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I am a big fan of Edguy's 2006 release, Rocket Ride.
Always powerful, always comedic and always rockin', Edguy
might have hit their creative peak with that album. A few
songs on Rocket Ride hinted at the hard rock direction
of Tinnitus Sanctus, but I didn't realize the band
would abandon ther power metal style completely. That's what
happened.
I hate to be hard on the guys because they're true rock stars,
talented and over the top, but Tinnitus Sanctus is
hit and miss in too many ways. Songs are mostly hard rockers,
with identical structures--verse, chorus, verse, chorus. In
typical Edguy fashion, the choruses stand out in your face,
but are often too lengthy and forgettable. Vocalist and songwriter
Tobias Sammet is the highlight of the disc. His vocal style
is equal parts glam and cheese, and his cringe-worthy
lyrics are the stuff that '80s rock icons are made of, but
it's hard to deny he's a charismatic singer. The rest of the
band is strong, but minus any double bass or power metal elements,
Edguy sounds, well, ordinary. That's a surprise given the
things this band has done in the past. And is it just me or
does this album carry an awkward religious vibe? Songs like
“Ministry of Saints,” “Sex Fire Religion”
and “The Pride of Creation” all have this running
theme. I'm not sure where Edguy is going with this, but “Ministry
of Saints” is the strongest of the three and actually
one of their best. But what's with the power ballad “Thorn
Without a Rose?” Who is this, Def Leppard? Sammet sounds
disturbingly like Joe Elliot here. It's a little too much
for me. On the other hand, “Nine Lives” is another
great example of Edguy at its hard-rockin, pump-your-fist-along-while-you-scream
best. Songs like “Wake Up Dreaming Black,” “Dragonfly”
and “9-2-9” are average hard rock songs and play
out more as filler. Maybe they'll grow on me, but I think
Edguy can do much better. The album ends with its lone comedic
affair, the rockabilly number “Aren't You a Little Pervert
Too.” Don't ask.
Edguy makes an attempt to shed their image of power-metal
parody, going for more of a straight-up, no-frills, hard-rock
vibe for much of this album. Personally, for Rocket Ride's
follow-up, I either would have liked to have seen Edguy take
the whole cock-rock, hair-metal vibe of “Fucking with
Fire” by the balls and take it to the extreme, or release
an album of the bombastic power metal they're capable
of. Tinnutus Sanctus is neither and gets lost in
between. There are three or four standouts destined for the
live act, but this album feels, at best, like a transitional
one for this band.
®2009 Live-Metal.net
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