interview

» Tobias Sammet - Edguy

Michael of Metal Covenant hooked up with Tobias Sammet on his promotion tour prior to the release of Rocket Ride in order to get the latest on Edguy. (transcribed by Thomas)

Michael: Tell us, how's life?

Tobias: Its great, I am travelling around the world and telling everybody that new album is the best piece of music in the history. I am very happy and everybody seems to like it. (Which is something not to be taken for granted according to Tobias as they have added some new elements.)

Michael: Tell us about the new album a bit more in-depth?

Tobias: We have worked in different way a little bit, we have worked with a producer this time. (With Sascha Paeth as producer (Heavens Gate, Rhapsody, Kamelot, Aina, Shaman, Angra etc. etc.) they didn't have to take responsibility for the recording but could focus more on writing songs instead. Tobias further says that it was great to have someone coming up with ideas and throwing in different opinions, he felt Edguy was able to improve without having to change with including other ideas without straying from the Edguy sound. And in the end that made the album come out as very diversified but still Edguy.)

Michael: How do you think it will be received by the fans?

Tobias: I don't know, I hope they like it as much as I do, I think it is a very good album. Since the second album people are always surprised when we release something new, in a way. When we did Vain Glory Opera people where really celebrating it, it was the first that got international acceptance and that got fans everywhere. And when we did Theater Of Salvation they immediately said that with the new album we had changed, it is more bombastic than Vain Glory opera and they are not kicking that much ass anymore. And after a while they said it is great album, and some said it is the best we have ever done. Then we did the Mandrake album and people said it is not as good as the Theater Of Salvation album. And with Rocket Ride I think the first reactions will be, wow, it is not as good as Hellfire Club, but in five years I think they will consider Rocket Ride as one of our classics.

Michael: Did you write all the lyrics and music on the album?

Tobias: Apart from one song that Jens did where I did the solo I did all. (But even if Tobias is the main songwriter he says that Edguy in the end is a democratic band where everyone has something to say. All are involved in some way with bringing up ideas and make changes.)

Michael: Rocket Ride seems to have a more comical atmosphere than the previous albums?

Tobias: It is a good heavy metal album with no more funny moments than earlier. People think that perhaps by that we dared to put some odd on the cover.

Michael: Have you evolved from power metal to heavy metal?

Tobias: I don't know the difference, because I don't label music. Basically it just heavy hard rock we play - melodic, kick ass music with heavy guitars and melodic vocals, that's what we play.

Michael: Are you looking forward to the upcoming tour?

Tobias: I am excited, it feels good to go on the road again.

Michael: And the opening bands will be?

Tobias: In Japan it will be Savage Circus and in Europe it will be Dragonforce.

Michael: What do you think of them?

Tobias: Savage Circus are really good, they are the best Blind Guardian these days. I haven't paid that must attention to Dragonforce yet, just listened to one of their albums so far. But they are good, and really really fast.

Michael: What does the future hold?

Tobias: I don't know, many more records, many more tours and health, that is the most important thing. We can travel the world and we can record albums without looking to much at the budget. So really I am happy as it is and that it keep going on.

Michael: Choose an Edguy song and comment on it, not from the new album?

Tobias: Out Of Control, it is the song we probably have played the most and it is a song that reflects us so much. No, Vain glory Opera reflects us better, everyone that thinks of Edguy thinks of Vain Glory Opera... It is straight forward and shows that we have a hard rock side, something that people only discover now but that we have had all the time.

Michael: Side projects, any more planned?

Tobias: At the moment no. (He reveals that he will probably do one song on the upcoming project from ex-Heavens Gate vocalist Thomas Rettke's. B project) Maybe one day I'll be doing another Avantasia album but nothing is planned now, but that can happen.

Michael: Are there any other things that you always wanted to do?

Tobias: A more perfect version of Avantasia perhaps, but at the moment I don't have the time.

Michael: You have worked with some of the biggest singers in the power/heavy metal scene. Are there any artist you would like to work with in the future?

Tobias: Ronnie James Dio, Paul Stanley, Brain May, Freddie Mercury but there is a bad chance of that and Rudolf Schenker.

Michael: What do you think of your own performance on Aina?

Tobias: They where happy and than I must to be happy. (He thinks it is hard to sing songs that he hasn't written himself. He found that the phrasing in the song Flight Of Torek was difficult and that there was too many words. Although he thought it was great to sing with Glenn Hughes, even if they weren't in the studio together.)

Michael: Which is the question that you never have got during an interview but that you wish you had got, and what would the answer be?

Tobias: I even got that question a couple of times. But after a bit of thinking he comes up with this: What was it like to get your first quadruple platinum album two years ago?

Michael: And the answer would be?

Tobias: Well it hasn't happened yet but something like this: It was great, but it was just the start. I think the third, fourth and fifth album felt so much greater.