Age of the Joker

Age of the Joker
Cover art by Dan Frazier
Studio album by Edguy
Released	26 August 2011
Recorded	Peppermint-Park, Hannover Gate Studio, Wolfsburg, Germany, April–May 2011
Genre	Power metal, hard rock
Length	65:34
Label	Nuclear Blast
Producer	Sascha Paeth
Edguy chronology
Fucking with F*** – Live (2009) Age of the Joker (2011) Space Police: Defenders of the Crown (2014)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Blabbermouth.net	8/10 [2]
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles	7.5/10 [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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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

Band members Tobias Sammet – lead and backing vocals Jens Ludwig – guitar, dobro guitar on track 4 [11] Dirk Sauer – guitar Tobias "Eggi" Exxel – bass guitar Felix Bohnke- drums Additional musicians Miro Rodenberg  – keyboards, orchestral arrangements Simon Oberender - Hammond B3 Cloudy Yang, Gracia Sposito, Thomas Rettke, Oliver Hartmann - backing vocals

Production Sascha Paeth - producer, engineer, mixing, additional keyboards Olaf Reitmeier - engineer Simon Oberender - engineer, mastering

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. 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. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. 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.

External links

• Official Edguy site