Edenbridge

Edenbridge

Edenbridge was formed in 1998 by guitarist and keyboardist Lanvall (Arne Stockhammer), bassist Kurt Bednarsky and vocalist Sabine Edelsbacher. The line up was completed when drummer Roland Navratil joined the band. Edenbridge quickly began to work and entered the recording studio in 1999. They also sighed a recording deal with Massacre Records in 1999. Their first album Sunrise in Eden was released in the autumn of 2000. The band added a second guitarist, Georg Adelmann, to it’s line up in February of 2000. His tenure with the band was a short one and he was replaced in January of 2001 with Andreas Eiblar. Edenbridge then released their second album, Arcana, in 2001. During a tour in 2002 Edenbridge’s bassist and founding member Kurt Bednarsky left the band. In November of the same year the album Aphelion was released. Their next album was a live recorded album, A Livetime in Eden. It was released in August of 2004. This release was followed in October by the release of Shine. Around this time a new bassist, Frank Bindig, joined the band. In December of the same year, guitarist Andreas Eibler left the band on friendly terms and was replaced by Martin Mayr. Their fourth studio album, The Grand Design, was recorded at Lanvall’s studio Farpoint Station and was released May 19th of 2006. The Grand Design was released in the US on January 30, 2007. Edenbridge is now signed with Napalm Records and are working on a compilation album entitled Chronicles of Eden, which they intend to release in May of 2007.

Discography (That I Own)

1. Sunrise in Eden 2000 – The very first album by Edenbridge. This album shows that they are a symphonic metal band that enjoys using their guitars and drums. Sabine Edelsbacher has a lovely voice that manages to sound haunting and lilting amidst the pounding drums and pulsing guitars.
2. Arcana 2001 – The second album by Edenbridge. Sabine’s voice is more entrancing on this album than on their first album. The guitars are also more entrancing, the chords more complicated than in their previous work.
3. Aphelion 2002 – The third album by Edenbridge. They seem to play with the music a bit more on this album. There are more intricate keyboard notes and guitar chords. Sabine sounds beautiful as usual on this album. It sounds as if she is entirely certain of the music and is having a great deal of fun with singing process.
4. A Livetime in Eden 2004 – The Live Recording of Edenbridge. It’s pretty good for a live recording. I always think that the in studio work manages to sound better than the actual live performances, yet this is still pretty good. It has alot of songs from Sunrise in Eden upon it.
5. Shine 2004 – The fifth album of Edenbridge. Sabine’s voice is entrancing and almost haunting on several of the tracks of this album. They play with the music more on this album as well which adds a mesmerizing and haunting effect.
6. The Grand Design 2006/2007 – The sixth album of Edenbridge. Sabine’s voice is as entrancing and as lovely as always. And yet again Edenbridge sounds as if they are playing more with their music causing a beautiful effect and an enjoyable album.
7. The Chronicles of Eden 2007 – A two disc compilation album by Edenbridge. The first disc consists of rare songs, covers, and a few new songs. The second disc is a best of Edenbridge sort of album and consists of songs that fans voted on as their favorites at the Edenbridge official website.

In Conclusion
I am fond of Edenbridge. Their music is a break away from the symphonic metal bands that seem to continuously sound so similar to one another that they run together in my mind. Edenbridge’s music is fun to listen to and I look forward to a new album.