Once upon a time, not that long ago actually, a guy named Tobias Sammet (one of the nicest and funniest guy I met) wrote an album that literally changed my way of looking upon music, especially metal (not that I really listen to something else ... eheh) ! This album moved me in such a way that it revived my metal heart. Although there was Hammerfall and Rhapsody to keep the flame alive and bring back what they called True Metal, Edguy are the ones who brought back the flame inside my heart, and after listening to it over and over again I realized that I would always listen to metal, 'til the end ! Thank you Tobias.

Now this Vain Glory Opera.... well it certainly wasn't in vain :) ... I still struggle to understand how an album can be so fantastic, so melodic, symphonic, powerfull, wonderfull... in one word like ten thousand : Magic ! I still remember how shaked I was when I listened to it the first time after buying it, I was like a child in front of his best ever toy, running all over the place, jumping to the right and jumping to the left, not believing my ears... I also remember calling my brother right away to tell him that I had the best metal release since ages in my hands.

One of the first thing I liked was Tobias' voice, reminding me one of my favorite singer Bernhard Weiss (Axxis) in some way. But the music itself, making every single particle in my body vibrate, feeling strange and having the sensation of being surrounded by the music in such way it was almost scary. And here I am now, writing a review about it, listening to it, and still feeling the same about it, feeling this metal force around me, wrapping me. I want to say a big BRAVO to Tobias, he wrote a pure wonder of music, a masterpiece from the begining til the end. And I also want to say : "STOP saying stupid things" to all the idiots who wrote that this album was great because Timo Tolkki mixed it. Yes, I'm sure Timo was helpful (and I respect him and Stratovarius a lot as well) and helped in the quality of the production (which fucking rocks !) but if you guys read the booklet (you can read, can you ?) you will see that the only genius mind who wrote both music and lyrics all the way is our little friend (no offense :)), but great as the force walk with him (Yoda would be proud) : Tobias Sammet ! I still remember our interview together and I also remember he told me he liked Magnum's "On A Storyteller's Night", still one of my favorite albums (Magnum's at least) and also mentionned Jerry Goldsmith (the movie soundtrack composer... also very well known for it's fantastic work in almost all Star Trek TV shows). Well, the mention of these two exemples really made sense in my mind and I better understood why I love this band so much.

As for the album itself, it contains all that a metal fan will ever dream : power, fast, fiercly fast moments, always extremly melodic, guitars riffs and solos that comes down to Earth from heaven, great vocal parts, both lead and choirs, a kick-ass production and the little extra, that makes an entire difference : this album is emotion packed !!! I'm still shivering on Scarlet Rose, even though I didn't like it in the begining, I now feel it's a really important song, amongst with all the rest cause there's really not one second you can take off this masterpiece... not to mention THE perfect song : Out Of Control !!! With Hansi Kursch singing only a couple a seconds then and there... but the timing and the mix with Tobias' voice is simply PERFECT !

Soon Tobias is gonna release a metal Opera called : Avantasia Vol. 1 (make ten volumes pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease !!!) in which Tobias is inviting some of the best musicians from the scene. With this dream team cast, but especially with his mastermind music writing skills; I'm waiting for the album of all time (unlike this Ayreon joke) ! More info on that coming storm : www.tobiassammet.com

This is a own-or-burn-in-hell-forever album, it belongs in every metal fan's collection, and if you don't know EDGUY yet, you'd better correct that mistake and go check them out at your favorite store now... actually there's nothing to check here, just pray for your soul that they have a copy of VAIN GLORY OPERA left !