EDGUY
WHITE WIZZARD
INNER EDEN
Germany’s fun power metal heroes return to the UK for a brief tour after they last rocked Islington Academy in 2009….
Inner Eden get things going early on with a fairly clichéd take on female fronted rock. Vocalist Holly Bolus tries her best to get the crowd going with a series of raunchy lyrics and familiar poses, but unfortunately it all feels like another desperate attempt for a band to get recognised just for having female at the helm.
Having seen these Californians perform at Hammerfest little over a week ago, it is fair to say that White Wizzard are the perfect opener for a band like Edguy. If their great stage presence wasn’t enough to get peoples attention, then their take on traditional heavy metal sits will in an era that is embracing the retro sound from the eighties. The set list focuses on their debut full length CD ‘Over the Top’ and although it sounds a little samey at times, the fun factor shines through and no doubt they will have added to their fanbase.
Fun is what Edguy are all about these days, and while their more recent work falls better into the Hard Rock category, there are a few gems from their power metal glory days. The set is opened with ‘Dead or Rock’ from latest (and probably most unpopular) album ‘Tinnitus Sanctus’ (Tobi – “We though it was only Germany who hated that record”) which is well received, but it is the songs that follow it that people want to hear. “Tears of a Mandrake” and ‘The Piper Never Dies’ perfectly represent Edguy’s more epic side but it seams as though we are more likely to hear this kind of music from Tobi Sammet’s ‘Avantasia’ project.
Friday night at the Academy is a club night meaning the band have a strict curfew to contend with, and although the band say they will keep the banter do a minimum so that they can power through the set, there is still time to tell a few stories between songs. The most memorable tale of the night is the story of guitarist Dirk Sauer’s brief encounter with a San Francisco transsexual which is used to introduce the ballad ‘Save Me’ from the ‘Rocket Ride album’.
While there is no doubt that Edguy are full of excellent musicians, and Felix Bohnke is a more then capable drummer, his five minute drum solo seems to bore the majority of the audience to death. If it was a truly remarkable display of skills then fair enough… but it falls way short of that. Luckily the band have more tricks up their sleeves and ‘Fucking with Fire’ provides the perfect way to close the main set with a mass sing-along.
Returning to the stage the band surprise the audience by playing Iron Maiden’s ‘The Trooper’ during ‘Babylon’ which the majority of the crowd don’t want to stop. ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘King of Fools’ bring the night to a close and in the presence of the UK’s music media, Tobi asks the crowd what they thought of the show and whether or not they deserve a “5K” Kerrang review, and after a huge cheers declares that “the people have spoken”.
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