by David White

After making huge strides between their first and second albums, Edguy make another huge leap in quality with the brilliant Theater of Salvation. The songwriting is even more powerful, and it is consistent from the first note to the last. There are two slower tracks and everything else is very fast. Tobias Sammet's vocals are much improved, perhaps because he was relieved of his bass-playing duties for the first time on this album. Some of the better tracks are "The Headless Game," "Land of the Miracle," "Wake Up the King," "The Unbeliever," and the 12-minute "Theater of Salvation." There is not a bad, or even mediocre, track to be found on this album. Special mention must be given to "Land of the Miracle" and "Theater of Salvation," which are truly glorious and uplifting tracks. This album is destined to be remembered as nothing less than a classic in the genre of neo-classical metal.