Blistering.com: The ballad, “Thorn Without A Rose” sticks out for me.
Ludwig: Ummm…[laughs]. I’m not the biggest fan of that song. “Thorn Without A Rose” is definitely one of the better ballads we’ve done.
Blistering.com: What about the Europe cover, “I’ll Cry For You?”
Ludwig: That one was pretty cool. It was done in 2004 when we did Hellfire Club. Our French distribution partner was asking us to do an acoustic tour of France and we realized, most of our songs don’t work acoustically, so we came up with the idea to cover it. It’s a great song.
Blistering.com: Are you bothered by the fact the album was released in Europe in late November, yet it didn’t receive a North America release until January?
Ludwig: Yes, it does actually. But I’ve talked to some industry professionals and in terms of scheduling the release at different times in different countries, I have to trust the experience of the record company. I think the problem is, the album would have been released on the same day in Europe, there would have been a lot of imports going out to the US. I’m not a businessman, I’m a musician [laughs]. I think the album is doing well in the US and I’m looking forward to doing the tour of the States as well.
Blistering.com: Speaking of which, what are your goals this time out in North America? This is not your first headlining run, so it’s not unchartered territory.
Ludwig: We’ll try to make the people have a good time and put on the best show as we can. The best way to promote yourself in the United States is by playing live and that’s what we’re trying to do over and over again. I’m sure if we continue touring and presenting something to the people, it will pay off and the band will get more popular.
Blistering.com: You’re becoming more and more known for your sense of humor. How does that factor in on and off stage?
Ludwig: Humor is a big part of our lives. When we’re on the road, we always have a good time…even in the studio. We don’t see any reason why it can’t influence our songs as well. I know there are bands who are serious metal musicians and you meet them backstage, they are nice people, even though when they’re on stage they’re signing about death and murder and so forth. For us, we try to be ourselves and that includes live shows.
Blistering.com: You can almost make a connection between you and Helloween on this subject. They were really the first band to put humor into metal, plus they play power metal and obviously, they’re German.
Ludwig: Yes, they’re very influential. I like the attitude. It’s easy-going, not taking yourself too seriously. If you take a look at the metal scene or the rock scene, there are way too many people who are too serious. It’s just many people pretend to be something they aren’t, and that’s something we didn’t want to. We try to be ourselves when on stage instead of putting on a mask.
Blistering.com: I’m sure your sense of humor helps during these tough times, right?
Ludwig: Actually, it didn’t help at all [laughs]. Many people are complaining that we are too funny for being a heavy metal band. Hardcore metal fans want a metal band to be exactly how they expect them to be. That’s not Edguy. In the long-term, I think many people will appreciate the type of qualities that we bring to the table. We are honest with ourselves and honest with the people. But as for the economy, it’s always worth to pay a little money to have a good time. Record sales are going down, but that hasn’t factored in too much during in this crisis. Personally, my funds went down over the last year, but you have to make your way through it.
Blistering.com: As Avantasia gets bigger and bigger, do you worry that will eventually cut into Edguy’s time as a band?
Ludwig: [pauses] No, I think it will help. Whenever somebody is speaking about Avantasia, it is coming to Tobi, then it is coming to Edguy. Some of what they’re doing will help Edguy in the long run.