This is the third album from Austria's
Edenbridge. I got their debut
Sunrise in Eden when it came out and thought it was quite excellent, but along the way I lost some of my initial interest in it. That and time was why I never caught up with their second release
Arcana. Now I have in my hand, a promo of their new release
Aphelion and it makes me wish I had bought Arcana when it came out. I can only say wow, this band has really developed in a good way since their debut. There are now more layers in the music and it feels much more interesting and varied.
The music is melodic heavy metal with lots of atmosphere and great guitar melodies. The excellent guitar playing carries much of the music and the very recogniseable playing of guitarist Lanvall is still a major force of the band. Since their debut album they have added a second guitarist, Andreas Eibler, who also played on Arcana. This may also have helped the band get a richer sound. Their female vocalist Sabine Edelsbacher has developed in a great way too. Compared with the debut her voice is now deeper and warmer and she really keeps the album interesting with her way of singing.
The undiscovered land starts out with an egyptian feel to the guitar and turns into a very strong and melodic mid-tempo song with an amazing chorus. The song picks up speed towards the end with some great drum work. The guitar and Sabine's vocals give this song a flying kind of feeling and a warmth not many other bands have. This music is perfect to just sit back and enjoy.
The album goes through faster songs like
Fly at a higher game,
Skyward and
Farpoint anywhere as well as slower ones like the beautiful
As far as eyes can see,
Where silence has lease and
The Final Curtain where Sabine really shines. She has an incredibly strong voice voice on all these semi-ballads. I'm especially amazed by
The Final Curtain
My favourite songs are the mid-tempo ones, where the whole band really come into their own. Songs like
Perennial dreams,
Red ball in blue sky and
The undiscovered land feel more varied than the faster ones. A song like
Fly at a higher game feels a little simple compared to the rest of the album and in this song I get a somewhat annoyed by the keyboard sound. The keyboard enhances the songs much better with the piano sound in my opinion. But overall all the songs have a very high standard.
Perennial dreams is one of my favourites. It shares that warm atmosphere with the rest of the songs, but this song is just fantastic. The way it slows down and then picks up speed again keeps it interesting and the chorus is awesome. Sit back and enjoy the excellent keyboard playing too.
Another highlight is the album closer
Red ball in blue sky, which features a soaring duet between Sabine and D.C. Cooper (Silent Force, former Royal Hunt). A very strong song with another great chorus and even a small part with a nice
Nightwish vibe. The song has a perfect build up to the chorus and is ultra melodic.
Throughout the album the keyboard has a great way of staying somewhat in the background and enhancing the mood in a cool way. This is most apparent on songs like
Skywardand
As far as eyes can see. This is one of the areas where the band has progressed in a great way since
Sunrise in eden. Talking about progression, the songwriting has improved too. The songs are very varied and no two songs sound alike. The album keeps getting better with each listen.
As I mentioned earlier, guitarist Lanvall has a very recogniseable way of playing. He rules on this album with a lot of excellent and melodic solos. He really masters this slow and melodic way of playing. I can also recommend his solo albums if you like instrumental guitar based music. Melolydian Garden and The pyromantic symphony are quite fantastic, I'm still searcing for Auramony...
The production is just about perfect and gives the whole album a very warm atmosphere. I already mentioned the keyboard which has a great piano sound most of the time but is wisely kept in the background on most songs. The guitars have just the right volume and the drums have a great deep, and very bombastic sound. Only the bass seems to be a little hidden in the thick sound.
The promo unfortunately didn't include any lyrics, so I can't go into that aspect before the real album is released.
If you're a
Edenbridge fan, you will not be disappointed with this release. Those who would like to try out some Metal with female vocals should find this a good starting point. And of course fans of bands like Lacuna Coil,
Nightwish and
Within Temptation need look no further.
Favourite songs: Perennial dreams, The undiscovered land, The final curtain, As far as eyes can see, Red ball in blue sky
Written by
Steen Monday, January 20, 2003
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