Vain Glory Opera came from out of nowhere in 1998 and introduced a relatively unknown band by the name of
Edguy to the Metal world. Although they had released an album prior to this (
Kingdom of Madness),
Vain Glory Opera was the release that
made Edguy. While their
Helloween influence is quite clear, the beauty of
Edguy's music is their ability to take elements of older Power Metal bands as a foundation and influence while still being completely original.
After a symphonic intro the album kicks off with one of its best tracks,
Until We Rise Again - a speedy, ultra-melodic tune that blows me away every time I hear it. The first thing I noticed when I heard this track was the God-like singing of Tobias Sammet. He reminds me a little of
Bruce Dickinson at times, although it seems that Tobi is able to hit higher notes while still maintaining a crystal clear voice. I consider Tobias to be one of the most talented and versatile singers in Metal today, along with Daniel Heiman from
Lost Horizon and Blind Guardian's Hansi Kursch. From the unbridled aggression on tracks such as
No More Foolin to the softer, more emotional side on
Scarlet Rose, Sammet can do it all.
Guitarists Jens Ludwig and Dirk Sauer keep everything moving at a perfect pace with solid, chugging riffs and some very cool solos. Compared to
Edguy's later material the guitar work on this album does seem a tad underdeveloped at times, but is in no way inadequate - it's just amazing to me how much these two guys have matured in their playing over the last few years. Although Jens and Dirk are more than able to handle the guitar duties on
Vain Glory Opera, they do get some help from guest musician
Timo Tolkki of
Stratovarius on
Out of Control (which is absolutely killer!). Timo and Jens trade solos with each other on this track, and when it's Timo's turn he just buries the young guitarist! It's as if Timo is saying with each solo, "Yeah, that's not bad kid, but watch this." :)
Felix Bohnke displays some amazing talents on the drums from start to finish on
Vain Glory Opera. The double bass attacks on
Until We Rise Again and
Fairytale never fail to get me banging my head, and there are a handful of extremely satisfying breaks and fills throughout the album. He most certainly deserves his title of
Alien Drum Bunny.
Mr. Tolkki isn't the only Metal veteran to guest on this album - Hansi Kursch himself lends his voice to my two favorite tracks,
Out of Control and the title track. His performance on
Out of Control especially sends chills down my spine every time I hear it. When he belts out, "My life is a chamber of tears, fear, and hate!" it's just the PERFECT addition to this song, and part of what makes it so special to me.
The title track deserves special mention as well. It begins with a simple, yet extremely uplifting keyboard melody that sets it apart from the rest of the tracks on the album. It reminds me a little of the keyboard melody from Europe's
The Final Countdown. After a few seconds the guitars come in and set a mid-tempo pace that stays fairly consistent throughout the song. The chorus is by far the catchiest out of all of the songs on this disc, and everytime I hear it I end up singing along (and if I'm at home, my cats sing along with me - but they're not very good. :))
As far as negative aspects, there really aren't many that I can think of.
Walk on Fighting is probably my least favorite track on the album, only because it never really grabbed me. Still, the performances on that track are all nearly perfect and it's still highly listenable.
This album is a Melodic Power Metal masterpiece from start to finish, and I would recommend it highly to any fan of Metal. The speedy tracks make me want to raise my fist in the air and sing along (which I usually do), and
Scarlet Rose may be the best ballad
Edguy has put out thus far. If you aren't familiar with
Edguy, this is the perfect place to start.
Hellfire Club may have more balls, and
Theater of Salvation is a more mature album, but
Vain Glory Opera is classic, perfect
Edguy from beginning to end. Go buy it!!!
Written by
Matthew Thursday, May 13, 2004
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