Burning Down the Opera

With their first (and so far, only) live album, Edguy strived to produce their most overblown creation ever, harkening back to Iron Maiden’s “Live After Death”. This two-disc album documents the band during the Mandrake tour, complete with a lengthy booklet with tons of color photos, a poster and desktop backgrounds. Presentation of the product is quite amazing and, perhaps surprisingly, the music follows suit.

Edguy sound great live and this album provides good evidence for the many who cannot attend their concerts. The highlight of the concert is not only Sammet, but the crisp guitar work of Jens Ludwig. He plays his pseudo-neo-classical style to near perfection on each song. Though Sammet’s unique voice too soars gracefully through the melody, his pacing is quite noticeable; he occasionally omits a high note. And, at times, Sammet’s excessive goofing and commentary within songs becomes annoying.

The set list compiled for this album flows very well, mixing both new and older material. “Fallen Angels” is the perfect Edguy opening song; it seems to be superior to the studio recording on Mandrake. The album enters a lull with back-to-back ballads, “Land of the Miracle” and “Painting on the Wall”; these pieces could have been better incorporated. Although the majority of the songs are from Mandrake and Vain Glory Opera, live staples such as “Wings of a Dream” make an appearance. Also, several non-studio humor tracks were included towards the end of the album: Bohnke’s “Solitary Bunny Drum Solo” and “Inside”.

For live album purists, it is evident that the presence of the audience has been tampered.

Though this live set definitely appeals to the rabid Edguy fan, it is a strong document and important live album from Europe’s power metal scene.

Top performances: “Fallen Angels”, “Babylon”, “The Pharaoh”