E  D  G  U  Y

2001 was a hectic year for the guys in Edguy. Beside a new album, "Mandrake", we also saw albums by both Tobias Sammet's project Avantasia and Tobias Exxel's Taraxcum. "Mandrake", is Edguy's first album, with the exception of the re-recording of "Savage Poetry" from 2000, since "Theater Of Salvation". In light of this the album might seem different at first, and it is. Edguy has with "Mandrake" given themselves the right to move away from Helloween-ish power metal that they've been known for and instead taken in influences from far more diverse. I got guitar player Jens Ludwig to tell me all about it.

On this new album "Mandrake" there are melody lines that are new to Edguy. How consciously were they brought into the music? 
- You should never plan what an album will sound like. That's not good for the album, if you sit down and say that we have to do an album and we need a fast song, two ballads, two mid-tempo. That would never work. We collected ideas for a year. I know for a fact that Toby has a tape recorder in his car that he sings vocal lines into all the time. We
exchange ideas all the time so we have an idea where it's heading. We never planned on doing something completely different. That's just what came out of us. 

What kind of reactions do you expect to get on this newer sound?
- I hope that they'll like the album but hat you'll never know until after it's been out for a while. The reactions we received on "Painting On The Wall" EP said that the fans seemed to like the new material. I guess it'll be the same with the album too. 

2001 saw both Avantasia (with Tobias Sammet and Jens Ludwig) and Taraxcum (with Tobias Exxel) release albums. How did the fans react when they all of a sudden had so many Edguy related records to chose from?
- The reactions on Avantasia have so far been positive, both from fans and the press. As long as the music is good every member is free to do what he likes. I don't know too much about the reaction on Taraxcum. All I know is what I've read on the web site. The fans seem to have accepted the idea and they like it. I don't see it as a problem for Edguy.
We have always prioritised Edguy first so there is no reason to say anything about these two projects. 

Where did the idea to call the new Edguy album "Mandrake" comes from?
- It's not a concept album so there is no tie between the different songs. The root Mandrake has been assigned a lot of myths. That it has healing powers, that it's an aphrodisiac etc. Tobias didn't write a concept based on this root but he used the name as synonym for magic in general and for everything that is spiritual and higher. 

In 2000 you re-recorded your first CD "Savage Poetry". What kind of reactions did you get on that one from the fans?
- The reactions were very positive. We recorded it again because people kept asking about the first demo-CD. We listened to it and said to ourselves that we can't release it again, it's too bad for that. So we decided to record it again and then add the demo-CD as a bonus. The reactions from the fans were good. Most of them said that now they could
find this recording that they'd been looking for in any store. The general reaction was more or less OK. You also had those who said that it was a good album but just a re-release and not a new one. We're pleased having done it anyway.
- Another reason for recording it again was that you on the Internet could find copies going for $500 and we wanted to make it official. We don't want anybody to pay that much money for an Edguy album. It's flattering that somebody is willing to $500 for a demo-CD and it's a nice feeling but it's outrageous having to pay that much for our first album. 

When did you start the writing process for "Mandrake". Did you do before or after you'd re-recorded "Savage Poetry"?
- The song writing we did after. We don't write songs on commando. That's not possible. We collect ideas when they come to us. On "Mandrake" there's an idea that goes back to the "Vain Glory Opera" session. We didn't think it was good back then so we saved it and took it out now and thought it was good. We collect ideas all the time so you can't say when we started to collect ideas for this album. We had circa 6 months in the rehearsal room where we arranged the songs. That's longer than we had for "Theater Of Salvation". 

The re-recording of "Savage Poetry" meant that some of the parts were rearranged. How much of that work spilled over into the songs "Mandrake" was arranged?
- Maybe in some parts. The re-recording was pretty raw and we had some things that were really heavy. We noticed that it was fun to play something a bit heavier, which we did with "Nailed To The Wheel" on "Mandrake". People have told us that that's the heaviest song we've ever done. So in some way it has affected "Mandrake" but not that much. 
With "Mandrake" it feels like for the first time that Edguy has control over everything that's happening.
- We're still young and we try all the time to. I feel that "Mandrake" show where we are evolution-wise as to song writing and our technical knowledge. We'll have to wait ands see what happens next. I don't know.

Do you feel that you with this album have reached a point where you can get the label to give you almost anything you ask for?
- I think we've always had that status with AFM. When we signed for "Kingdom Of Madness" they only had distribution in Germany and Holland. So we've grown up together. Edguy has become bigger and so has AFM. We are the best selling band on the label. You can't have everything you ask for but we're in a good position with the label. 

If a major label would offer you a large sum of money but restrict your artistic freedom would you sign for them?
- I don't think so. Of course, it depends on the contract but I think we then would need to have control over the music. We would never sign a contract were we'd be told to use this or that producer or were we'd be told to become more. We want to do what we like and not be shoved in a certain direction by the label. With AFM we have total freedom to do what we like and that's a thing I don't want to loose.

So you can see a future for Edguy with AFM?
- That's possible. "Mandrake" is our last album for AFM and we'll look into some other offers. Everything isn't about the money but also what the label can do for the band, what ideas they have for the band. All this plays a big part in choosing a label but I the chance is good that we'll stick AFM. They've done a good job promoting Edguy and we're happy. 

If you look at all the things you've accomplished as Edguy, do you say to yourself: "Have we come this far" or is it more: "Is this all we've done"?
- I've never thought of it like that. Up till now the band has only grown bigger and I don't think we've seen the end of it. We try all the time to become better and better and to achieve new goals. I don't think what we've done before isn't worth anything. We've had fun these last ten years and that's the most important. We're still hungry for more. 

It's no understatement to say that Edguy been successful. Have you ever wondered why you made it were others failed?
- Yes, of course you wonder why when there are so many good bands. I wouldn't say that we are better than others that started at the same time. Maybe we wanted it more. We were always messing around with music in school and even more so after school. Everything we did had to do with music. Maybe the other bands didn't work as hard at it
as we did or they hadn't the same luck. I don't question why it happened the way it did. I'm just happy it did.

So you're not one of these bands that analyse every little detail to find out why it went this way and not that way?
- I think we try more to be honest with what we do. We don't have a producer. We produce ourselves. Which is why we can say we stand 100% behind what we do and it's really us you hear. That's something I feel is good. 

On the cover to "Mandrake" there's a jester and the root that is the title. Who came up with the idea for the cover?
- That was mainly Toby's idea. We were looking for something that could present the band and the first thing that came to us was the jester. It's supposed to be "the Fool" but the jester also looks mysterious. It's in a way how we look at ourselves. We don't want to be the serious and evil heavy metal-musicians but we take the music very serious. That's the basic idea behind the cover. There are today people who take themselves way too serious and we don't want to be them. We want to be able to laugh at us.
- I don't want to go as far as to say that there has to be a funny side but we try and not to be anybody else than ourselves. We always have fun when we tour and even in the rehearsal room. So we don't see why we can't have fun with the music too, why we shouldn't present us the way we are.