One of my favorite German power metal bands is finally playing New Hampshire! Edguy will be performing Sept. 14th at 6 p.m. at Mark's Place in Bedford, along with Canadian metalheads Into Eternity. Whee! Sorry.

For me, a melodic metal song with excellent guitar work, great vocals, and a singable chorus ranks among the finer things in life. Edguy has been around for about 15 years (not too shabby when you consider vocalist and founding member Tobias Sammet is only 29), so they've had a lot of practice doing this and doing it well. And they'll only be getting better.

Here's most of Edguy. From left to right, Dirk Sauer (guitars and founding member), Tobias "Eggi" Exxel (bass), Tobias Sammet (vocals and founding member), and Jens Ludwig (guitars and founding member). Felix Bohnke (I love his last name) is over on the drums, so you can't really see him in this picture.

You can, however, see Felix and the rest of the band in this video for "All The Clowns", which, along with cow slippers and clown noses, deals with the age-old question of how to make sure you get to play your guitar solo. The answer? Duct tape the lead singer to a chair.

I wonder if the fact that they were playing in a giant puddle of water has anything to do with the poofiness of Jens' hair. I thought mine got big on humid summer days, but Jens definitely wins. Anyway, it's nice to see a band that doesn't take themselves too seriously.

Tobias Sammet is also the mastermind behind Avantasia, a massive metal opera involving all sorts of well known musicians and vocalists, including Timo Tolkki, legendary guitarist for Stratovarius. The third CD, The Scarecrow, is due to come out late this summer.

Here's a live clip of Edguy playing the title track from Avantasia. Tobias Sammet appears to have quite the afinity for animal prints. If only he had sprung for the matching scrunchie or headband, he wouldn't be having so many issues with his hair getting in his way. That may be why he has it shorter now.

I'm not familiar with Into Eternity, but I checked out a few of their clips on YouTube. They're a little disturbing, so I won't post them here, but their sound is a rather intriguing blend of melodic metal and thrash/speed. 

Again, the show is Sept. 14th at 6 p.m. at Mark's Place in Bedford. This particular establishment does happen to be a strip club the rest of the time. They convert it into a rock venue on Fridays. Forewarned is forearmed.

Tickets are $20 (plus a $3.50 convenience fee) and can be ordered here. It's easiest to find them by typing in Edguy and searching By Event. You have to print your tickets immediately after you order them, so don't place your order until you have access to a printer.

See you there. :)