Edguy - Space Police - Defenders of The Crown (2014)

I am a big fan of power metal, but I have always been two-sided when it comes to Edguy. Sure, I can see some of the comedy in their music and the guys in the band are far from bad musicians, but the band is always balancing on the thin line between being cool and being cheesy. They have mostly leaned towards the later option in the last albums and it seems like it does not get any better on this, their 11th full-length album entitled "Space Police - Defenders of The Crown". I mean look at that hideous album cover. I actually first thought that it was an alien android arresting that humongous bug until I noticed the Tom Selleck mustache. The alien android would have looked a lot better in my opinion.

But let us focus on the music instead, and for those of you who know and love Edguy, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. The music is, as always, grand epic power metal. You have probably heard songs like "Space Police" and "Shadow Eaters" in earlier Edguy and Avantasia albums, but "Space Police - Defenders of The Crown" delivers a surprisingly good amount of variety. From the heavy "Sabre & Torch" and the catchy "Do Me Like A Caveman" to the epics "The Realms of Baba Yaga" and "The Eternal Wayfarer", this album shows many sides of Edguy, both good and bad sides (but mostly good).

The bad sides are mainly represented in two songs. The first one is "Love Tyger", a song that has gotten some good critique from other opinion Sayer's. I just feel like it is a bad cliche from the 80's with cheesy lyrics. But the worst part of the song is the butt ugly music video. The band has never looked uglier than in that animated disgrace of a video. however I like the solo in that song. The other song is a cover of Falco's hit "Rock Me Amadeus", a very unnecessary cover that should have either been scrapped or just been hidden somewhere amongst the bonus material.

Speaking of bonus material, there is lots of it in "Space Police - Defenders of The Crown". It is mostly instrumental versions of some of the album tracks, but there are also two additional songs. "England" is the clear winner of those two with its nice humour and Elton John sound. Pretty good to hear about German blokes that celebrates England because they got Steve Harris. I would have definitely put that song in the normal CD instead of the "Rock Me Amadeus" cover.

The overall sound is good, even though it sounds a little more like a Avantasia album than a Edguy album. But then again, I am not surprised. Avantasia has been superior over Edguy during the last couple of years, so that Sammet borrows some influences from his side project to his original band is just natural.

Despite the hideous album cover, "Space Police - Defenders of The Crown" rises up as one of the better Edguy albums ever made. With a good bunch of songs and a honorable determination, this album is just another one of many good power metal release this year. And it definitely feels good that these German wackos finally delivers again.

Songs worthy of recognition: The Realms of Baba Yaga, Defenders of The Crown, Do Me Like A Caveman, The Eternal Wayfarer

Rating: 8/10 Shadow Eaters