Description

Original first press on Massacre records

A stairway leading over a dark forest, through the nightsky and straight to heaven awaits those who wants to embrace Austrian guitar virtuoso Lanvall and his band Edenbridge. A former instrumental prog rock guitarist, Lanvall put his girlfriend Sabine Edelsbacher in front of the microphone and comparisons to Nightwish are pretty much inevitable for every female fronted melodic metal band that released their debut after 2000. Guitarist/primary songwriter Lanvall has stated more than once that he hates that comparison, and after listening to Sunrise in Eden it’s not hard to understand why. Edenbridge does play the same kind of incredibly melodic, heavy-as-a-feather kind of metal, but they are more progressive than Nightwish has ever been, and the Japanese or Chinese-sounding folk melodies and sound effects that are used quite frequently throughout this album doesn’t only separate them from Nightwish, but from every other female-fronted metal band I’ve heard so far. Edenbridge’s music is carried by the slightly neo-classical guitar work of Lanvall and the angelic vocals of Sabine Edelsbacher, with the rhythm section relegated to keeping the songs going. I know angelic is an adjective that has been used to describe pretty much every clean female metal vocalist, but I think it suits Sabine better than everyone else. Her sugary sweet voice will probably turn off as many people as Tarja Turunen’s vibrato, but I find it absolutely adorable. When she’s holding high notes she sounds a bit like Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation, but her voice is highly unique. Not only is she an excellent vocalist, her vocal lines are simply enchanting. I can honestly say that Lanvall writes the best vocal lines in metal. Flow is the word here, as Sabine’s vocals always flow incredibly well with the music. Speaking of Lanvall, what a musician that man is! Every time he lets go with his six-string, the album literally takes you to that end of the stairs on the album cover. Sunrise in Eden is filled to the brim with long, complex shredding solos and flowing, tasteful leads that will please even the most demanding guitar enthusiast. Lanvall’s masterpiece can be found on the somber, beautiful ballad Forever Shine On where he rips out an absolutely stunning, note-for-note perfect guitar solo that can stand tall with the best solos I’ve ever heard. The album is not without its flaws, however. The production could definitely have been better. The guitar tone is absolutely heavenly when Lanvall is playing a lead or a solo, but the riffs are quite rough, which clashes with the overall sound on here, and when they are really fast, such as on the opener “Cheyenne Spirit” they sound quite fuzzy. The riffs aren’t anything special either, it’s quite obvious that Lanvall spent 90% of his time coming up with leads and solos and the remaining 10% to come up with riffs to get the verses going. And as good as Sabine is, her voice doesn’t have to be that high in the mix. Edenbridge is a criminally underrated band and if Nightwish can sell out venues the world over then these guys should at least be able to afford a full-scale European tour! Sunrise in Eden is the best debut by a female-fronted band metal I’ve heard so far, and as long as you can stand metal that favours melody over heaviness you should be able to pick it up without hesitation.

Track listing:
1. Cheyenne Spirit
2. Sunrise In Eden
3. Forever Shine On
4. Holy Fire
5. Wings Of The Wind
6. In The Rain
7. Midnight At Noon
8. Take Me Back
9. My Last Step Beyond