edguy_2006_02

» Edguy 2006 02 28

Reviewed by Thomas
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Tourname: Rocket Ride World Tour 2006
Headliner: Edguy
Special guest: Dragonforce, Sabaton
City: Gothenburg, Sweden
Venue: Trädgårn
Date: 28 Feb 2006
Edguy set length: 100 minutes
Dragonforce set length: 40 minutes
Sabaton set length: 30 Minutes

Sabaton

It was obvious that people had not only attended to see Edguy, Sabaton surely had their share of fans there as well as Dragonforce. Sabaton was set for battle and they surely delivered right from their start with their forceful yet melodic metal. The band enjoyed playing at home in Sweden again after being on the road for some while and it was obvious since there was a great energy on stage.

They started with the track Panzer Battalion and even if it wasn't crowded in the hall yet there was a fair amount of people there to see Sabaton, and the band got a really good response from the audience, with all rights. All but one song came from the Primo Victoria album and the selection gave a dynamic performance even if a song like Stalingrad was missed by me, but you can only do so much with so little time that they had. And I really wished that they could have had more time then the half hour they were given, but hopefully I will get too see more of them later on sometime.

We got a taster from the new album as well, and as bassist Pär Sundström said in the interview I did with him before the show, the new album will follow in the same vein as Primo Victoria, only bigger and better, and I am ready to believe that. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until the second half of summer before it is released but judging by the song Nuclear Attack and the things he had to say about the album it might be worth the wait.

7 chalices of 10

SETLIST:

Panzer Battalion
Wolfpack
Into The Fire
Nuclear Attack
Primo Victoria
Metal Machine

Dragonforce

If the Sabaton performance can be summed up as powerful, speedy is how to most easily describe the performance from Dragonforce. It was pretty intense from the start and the guys flew around on the stage as they had fire in their asses. And it is impossible for me not be captivated by these guys, the speed and the melodies make me watch them with a big smile all through their performance.

With speed otherwise only heard from black metal bands and the merry melodies from power metal there is hardly a dull moment as long as Dragonforce are on stage. Moreover, it is hard not to be impressed by the guitars, sounding as tweeting birds on speed played by Herman Li and Sam Totman. The crowd was now starting to get even bigger and vocalist ZP Theart did successfully his best to get them fired up and to sing along.

Dragonforce has during the years become a really good live act, and even if there were gaps in their tightness this time, you could see that the abilities to perform as a really tight band are there. However, in the end this felt like a day in the office from Dragonforce, a good day though but still one on routine.

6 chalices of 10

SETLIST: (might be slightly inaccurate)

My Spirit Will Go On
Fury Of The Storm
Storming The Burning Fields
Through The Fire And Flames
Valley Of The Damned

Edguy

Edguy is starting to become big, having had a position at number eight on the Swedish album chart and now having three sold out concerts ought to be a proof of that. The show in Gothenburg was the first of the three shows in Sweden and Edguy seemed to be very pleased about being here.

The band was in a really great mood, joking along and it nice to see a band that enjoy their time on stage, and it hard to find someone that seems to enjoy that more then Edguy main man and vocalist Tobias Sammet. His voice was not on top thought since he was suffering from flu, although he knows how to adapt an audience, he is a true entertainer. He likes to talk, and to talk a lot, mostly it is rather funny because he knows how to do it well and to keep it on an amusing level, but it can become a little too much and make them loose the momentum of the concert. The crowd is to participate in the concert and Tobias Sammet makes them do it often with singing long and a lot of oh-oh parts and the clapping of hands, he surely knows how to work an audience and as the crowd was all play this evening it created a wonderful atmosphere.

There was a good mix of songs and even if I am not that impressed by the new album I must say that I really liked the songs when they where presented live. Fucking With Fire, that originally was supposed to be a bonus track on the album, was actually the best of the new songs. You can call me conservative if you like, but I liked the older songs the best. When Edguy deliver their more power metal-ish songs, they are at their absolute best. Babylon, Tears Of A Mandrake and How Many Miles stand out as much better live songs than what their newer material does in general.

The concert went well from beginning to end and the great thing with Edguy is that they get you in a good mood, you put on a laughter as well their music gets to you when you watch and listen to them live. The song Mysteria was a perfect pick to end the regular set with as it is one of the better from the Hellfire Club album and a song that works really well live. And by now you could really hear that Sammet was struggling with his flu as his voices sounded fatigued and he had problems with taking the higher notes. Although he was high in spirit and that didn't really take away anything from their performance which was as good as I had hoped for.

Once again, as often at concerts there was a real, at least with me, boring moment, the obligatory drum solo. It is not that they are bad but to me they all sound the same and they all feel to be endless. The first encore with Vain Glory Opera and Avantasia was definitely the highlight of the show and King Of Fools was a good song to end it all with. And as I left I felt satisfied with the evening and the three performances this evening, and I am sure I was not the only one with that feeling.

7,5 chalices of 10

SETLIST:

Catch Of The Century
Sacrifice
Babylon
Lavatory Love Machine
Tears Of A Mandrake
How Many Miles
Fucking With Fire
Superheroes
Save Me
Mysteria
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Vain Glory Opera
Avantasia
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King Of Fools