Edguy - Space Police - Defenders Of The Crown

Published April 13 2014

*=Staff's pick	Sabre & Torch Space Police* Defenders Of The Crown Love Tyger The Realms Of Baba Yaga Rock Me Amadeus Do Me Like A Caveman Shadow Eaters* Alone In Myself The Eternal Wayfarer

Genre	Power Metal/Hard Rock	Tobias Sammet	Vocals
Tracks	10	Jens Ludwig	Guitar
Running time	54 Min.	Dirk Sauer	Guitar
Label	Nuclear Blast	Tobias Exxel	Bass
Release	18 April 2014	Felix Bohnke	Drums
Country	Germany	-	Keyboard
Producer	Sascha Paeth
Similar artists	---

Lead vocalist and Mr. main man Tobias Sammet has put focus immensely on his side project Avantasia and thereby Edguy seems to have suffered to a high degree and in my eyes the band has slowly been bleeding to an inevitable intermediate position. This German unit's two latest albums weren't even close to their standards. With one fishbait called Tinnitus Sanctus and with Age Of The Joker, that was decent at best, Edguy now faces a huge challenge.

A challenge that has partially been accepted, because this release is without a shadow of a doubt something that shows that Edguy has stepped up a few inches and placed themselves fairly on the right track again. The obvious tendencies to a more hard rocking and ordinary side of Edguy is clearly still present, but at the same time, it hasn't expanded even further in that direction away from the power metal roots.

There are some speedier tracks with pretty cool and accurate riffs and this effort has a few songs that I find rather satisfying. However, that number is a little too short and most of the tracks are just average and they are not able to find a place deep within my mind. Some stuff is obviously good, but in total, the songs are in need of some kind of a major attractive force to catch my full attention.

I also have to point out that some Avantasia melodies are nowadays intertwined with Edguy's music and the more I listen to this release, the more I hear how these outfits approach each other. A perfect example is the album's last track, The Eternal Wayfarer; an epic track where they try to create a rather majestic direction with choirs and other things suitable for Sammet's side project. I also repeatedly ask myself if I should stop calling that work a project, since it seems like much of the efforts are put into those records?

No one has ever claimed that Sammet's voice was heavy music's most bright shining star and I think he has to strain himself even further on this record to reach certain points that were achieved in the past. The difference isn't that enormous, but still a little noticeable. This energetic man is always eager to differ himself and his efforts from the masses and therefore I believe we are offered a cover version of Rock Me Amadeus. A song that originally had a verse that's totally useless and I assure you, it still is.

Space Police - Defenders Of The Crown has got that ugly word; potential, and kind of ends up stuck in traffic on the way to success. This is nevertheless a more pleasant performance than what was presented on the two latest releases and it also indicates a certain change of attitude.

See also review of: Monuments , Age Of The Joker , Tinnitus Sanctus , Rocket Ride , Hellfire Club , Mandrake

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
7	6	7	5	5

Summary
5 chalices of 10 - Tobbe