EDGUY 'King Of Fools' CD EP

I'll be the first to say that I hopped on the Edguy band wagon after hearing their sophomore masterpiece, "Vain Glory Opera". Since then, I have enjoyed the band's work but had some reservations about the band's last effort, "Mandrake", which to me seemed to be half perfection and half filler. Even with that said, Edguy make power metal interesting for me, making leaps and bounds in the genre along with Metalium, Primal Fear, Thunderbolt, and a handfull of other top-tier metal acts.

Edguy for the longest time were the "brand new sensation sweeping the nation", and now the band finds themselves in the proverbial "mid-era" of their career, where some experimentation and stretching of the boundaries seems to always rear its ugly head. With the new record being the sixth release from the group, a lot of people are scratching their head wondering where this one time "next Iron Maiden" would take their sound at this point, with the new record label and a new metal audience this time around, would Edguy stray from their main objective and wander aimlessly in trendy backlots searching for the missing key to unlock their superstardom??

The answer is fairly simple; Edguy have moved forward by leaping back in time and grasping the key element that makes them who they are...that epic metal sound that seemed to go away briefly after their third full length, "Theater Of Salvation". The band apparently have grasped that sacred time travel control switch, and with just enough adjustment on the wheel, have landed safely back on the floors of their "Vain Glory Opera" soundstage. Grabbing what they could, they have taken the EPIC structure of songwriting and climbed back on board to set sail for this millenium, this year, this time, right now.

The material found on "King Of Fools" is stellar, beyond stellar, moving into another plane of metal existence all together. This new creation is a more polished product, taking the great opus that is "Vain Glory Opera" and putting an illustrious shine to it, bringing the part of big business and big sound to the epic medieval shrine that has become the Edguy sound. New single "King Of Fools" adds some small particles of modern metal by way of cold acts like Sentenced and Poisonblack, taking groove metal and frosty lyrics and making it over the top with huge, complex chorus' that one expects from German power ala Helloween, Blind Guardian, Paragon, etc. Think of Sentenced or Darkseed hitting the highs of epic greatness, something they just can't seem to do no matter how much misery their blackened souls promise. Edguy do it and do it greatly, making the cold sound of those types of bands go beyond the grave, instead adding an almost religious choral arrangement that just makes the music sound really large and over the top. This single pounds away with raw power, but is shined and polished to display an extraordinary approach to the Helloween sound of old, bringing it to light in this new world of fresh and energetic technology. Fans of the first three Edguy albums will soak up every second of "King Of Fools". This is a return to roots of sorts, but takes it to the next level. Along with the refreshing single, this EP offers four non-album tracks.