Band: Edenbridge
CD Title: MyEarthDream
Year: 2008
Website: edenbridge.org
MySpace: myspace.com/edenbridge
Label: Napalm Records
Featured on: Loucifer Speaks Exclusive
Rating: 6.7/10
More Links: Feel free to talk about Edenbridge on the Loucifer Speaks forum
I have to admit that I approached this album with a certain amount of caution. I tend to prefer my female singers to sound more like Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy or Skin from Skunk Anansie (ah, Skunk Anansie - whatever happened to them?). I guess the operatic sound just ends up going over my head a lot of the time. Maybe I'm simply not cultured enough?
So, I had all that in my mind when I slipped this album into the CD player. "The Force Within" gives the album and incredibly dramatic introduction and there's a huge sense of grandeur. It's a great piece of music and it sets up the rest of the album perfectly.
When "Shadowplay" started I was pleasantly surprised. This wasn't the sound I was expecting at all. The vocals still have that classic approach, but the instrumentation is fantastically heavy and the keyboards are used to maximum effect, but are by no means over-done. The simple fact is that this track alone has changed my opinion of the band... and we're only the second song in...
"Remember Me" brings us back to what I was originally expecting - 'twinkly' keyboards, slow temp and basically an overall 'pretty' sound. The song isn't necessarily bad - it's well written and has a relatively catchy melody - but it doesn't really do anything for me. While I can see myself listening to "Shadowplay" time and time again in the future, I have the strong feeling that "Remember Me" will be one of those tracks that I'll constantly skip.
"Paramount" managed to grap my attention again and is definitely an improvement on the previous track. I still don't think that it's as good as "Shadowplay", but it's definitely a step in the right direction. Actually, I think that from now on "Shadowplay" shall be the yardstick to which all Edenbridge songs will be measured. I also found that I was starting to warm to the vocals by this point.
"Adamantine" is an astonishingly addictive track. On the first listen I wasn't too sure about it, but by the third or fourth listen I was hooked. It's a shame that because I have a promo copy I had the voiceover saying "you are listening to the new Edenbridge album, 'MyEarthDream'" - yes, I knew that Mr Voiceover Man! I can understand why record labels put those voiceovers on promos, but it doesn't stop it from being annoying! Anyway, I digress... "Adamantine" has quickly become a favourite of mine (in my opinion it still doesn't top the phenomenal "Shadowplay").
When "Whale Rider" started I thought "oh no, I'm not going to like this one". As soon as it began I knew it was going to be a ballad and possibly a little bit cheesy... and I was right. The orchestration (possibly provided by synths) gives the track a fuller sound and almost makes it sound like a film-score. I think that "Whale Rider" will be another track that I skip when listening to the album.
With "Undying Devotion" Edenbridge have captivated me again. It's not quite as heavy as "Shadowplay", but it's a fantastic song.
The intro to "Fallen From Grace" had be smiling straight away. I really like this track - it's possibly at the same level as "Shadowplay". Yes, I like it that much! It's heavy when it needs to be, technically excellent, the drums and guitar sound awesome and I even found myself humming along.
"Place Of Higher Power" has a very promising intro and I found that I wasn't let down when the track actually got going. The vocal melodies are incredibly memorable and get stuck in your head very easily. The oriental feel definitely makes the track stand out.
The title track is split into six parts - "The Road Ahead", "Pristine", "Agent Of Change", "The Uninvited Guest", "The Last Card" and "Slumbers". The track is epic both in lenght (it's over 12 minutes long!) and sound and it's definitely another highlight on this album.
"MyEarthDream" was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. Some of the tracks were instant favourites, some required a few listens and some did nothing for me at all. This album has shown that Edenbridge are capable of making me sit up and take notice and I think I will be more inclined to listen to them in the future. I would prefer it if I could avoid tracks like "Remember Me" and "Whale Rider", but I'm sure that there are people out there who will love them.
01 The Force Within
02 Shadowplay
03 Remember Me
04 Paramount
05 Adamantine
06 Whale Rider
07 Undying Devotion
08 Fallen From Grace
09 Place Of Higher Power
10 MyEarthDream
