In the often oversaturated female fronted Gothic Metal music subgenre, there are many bands with good female vocalists, but very few can boast of good musicianship, which often leads to the “(insert female vocalist’s name) and Company” criticism that the subgenre as a whole, gains.  So, it can be considered a surprise when a band in the subgenre has been around for over a decade with the same vocalist, like Austria’s Edenbridge.  The band is often overlooked due to the style they play, but they have a remarkable record of consistency when it comes to their music.  With a new album out in Solitaire, Edenbridge is set to add another chapter to a growing legacy.  Recently, Metal Psalter had a chance to talk to vocalist Sabine Edelsbacher and guitarist Lanvall after they had completed a tour in Europe to talk about all things Edenbridge.

Peter: Since there are some people who are unfamiliar with Edenbridge, would you mind saying a few things about the band?

Sabine:  Edenbridge were formed in 1998.  Lanvall, Kurt Bednarsky (our former bass player) and I played together in another project before that and when drummer Roland (Navratil) entered the band, the line-up for our first CD-production was complete. We recorded Sunrise in Eden in 1999 on a self-financial basis and sent it to about 30 labels around the world. Two weeks later, Massacre Records offered us a deal. The album was licensed to all important markets of the world (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, South and North America) and was a great success. In late 2000, we were on a European tour with our labelmates Pink Cream 69 and Axxis. In 2001, we recorded our second CD Arcana, which marked a big step forward. Then, we went on a tour with Metalium here in Europe, which led us from Spain to Scandinavia. Right after that, we went to Korea to play a show on the International Busan Rock Festival in front of 20,000 people and a double-headliner show with Sinergy in Seoul.  In January 2003, our third album Aphelion saw the light of day, which was followed by a triple-headliner tour with Trail of Tears and Sirenia through Europe. A show on the famous German Summer Breeze Festival in front of 12,000 people followed. In April 2004, we played our first shows in Moscow, Russia and two shows in England on the Bloodstock festival, which were a huge success. Then, our first live-album/DVD A Livetime in Eden came out.  In October 2004, our fourth studio album Shine was released, and was followed by a tour through Europe supporting Angra. In 2006, the band’s first cover version saw the light of day, the release of a single with the famous James Bond title song “For your eyes only” (originally sung by Sheena Easton). The single was followed by the fifth full length studio album The Grand Design, which was followed by a tour of Europe and Asia (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong). Right after that, we had to split with drummer Roland, who was replaced by Max Pointner. We signed with Napalm Records world wide. In 2008, MyEarthDream saw the light of day, featuring the Czech Film Orchestra, and was followed by a big European tour with Rage and was followed by our second visit to Korea, where we headlined the Jump Guro Open Air in Seoul.  In 2009, we did a European headliner tour. Finally in 2010, our seventh studio album Solitaire was released and charted in Germany!

Peter: Since 2006, when the Grand Design album came out, Edenbridge has been on Napalm Records.  How did the record deal originally come about and how would you characterize the relations with the label?

Lanvall: The relationship is great. It´s an Austrian label and we have the same mentality. The new album Solitaire charted in Germany for the first time, which marks a great success for us.

Peter: This year will bring a new album in Solitaire.  Were you aiming for any particular theme on the album and if so, what is the theme?

Sabine: Solitaire is about the process of questioning old dogmas and the correlating paradigm shift we are in between.

It´s about the universal power within us, which has been present down the ages and will exist forever; a diamond connection which is undestroyable. This part in us is unique and is finally shown to advantage in the chain. It’s like each water drop is unique and forming the sea in connection with other water drops.

Peter: What are some of the things that you can say about the album as far as production and the album cover art?

Sabine: The symbol of the open triad stands for the circle of birth, life and death.
The Celtic mystic proves that when we are facing this symbol, we recognize this circle and our intuition reveals our own infinity, what stands behind it, and what is undestroyable.

Listening to your inner self, to recognize the inner voice is something very essential in our turbulent times of change. If something should change for the better for us, we have to go about this in unison with our inner self. Music is the best companion for this way. We only have to listen, look, and empathize consciously.

The eye stands for awareness in the mystic context. On our cover, the eye stands for recognition that the essential part of every life form (symbolized through the diamond) stays undestroyable in the circle of birth-life-death.

Lanvall: Solitaire bundles all the symphonic and heavy elements of MyEarthDream and brings in a lot of new aspects into our sound. It is our most atmospheric and melancholic album so far. We continued working with the 7-string guitars and the symphonic parts have much more richness in detail. The new album only consists of 7-string guitars tuned down a half step to Bb. I love writing in the Bb keys cause they have this dark and melancholic vibe. When the orchestra appears, most of the time, it’s a blast. All in all, Edenbridge have never sounded more varied than on Solitaire.

I simply wanted to write excellent songs with no particular intention where to go; I simply let the inspiration flow and see what would come out, and it worked out perfectly. Edenbridge is a band that can have thrash metal riffs like in “A Virtual Dream?” alongside ambient soundscapes like “Out of this world” without being in the way of each other. The musical universe is such a big cosmos and using this cosmos as an infinite pool of inspiration is the best thing that can happen to a composer. This is the reason why the album is so varied.

Peter: Recently, Edenbridge shot a video for the song “Higher.”  Is there anything that you would like to share from that experience?

Sabine: “Higher” is about reaching out and getting higher and higher. We break our backs and fight and don´t recognize when we fight, it´s a fight against ourselves. If we recognize this, we don´t need to fight anymore to get higher in life. To reach this goal is much more valuable than the little goals what we are aiming for normally.

The main idea for the concept came in my mind when I meditated over Lanvall’s lyrics and everything grew during the process of developing the story. Timor, the actor who performed the fighter in the video, contacted me during this process after he didn’t see us for nearly four years. He wanted to know how I was and I considered his e-mail as a gift from heaven. He was totally happy when I told him of the video idea. Timor and his friend Martin did a really great job. We had a lot of fun on the days of shooting.

Peter: Do you have plans on hiring a permanent bass player at this point?

Lanvall: Yes, we do, of course, but we haven´t found the right one yet.

Peter: Is there any plans on touring in support of Solitaire?

Lanvall: There are three shows in Indonesia planned for November. Apart from this, there are no plans at the moment, but this can change at any time.

Peter: Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Lanvall: Thanks to all our fans for your great support and check out Solitaire!

Thanks for the interview.

Edenbridge

Interviewer: Peter

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Formed: 1998
Linz, Upper Austria
Label: Napalm Records
Genre: Symphonic Power Metal 

CURRENT LINE-UP:

Sabine Edelsbacher:  Vocals
Arne "Lanvall" Stockhammer: 
                                 Guitars, Keyboards
Dominik Sebastian:  Guitars
Max Pointner:  Drums

DISCOGRAPHY:

Sunrise in Eden (2000)
Arcana (2001)
Aphelion (2003)
A Livetime in Eden (2004)
Shine (2004)
The Grand Design (2006)
The Chronicles Of Eden
                               Best of/Comp. (2007)
MyEarthDream (2008)
LiveEarthDream (2009)
Solitaire (2010)

(Click on Photo to Enlarge)

July 29, 2010

Check out Peter's review of Solitaire here