab
you threw some tarot cards
Reading the fiery truth
alchemist you were right
the vision's alive
The devil and the savant
Gaze away
Far away
Alchemist you're free
inside of your prison
The devil and the savant
Take a light,
Getting sight of a revelation forced:
the chemical wedding day...
He appears at your desire
Does your bidding - always
Lights the candle in the dark
See the blood - oh - of us all
Think you force him to expose
All above and all below
You're never able to unveil
what you had to feel...
Taming your seraph but who is in control
You or the demon called curiosity, Mephistopheles...
The song "The Devil & The Savant" by Edguy depicts the story of an alchemist who is trying to gain knowledge and power by summoning the devil, Mephistopheles. The alchemist is portrayed as a daring individual who is willing to take risks in order to achieve his goals. In the first verse, the alchemist is urged to "cross the edge inside" and "reach out for the stranger", which is a reference to his attempt to summon the devil. As he signs the deal with the devil, he is warned that there will be consequences and that he should be careful. The devil is said to be his only guide, as he ventures deeper into the realm of darkness.
In the second verse, the alchemist is shown to be reading tarot cards to gain insight into the future. He is able to uncover the truth about his destiny and sees that his vision is alive. The chorus is particularly powerful, as it shows the alchemist being freed from the constraints of his prison, which is a reference to his own mind. He is able to take a light and gain sight of a revelation forced, which is the chemical wedding day. This may be a reference to the ancient alchemical tradition of uniting opposites to create something new.
The third verse shows the alchemist summoning Mephistopheles to do his bidding, and he is able to light a candle in the dark. However, as he delves deeper into the realm of the devil, he realizes that he cannot control everything. In the end, the song leaves the listener with the question of who is really in control, the alchemist or the demon called curiosity.
Line by Line Meaning
When you cross the edge inside
As you venture into the unknown
reach out for the stranger
Interact with the unfamiliar in order to discover what lies ahead
As you sign the deal tonight
Making a binding agreement with the unknown
Icarus's your only guide
Following your intuition into the unknown can lead you to new heights
See the haggard child of sun
Witness the damaged, yet dazzling entity that is the sun
To the tempting fires you run
Approaching the seductive allure of something, even though it may be dangerous
Pass the gate and realize
Entering new territory, and realizing what this journey means
Casting evil eyes
Looking at things in a sinister manner
Down at your dark lab
Entering a place shrouded in darkness
you threw some tarot cards
Engaging in the act of divination through the use of tarot cards
Reading the fiery truth
Discovering the true nature of things through a process of trial and error
alchemist you were right
The act of transformation and transmutation is an inherent part of the human condition
the vision's alive
The imaginative capacities of an individual are boundless
The devil and the savant
The simultaneous presence of good and evil
Gaze away
Looking out into the world
Far away
Distant from everything, physically or metaphorically
Alchemist you're free
The capacity to transform is freeing
inside of your prison
The limits of one's own capabilities can often feel like a cage
Take a light,
The path ahead may be illuminated, but it may not be what was expected
Getting sight of a revelation forced:
Forcing oneself to look deep within to find answers
the chemical wedding day...
The mysterious and transformative union of two elements
He appears at your desire
The act of calling forth something to appear is both fascinating and terrifying
Does your bidding - always
The illusion of control over something often leads to a false sense of security
Lights the candle in the dark
Illuminating the unknown
See the blood - oh - of us all
The inevitability of despair and darkness in all of our lives is a shared experience
Think you force him to expose
The belief that one can control what is revealed
All above and all below
The interconnectivity of all things
You're never able to unveil
The possibility that certain things will remain forever hidden
what you had to feel...
The idea that the only way to truly understand certain things is to experience them
Taming your seraph but who is in control
Attempting to control one's better nature, but realizing that it may not be possible
You or the demon called curiosity, Mephistopheles...
The battle between rational thought and inquisitive impulses. The idea that one may not always be in control of their own mind.
Contributed by Savannah B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.