Edguy - Theater Of Salvation (1999)

Edguy continue their gradual rise with this sometimes magnificent album.  They have power metal down pat by now, with a consistent array of fast, invigorating and tuneful songs, with passionate instrumentation and enthralling choral vocals, although one should not overlook Tobias Sammet's own voice, which I was not very complimentary about earlier, but has certainly improved by this stage.
However, I'm afraid the subject matter of Theater Of Salvation goes against my own Christian beliefs, which is hardly really surprising, since it attempts to buck the trend of traditional religion and go for the find-salvation-within-yourself view.  This is particularly obvious on the otherwise-glorious, twelve-minute, concluding title track.  Sammet has a right to such views, of course. I've also got a right to disagree with them. :-)  And, I'm afraid, this all has me docking half a star from my rating, and taking just a bit of enjoyment away from the record.
Having said that, it still is full of postive messages, and the music remains quite wonderful at times, highlights (as well as the aforementioned song) including "The Headless Game",  "Land Of The Miracle" and "Arrows Fly".

****