Age of the Joker

Age of the Joker
Cover art by Dan Frazier
Studio album by
Edguy
Released26 August 2011
RecordedPeppermint-Park, Hannover
Gate Studio, Wolfsburg, Germany,
April–May 2011
GenrePower metal, hard rock
Length65:34
LabelNuclear Blast
ProducerSascha Paeth
Edguy chronology
Fucking with F*** – Live
(2009) 		Age of the Joker
(2011) 		Space Police: Defenders of the Crown
(2014)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blabbermouth.net8/10[2]
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles7.5/10[3]
The Metal Critic[4]
Metal Hammer (GER)[5]
Metal Storm[6]
Time For Metal Magazin (GER)[7]

Age of the Joker is the ninth studio album by the German power metal band Edguy. It was released on 26 August 2011 through Nuclear Blast.

Alongside the normal release, a double disc digipak edition was also issued, featuring b-sides, single versions of two album songs, as well as a cover of the Slade hit "Cum on Feel the Noize".[8] A music video was shot for "Robin Hood", featuring German comedian Bernhard Hoecker and parodying the film The Adventures of Robin Hood.[9]

The album was listed at many charts throughout Europe, reaching No. 3 in Germany, No. 10 in Czech Republic, No. 13 in Switzerland, No. 30 in Austria and No. 63 in France.[10]

Critical reception

In a review for AllMusic, critic reviewer Jon O'Brien wrote: "Age of the Joker makes little concession to anything remotely close to the 21st century, but it's difficult to dislike a record that both wears its retro intentions so boldly on its sleeve and displays a sense of humor that's lacking in many of their fellow over-earnest hair metal revivalists."[1]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Tobias Sammet except for "Cum on Feel the Noize" by Noddy Holder; all music is composed by Tobias Sammet except for "God Fallen Silent" by Jens Ludwig and "Cum on Feel the Noize" by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea

No.TitleLength
1."Robin Hood"8:24
2."Nobody's Hero"4:31
3."Rock of Cashel"6:18
4."Pandora's Box"6:45
5."Breathe"5:03
6."Two Out of Seven"4:27
7."Faces in the Darkness"5:22
8."The Arcane Guild"4:58
9."Fire on the Downline"5:47
10."Behind the Gates to Midnight World"8:56
11."Every Night Without You"4:52
Total length:65:34
Bonus Disc (Available on Special and Limited editions of the album)
No.TitleLength
1."God Fallen Silent"5:04
2."Aleister Crowley Memorial Boogie"4:34
3."Cum on Feel the Noize"3:53
4."Standing in the Rain"4:02
5."Robin Hood [Single Version]"4:54
6."Two Out of Seven [Single Version]"3:39

Personnel

Chart positions

Chart performance for Age of the Joker
Chart (2011) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 30
Belgian Heatseekers (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 72
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 15
French Albums (SNEP)[16] 98
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 3
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[18] 74
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[19] 29
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[20] 44
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 10
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 13
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[23] 35
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[24] 14
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[25] 22

References

  1. ^ a b O'Brien, Jon. "Edguy Age of the Joker review". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  2. ^ Anisoglu, Scott (10 October 2011). "Edguy - Age of the Joker (Nuclear Blast)". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  3. ^ Gromen, Mark. "Edguy - Age of the Joker". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. Archived from the original on 18 September 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  4. ^ Burcherdt, Lundt (26 August 2011). "Edguy Age of the Joker review". The Metal Critic.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  5. ^ "Edguy Metal Hammer Suchergebnis". Metal Hammer (in German). 11 November 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  6. ^ Anderson, Baz (6 October 2011). "Edguy - Age of the Joker". Metal Storm. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  7. ^ Piety (14 September 2011). "Album: Edguy – Age of the Joker" (in German). Time for Metal Magazin. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  8. ^ "EDGUY - Age of the Joker Sneak Preview, Limited Edition Bonus Tracks Revealedr". News. Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. 4 July 2011. Archived from the original on 18 September 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  9. ^ "EDGUY Films 'Robin Hood' Videor". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  10. ^ "EDGUY: More 'Age of the Joker' First-Week Chart Positions Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  11. ^ Hart, Josh (31 August 2011). "Interview: Edguy Talk 'Age of the Joker'". Guitar World.com. Guitar World. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Edguy – Age of the Joker" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  13. ^ "ultratop.be - Edguy - Age of the Joker" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Edguy – Age of the Joker" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  15. ^ "Edguy: Age of the Joker" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  16. ^ "Lescharts.com – Edguy – Age of the Joker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Edguy – Age of the Joker" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Age of the Joker - Oricon". Oricon News. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Edguy – Age of the Joker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  20. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Edguy – Age of the Joker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  21. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Edguy – Age of the Joker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  22. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Edguy – Age of the Joker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  23. ^ October 2011/131/ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  24. ^ "09-10-2011 Top 40 Rock & Metal Albums Archive | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  25. ^ "Age of the Joker - Edguy Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 April 2014.