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Though the band has been around since 1997,
besides a few snippets and mp3s on the Internet, Rocket
Ride was my official introduction to Germany's Edguy.
And what an introduction it was! This music is retro metal
in top form, or "Powerglam," as the band describes themselves.
Think late 80s Iron Maiden and Savatage, throw in some catchy
electronics, a ridiculous sense of humor, and you get Edguy.
The band is way over the top (maybe too much so for newer
metalheads), but metal fans yearning for the genre's glory
days have found a blessing in Rocket Ride.
At first listen to Rocket Ride, I thought, is this
for real? The sound is so retro, that you'll feel as if it's
1988 all over again. But after the first track, "Sacrifice,"
hits it's stride, you'll be sucked in to Rocket Ride.
The disc is packed with shout along choruses, memorable riffs
and really nice guitarwork. Lead vocalist Tobias Sammet has
a wide range reminiscent of Bruce Dickinson at times. His
vocals are a perfect fit to the music, leading some of the
biggest choruses from a metal band in years. Take one listen
to the title track or "Wasted Time" and you'll be singing
along in no time. The album starts off strong with the aforementioned
tracks. "Sacrifice" clocks in at over eight minutes, and so
much is packed into the opening track that it's hard to top.
The second half of the album leaned too much on the hair metal
side for me. "Save Me," a power ballad, almost sounded like
KISS' "Forever" with its acoustic guitars and soaring chorus.
"Catch Of The Century" and "Out Of Vogue" are decent tracks
but don't compare to the earlier songs of the release. The
album does pick back up with the very KISS inspired chorus
of "Superheroes." This track may be the most memorable of
the disc. The album ends with two humorous tracks, "Trinidad"
and "Fucking With Fire." "Trinidad" sounds like some sort
of "Sympathy For The Devil" remake but has hilarious lyrics
and vocals. You'll hear what I mean. "Fucking With Fire" seems
to be the band's new anthem, referring to themselves as 'Hair-Force-One'.
Rocket Ride is feel-good metal record from start
to finish, if there is such a thing. Awesome guitarwork,
vocals, humor and a love for metal's glory years make Edguy
what they are. I can't say they are one of my favorite bands
or this is a perfect album, but there is no one else like
them currently in the scene. The album is worth repeated listens
and works as a pick-me-up type of record. Throw in this disc
and you'll be entertained to say the least.
®2006 Live-Metal.net
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