{"id":39835,"date":"2014-04-22T07:14:43","date_gmt":"2014-04-22T12:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=39835"},"modified":"2014-05-24T07:33:25","modified_gmt":"2014-05-24T12:33:25","slug":"interviw-with-tobias-sammet-of-edguy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/interviw-with-tobias-sammet-of-edguy\/","title":{"rendered":"Tobias Sammet of Edguy"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Derric Miller<\/span>
\n– Managing Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Edguy vocalist Tobias Sammet checked in with Hardrock Haven to discuss their new album, Space Police: Defenders of the Crown<\/em>; exactly what their Baba Yaga song is all about; upcoming world tour plans that don’t include the U.S. … yet; why they made the daring decision to cover Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus;” and a whole lot more. <\/p>\n

\"Edguy <\/p>\n

HRH: Thanks for taking the time to talk with Hardrock Haven \u2026 and on to the new album, Space Police: Defenders of the Crown<\/em>. How did the band possibly come up with such a happy album? Aren\u2019t you guys aware that humanity is destroying the earth\u2019s climate, that the gibbering idiot American War Machine is drooling over the possibility of being able to go to war with white people this time, that these are the \u201cEnd Times\u201d some people say? And you combat that with \u201cLove t-t-t-tyger!\u201d (And is that a William Blake reference, as in, \u201ctyger tyger burning bright?\u201d)<\/p>\n

Tobias: It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, if you succeed or fail; the only thing that counts is whether you\u2019ve got your sunglasses on. My world is going down with flying colors! And the other question is: How entertaining is it to go to a Metal show, have seven beers and listen to a nerd with a flannel shirt singing about Exxon Valdez? To each his own, but beware of the Love Tyger, he’s gonna get all of you! \u201cTyger Tyger burning bright\u201d? No, I just thought tigers looked more Metal than I, with a \u201cY\u201d as in Queensr-Y-che’s earl-Y albums, not as in Queensryche’s Tr-I-be. That’s it! Y is Metal! Just like Yron Mayden, MetallYca and The Yardbirds. Did you know that a lot of us musicians are illiterates? I am not as half as smart as some people may think, ha!<\/p>\n

HRH: Why did the band choose to go with the tracks \u201cSpace Police\u201d and \u201cDefenders of the Crown\u201d as the title tracks?<\/p>\n

Tobias: We had the working title “Defenders Of The Crown” even before we had the song lyric of that particular song. I just thought of how we’ve always refused to listen to advice and do things the way the music world told us to in order to be marketed as a Metal Band. In fact, I believe that by refusing to fit in at any price, we made ourselves who we are. That’s the ultimate spirit of Rock\u2019n\u2019 Roll: Go your own way, take a risk at not fitting in and make it difficult to be tailored to a target audience. I thought being on top of our game\u2014which is not giving a shit about our image and getting away with it\u2014that’s the crown that we want to defend. The label liked the title and said it would be easy to sell in the Heavy Metal world, with swords and all that stuff, and \u2026 there it was again. So we thought, let’s choose another song title to become the album title: Space Police<\/em>. That sounded like Zappa and Bowie and was quite brave for an all-the-way-through-and-through-Metal album. In the end, we loved both titles so much that we just glued them together. Doesn’t make sense, but sounds Metal, doesn’t it?<\/p>\n

HRH: Sure as hell does. The album has an interesting flow \u2026 the first three songs seem to be, well, serious, and then \u201cLove Tyger\u201d hits. Suddenly, there\u2019s not a dearth of songs about Baba Yaga, there\u2019s an Amadeus shout out and then we get into caveman passion. What was that process like when you guys put together the track listing? I mean, was it like \u201cOf course we follow up the cover of \u2018Rock Me Amadeus\u2019 with \u2018Do Me Like a Caveman,\u2019 duh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tobias: It’s trial-and-error in iTunes until you think it’s got a good flow. It’s always a very intuitive thing to put the songs in the right order. “Sabre & Torch” was the opening track from the very beginning as it shows that we won’t take any prisoners with that album track and then you pretty much have to try to live up to not taking any prisoners. The ballad shouldn’t be the second spot, and the long track is always the last track in the “Great Book of Rules in Pseudo-Intellectual Art Rock.” It’s got to be the last track unless we decide differently which we haven’t done in this case obviously, ha ha. I know in the days of vinyl, bands tried to hide the crap songs on Side B, which doesn’t work for us. If\u2014as in our case\u2014you\u2019ve got neither crap songs nor vinyl (except for a few collectors\u2019 editions), you get an ulcer putting that set list together …<\/p>\n

HRH: Let\u2019s bounce right to the cover on the album, \u201cRock me Amadeus.\u201d I think it\u2019s somehow more flippant and silly than the original, if that\u2019s possible, but it\u2019s also awesome. Why did Edguy choose that song to cover and will the band ever play that song live?<\/p>\n

Tobias: I hope we’re gonna do it live. I mean, it’s a great tune. It’s one of the best pop songs to have been written in the \u201980s. The original is not only very well crafted and amazingly put together and arranged\u2014it also fit the artist perfectly back then. I have always been a huge Falco fan, but especially if you speak German, you hesitate to cover one of his tracks. He’s got such a distinctive accent and a distinctive way to perform, pronounce, and play with words via his dialect, accent, and voice in general. The risk was too high to ruin your reputation by doing it. Now was the right time to dare. Until you’ve lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was, ha ha!<\/p>\n

HRH: As one of those jaded and cynical cretins who is instinctually allergic to relationships, I do believe if a lovely lass said the words \u201cDo Me Like a Caveman\u201d to me, I might actually reconsider. So please tell me that this is based on a real experience someone in the band had and the song came to existence because of that experience. And if not \u2026 sigh \u2026 why did the band write this song?<\/p>\n

\"EdguyTobias: Actually, the song is about lying in your hotel room alone and trying to catch some shut-eye when you suddenly realize that in the room next to you, there’s someone\u2014or actually at least two people\u2014who don’t wanna sleep. You can’t imagine what situations I was forced to witness. Especially when we were younger. You could never really tell if it was one of our crew or even band members or just another hotel guest or maybe a polar bear. Who knows? Now we’ve become older and calmer. And my hearing is diminishing as well …<\/p>\n

HRH: One of the coolest riffs and flat out best songs on the album is the aforementioned \u201cThe Realms of Baba Yaga.\u201d Baba Yaga can either be maternal or a monster, depending on \u2026 well, folklore. I take it by the lyrics of \u201cYou want to turn but it\u2019s too late,\u201d followed by her maniacal scream, this is the version that will eat you? And again, thanks for writing a song about Baba Yaga, there\u2019s just not enough of those out there \u2026<\/p>\n

Tobias: I really don’t know if Baba Yaga is good or evil. I think it depends on what kind of day she had and who’s approaching her. Like a female cobra prior to a copulative attempt of a male. The boy snake’s got a fifty-fifty chance here: get off or get eaten. Who knows?! That’s part of the excitement of being a cobra, I guess. In our song, at least the protagonist is taking being eaten into consideration, hence the line: “Will I have to dine with you tonight?” Seriously, I just tried to find a metaphor for something tempting, that we know won’t do us any good but we heed the call nevertheless. We give in because the thrill is stronger than reason. You can project that on all sorts of fields of our existence and behavior.<\/p>\n

HRH: There seems to be an \u201880s pop vibe in places, and not just because of \u201cRock Me Amadeus.\u201d By the time we get to \u201cAlone in Myself,\u201d that song reminds of something I could see being a part of movie from the \u201880s, like Sixteen Candles or Say Anything. Those \u201cwhoo-oooh-ooohs\u201d about three minutes in and as the song fades out seal it for me; this was an \u201880s-inspired pop composition, correct?<\/p>\n

Tobias: Not really. It rather reminds me of the Rolling Stones or especially Bruce Springsteen. I don’t know whether it’s got \u201880s roots or \u201870s roots, but \u201cAlone In Myself\u201d is a very cool ballad in the vein of \u201cStreets Of Philadephia.\u201d In the beginning, I was a bit concerned it could be a bit too far away from the rest of the album style-wise and even for EDGUY, it\u2019s a pretty unusual song. But in the end, we like it and that’s why it’s on the album. It’s a great tune and there are no rules in Rock & Metal.<\/p>\n

HRH: The album wraps up on an initially metal-bluesy, 8:50 long track \u201cThe Eternal Wayfarer,\u201d a song that becomes this throbbing, majestic Power Metal composition. Vocally, this may be my favorite song because you are using so many facets of your voice, tone, range, etc. Plus before the solo there\u2019s a very Led Zeppelin-ish riff, and it gets Whitesnake-y at times too. Is this the longest song Edguy has ever recorded, and who is this Eternal Wayfarer?<\/p>\n

Tobias: We’ve done so many long songs. Sometimes you keep composing and arranging and playing around with one track that it takes you away. You don’t realize it’s that long until you notice time designation on the recording device and you go “Ooops.” We’ve had way longer tracks, but it’s the epic track on this new record. I love it. It’s so bombastic and still it’s got drive and power and is clearly a guitar driven song despite the bells and whistles. “The Eternal Wayfarer” is everyone who believes in the immortality of the soul. It’s a very spiritual track.<\/p>\n

HRH: It\u2019s getting to be that time of year again when the best Metal bands in the world tour Europe and not the U.S. Looking at your tour dates, you don\u2019t have any shows in the U.S. yet. So, what can those going to the Space Police tour expect from the shows, and any shot of us getting Edguy over for some dates in the U.S. in 2014?<\/p>\n

Tobias: We’re about to design the biggest stage set we’ve ever had. That doesn’t necessarily concern the fans in the U.S. \u2018cause we’re only a club band on North American soil and it won’t fit in clubs. But playing an arena show is a matter of attitude. You can play an arena show even in a club; it’s a matter of heart and balls. I really hope we can come back to the States and I am optimistic it will happen in 2015. It’s about time and I have a feeling the U.S. music scene really needs a bit of EDGUY. Just a tiny little bit. I mean, yes, you\u2019ve got Kiss and Mr. Big and Aerosmith. You\u2019ve got some of the greatest acts in the world, but there’s lack of flamboyant Richard Wagner-meets-Bugs Bunny loud-mouth hot-shots from Germany. You know who I\u2019m talking about here \u2026<\/p>\n

HRH: Always a pleasure, Tobias. Is there anything I left out that you\u2019d like to leave with our Hardrock Haven faithful? <\/p>\n

Tobias: Spread the word: The Germans are coming! Armed with bells, whistles, a vengeance and a keyboard …<\/p>\n

Online: www.edguy.net <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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