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)
babylon
Edguy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a world of hate pollution
We can't breathe anymore
We've to leave and this time you,
The pawn, have won
On our quest for nowhere island
We set off to the sea
You call surrender what we call
Pounding thoughts of home they make me know:
"I will return! I don't live my life for you,
It's too short to get burned
Stand upright and face the wind!"
Time to go back where I belong
No one can prevent me from
Raising towers in Babylon
You only can love me if you can convert me
To attitudes of your brain
You blame us for doing things
That you don't know
You tell me what you'd do if you were me but you are you and I am I
Lucky you, but this time I say: "No!"
Pounding thoughts of home they make me know: "I will return!"
I don't want to hurt you but you'll have to learn:
You are you and I am I!!!
Oh
Oh yeah
(And like the vision of my urge to salvation told me,
I built up a tower to widen my horizon, whatever they might say)
The lyrics of Edguy's song "Babylon" depict a world filled with hate pollution where the singer is suffocating and cannot breathe anymore. The only option left for him is to leave and embark on a journey to nowhere island. The pawn has won this round, but the singer and his companions set sail to the sea to face the storm ahead. While others might call it surrender, they see it as a calm before the storm. The pounding thoughts of home remind them that they will return and that their life is too short to get burned. The singer urges other people to stand upright and face the wind instead of blaming them for things they don't know. He refuses to allow anyone to convert him to attitudes of their brain. He is his own person and will not let anyone change him. He built a tower to widen his horizon, as per the vision of his urge for salvation.
Line by Line Meaning
In a world of hate pollution
In a world filled with resentment and intolerance
We can't breathe anymore
We can no longer endure the toxicity of this environment
We've to leave and this time you, The pawn, have won
We must depart and this time, you have emerged victorious as a mere pawn in this game
On our quest for nowhere island
In search of a place without direction or purpose
We set off to the sea
We embark on a journey into the unknown, facing the vastness of the sea
You call surrender what we call A calm before the storm
Your perception of surrender is merely an illusion; for us, it is a brief moment of respite before imminent chaos
Pounding thoughts of home they make me know: "I will return! I don't live my life for you, It's too short to get burned Stand upright and face the wind!"
The persistent memories of home remind me that I will come back; I will not let others dictate my life as it may be short, and I will confront challenges head-on
Time to go back where I belong
It's time to return to where I truly fit in
No one can prevent me from Raising towers in Babylon
I will build something remarkable in spite of opposition
You only can love me if you can convert me To attitudes of your brain You blame us for doing things That you don't know
You demand I conform to adhere to your beliefs before exhibiting love, and you project your ignorance onto us in the form of accusations
You tell me what you'd do if you were me but you are you and I am I Lucky you, but this time I say: "No!"
You impose your thoughts onto me as if you know me better than I know myself; this time, I refuse to comply
I don't want to hurt you but you'll have to learn: You are you and I am I!!!
I do not intend harm, but you must realize that we are vastly different individuals
And like the vision of my urge to salvation told me, I built up a tower to widen my horizon, whatever they might say
As my goal was to be saved, a vision motivated me to erect a tower, regardless of opposition, to broaden my perspective
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JENS LUDWIG, TOBIAS SAMMET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind