Burning Down the Opera

Edguy deliver a very solid double live album here. The only negative point might be that the set list is not very long. Without introduction, drum solo and band member presentations, the length would only be around eight minutes which isn't very much.

But all the rest is quite positive. The band does a very energizing job and the crowd is as enthusiastic as the band members are which creates and intense atmosphere and great live feeling. Especially Sammet is entertaining the crowd with his crazy jokes, sing along parts in the songs and interesting anecdotes in relation to a couple of songs.

The band chose songs from several albums and even some rare stuff like "Wings of a dream" has found its way on this album. Two Avantasia songs are also played as the band didn't know at that time that this project would do some live shows six years later and at the time of the release, those songs were a nice gimmick for the fans but I would have preferred to listen to one or two other Edguy songs like "Walk on fighting" or "Wake up the king" etc. Songs like the ballad "Land of the miracle", the catchy hymn "The headless game" or the keyboard driven "Vain glory opera" work really well live and the band also chose some longer and more difficult songs like "The pharaoh", a song to listen to and to discover in all its splendour but maybe not the best choice for a live song.

To conclude, this live album is surely entertaining and has a great atmosphere, but the set list is very short and not perfectly chosen in my opinion so that I can't give more than an average rating to this.

With their first (and so far, only) live album, Edguy strived to produce their most overblown creation ever, harkening back to Iron Maiden’s “Live After Death”. This two-disc album documents the band during the Mandrake tour, complete with a lengthy booklet with tons of color photos, a poster and desktop backgrounds. Presentation of the product is quite amazing and, perhaps surprisingly, the music follows suit.

Edguy sound great live and this album provides good evidence for the many who cannot attend their concerts. The highlight of the concert is not only Sammet, but the crisp guitar work of Jens Ludwig. He plays his pseudo-neo-classical style to near perfection on each song. Though Sammet’s unique voice too soars gracefully through the melody, his pacing is quite noticeable; he occasionally omits a high note. And, at times, Sammet’s excessive goofing and commentary within songs becomes annoying.

The set list compiled for this album flows very well, mixing both new and older material. “Fallen Angels” is the perfect Edguy opening song; it seems to be superior to the studio recording on Mandrake. The album enters a lull with back-to-back ballads, “Land of the Miracle” and “Painting on the Wall”; these pieces could have been better incorporated. Although the majority of the songs are from Mandrake and Vain Glory Opera, live staples such as “Wings of a Dream” make an appearance. Also, several non-studio humor tracks were included towards the end of the album: Bohnke’s “Solitary Bunny Drum Solo” and “Inside”.

For live album purists, it is evident that the presence of the audience has been tampered.

Though this live set definitely appeals to the rabid Edguy fan, it is a strong document and important live album from Europe’s power metal scene.

Top performances: “Fallen Angels”, “Babylon”, “The Pharaoh”

With a world tour spanning over 5 continents you knew this was gonna kick ass. Edguy's philosophy of waiting for the right time shows how much planning went into this album. A DVD was once planned but was cancelled because Edguy is continuing to" wait til the right time". When that comes out it should be spectacular.

Tobias Sammet brings much energy to Edguy's live setting and is very appreciative to the fans. He allows them to interact and often cracks jokes on stage.

It starts out with Avantasia's Prelude as Welcome to the Opera. Then comes the double bass intro of 'Fallen Angels'. Very good track. In the middle there is a little bass thing and Tobi starts tlking to the crowd and tells them it sounds really good tonight.

Then he asks them how they are doing and then Mandrake. The solos are played flawlessly and the vocals are top-notch. The crowd is stellar and sing along many times. The backing vocals are suprisingly good. Through much of the solo the crowd takes part in a large roar that gives you that stadium sound. Then they sing the Woahs. Very well actually.

The as the next song begins, he announces "Babylon" with a scream to follow. Tobi sings this one flawlessly. He also addresses th crowd and adds a special touch only found on this cd. Such as funny accents during the chorus. Then the crowd does the Woahs and Jens pulls this little guitar melody after that is very catchy. It sounds very cool just thrown in there. The crowd goes nuits when he does it. Tobi ends it with a vibratic scream.

Then Tobi tells how Edguy hates ballads and gets the crowd anxious and says just kidding, asks to hear clapping and see lighters and then the piano of 'The Land of the Miracle'. After that he reveals that he is just kidding and he loves th ballad. Tobi starts off by singing a little odd but is flawless from there. His German accent really cuts through on this one. The very hard to sing ending is done perfect. Great song

Then Tobi asks the crowd if then know the song and its 'Painting on the Wall'. The crowd chants in the begining. The bass is very evident.

Then Tobi messes up and mixes up the song title name with the album title but no one really cares. But, hey thats wat a live show is all about. The song is then flwles and in the middle there are farm animal noises. For what reason I don't know but they are on there. The crowd again Woahs during the interlude. This brings great triumphant atmosphere. Tobi also adds his famous laugh to the next verse.

Then Tobi's self-proclaimed "Boring part of the show". It is actually quite entertaining. He plays the old game of crowd repeating what he says. Then he tells the guys to do it then the girls. Then he cracks a joke because some guys were doin the female part. The crowd laughs. After i little bit more its time for the 'Headless Game'. Another flawlessly played song.

Then 'THE PHARAOH!' My favorite Edguy song. There is a long 5 min interlude in wich a man talks. It sounds like a miovie sound track. This is so great in the studio and even greater live.The crowd participates gloriusly. Its a wonder to listen to.

That sums up dics one. On to disc two!

"My friends, next one is not about an alien cockatoo invasion, its about something totally different" is Tobi's first words on disc two. 'Vain Glory Opera' is for all of Edguy's backstage supporters such and soundguys and roadies. The crowd sings a good protion of it too.

Then the drum solo. Nothing really great. Its an okay slo. He does get a lot of crowd participation though.

Then 'Save us Now' the goofy song about ADB (Alien Drum Bunny) who supposedly wrote Felix's drum solo. It is another great song with crowd particpation. Even the ADB talking is featured as in the studio version.

Then Tobi announces "the last song of the night" 'How Many Miles'. A 5 minute song turned into a 10 minute one. Then he gets the crowd to roar for about 5 minutes saying "How Many Miles". This is the first notation he makes of the live album. Then a long ending. Then the crowd breaks into Blind Guardian's 'And Then there Was Silence" where it is just "La la la la".

Then the encore. It starts off with 2 Avantasia songs. Inside is the forst one. It is played with a guitar insead of a piano. Tobi does all the vioces for each of the two songs. The crowd is enthusiastic and sings along.

Avantasia begins with Tobi asking everyone what they wanna hear and saying "we;re gonna play whats on our setlist and its..." Avantasia!"" It is played without flaw. The crowd also knows all the words.

Then Tobi tells everyone that they are 'Out of Control'. One of my personal favorite Edguy songs. But, as on Vain Glory Opera, Hansi Hursch is missing. Tobias does the part perfectly though. The song ends with about 3 minutes of just the crowd cheering. These guys got that crowd pumped.

Overall, the quality is magnificent as Edguy was using brand new state of the art technology. It sounds far better than the studio releases.

It also came with a helaruious video of 'Headless Game' and Tobi getting the crowd to say "fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck" :-P