Edguy's Reviews
Mandrake (Average Rating: 9.40 out of 10)
THEY RECORD AT FINNVOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Rated this album with 10 out of 10)
Reviewed by
Matt Stoessel
from Tolland, CT USA
Isn't that enough of a reason to fall in love with a band?!?! Well, if it isn't... ... have you heard of Avantasia? That is Tobias Sammet's side project. On that, he got singers like Sharon del Adel, Timo Tolkki, and Kai Hansen to sing, as well as one other that I recently discovered, but forgot. THE MAIN BAND IS ALMOST JUST AS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! Tobias Sammet is in Edguy too! Some people say that he should quit Edguy and just stick with Avantasia. I disagree. The music he wrote on this album is SO easy to enjoy!!! Where the bonus track, "The Devil and the Savant", doesn't add much to the purchase, it is more than decent. At first, it seems like a repeat of the first track. Oh, and about length, there are no intros or outros, a 7 minute opener, and track 6 is over 10 minutes. You get your money's worth. Quite frankily, "Save Us Now" is one of my favorite songs. It is such a fun song!!! You just have to love it! If you've been reading my other reviews, you would know that I don't get this positive about an album unless its as good as Mirror of Madness or Scourge of Malice. Well, what does that mean? I'll be honest, this isn't THAT good of a CD. Where those 2 albums get 6,000 stars, I give Mandrake (with The Devil and the Savant) about 2,750 stars... out of 5. No matter what mood I am in, ... ... its just so uplifting!!! Whenever you're in a bad mood, just throw on Save Us Now and you'll be bouncing up and down in no time! The drums on this album rank up there with Finnvox's best: Stratovarius, Amorphis, and Insania. Oh, by the way: Avantasia (the side project) also records at Finnvox. The keyboards add a nighttime atmosphere that is very lovable. Most of the CD isn't fast, but track 2 is almost a hyper-speed song. Save Us Now is the traditional very fast song. The opener is mid-tempo to slow paced. The ONLY weak point of the album is that the 10:00 song shouldn't be that long. It drags on never going anywhere, similar to The Prophecies by Kenziner, only not as bad. If you're just starting with melodic metal, do start with Stratovarius or someone else more popular. But, if you're tired of the popular bands, Edguy will be a welcomed new favorite. Go ahead and give it a try! I almost forgot! I always do a band comparison for all you guys out there. For Edguy, imagine Angel Dust + Stratovarius, only a bit softer. When you get the time, go read some of my other reviews and say if they were helpful or not.
Buy this album on Amazon at $30.49
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