Review Summary: The album art is pretty much it. Just look at that thing! Glorious! Review over.
Oh, you want an actual review? Fine...
I'm the first to admit that one thing metal is largely missing is a sense of humor about itself. For the most part self-parody is relegated to novelty songs by Brian Posehn, a handful of YouTube videos like Dad Metal and the now-defunct Metalocalypse which was also a parody of celebrity culture anyway. Which is one of the reasons I love Edguy. They write long, epic tracks with interesting ideas and melodic motifs like The Asylum and The Piper Never Dies and then they'll turn around and pen a tune like Lavatory Love Machine.
While some people, who I will refer to from this point on as squares, found the more sincere, humorless approach of Age of the Jester to be a welcome switch, I for one am happy to see the Edguys yukking it up again on Space Police - Defenders of the Crown.
The album benefits from the band's characteristic energy, as evident right out the gate with album opener Sabre and Torch reminiscent of Mysteria or Under the Moon from 2004's Hellfire Club. The only point where this tends to pull the album down slightly is around the middle where it bleeds together a little. Do Me Like a Caveman breaks the pattern thankfully, though the highlights of this characteristic high-energy approach are evident on the title track and Love Tyger, the latter of which is a well-timed spring release as it's a delicious chocolate Easter bunny with a creamy center of rocking... Okay, I think that metaphor got away from me.
Edguy haven't been a straight power metal band for some time, but that's not strictly a bad thing. Their willingness to do off-the-wall unconventional songs actually distinguishes them. Case in point, have you ever heard a theramin used in a metal album? Because the title track on this one does. And somehow it works! They can deliver some straightforward power metal as evidenced in The Realms of Baba Yaga, but their more off-beat songs like the quirkily sincere Do Me Like a Caveman and the tongue-in-cheek fan worship of bonus track England are what keeps people coming back to them.
All together, Space Police is a return to form for Edguy. Their spirit and unabashed humor are important in separating them from Tobi's Avantasia and while both projects clearly are helmed by the same guy, efforts like this keep the two from bleeding into one another. Sometimes you want to watch Lord of the Rings and sometimes you want to read Order of the Stick.
