Edenbridge – The Chronicles of Eden Pt2 Review

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Edenbridge are one of the bands that we’ve having the pleasure to review all their releases since 2016, the year I started as a reviewer here. In fact, they are two fantastic albums 2017’s “The Great Momentum” and 2019’s “Dynamind.” Now the band is back with one audacious and bold effort as usual; “The Chronicles of Eden Pt2.” A double CD album with no less than 26 tracks (!) with more than 150 minutes of music. Well, I guess to say that Edenbridge is bold is totally redundant as I’ve been saying that since the first review. For the record the band goes on with their Symphonic Metal with touches of Progressive Metal with the wondrous voice of  Sabine Edelsbacher, the prima donna of the band and guitarist Lanvall, the instrumental mastermind.

Needless to say that I’m a fan of the band, but sometimes for me they oversympho their music. I wrote that the exact minute I listen to “The Bonding,” the song that melts perfectly everything Edendridge mean. “The Bonding” is a fifteen minute track where all the band’s sweet carols are in working perfectly fine. The exact sympho with the perfect Prog plus the Metal we all love. The song delivers a lot of musical plot twists that may astonish the unadvised fan. The second CD opens up with “Live and Let Go” a track that to say the least is everything Edenbridge is all about with its mix of pounding guitars and the angelical voice of Sabine. Last, but definetely not least track “Bon Voyage Vagabond” adds some more Metal to the recipe of “The Chronicles of Eden Pt2” making it a little bit more spicy and tasteful. The track is one of the heaviest of the album which acquires a very different aura due to the competent and heavenly voice of Sabine. That’s the Edenbridge touch that we all love and cherish.

It’s obvious to me that an album with 26 tracks has its ups and downs even if when we consider that the album is a ‘retrospective,’ something as a ‘best of’ album. To be fair enough with Edendridge if I had a band I would never record an album with 26 tracks. In my opinion it exposes the band too much, but that was the band’s decision and to me rests only to say that it was a very bold move that very few bands would do. I’d say that this kind of album is perfect for the newcomer fan because it tells in short the band’s career.

Edendridge “The Chronicles of Eden Pt2” will be released on January 15th via Steamhammer / SPV.

Track Listing:

  1. Higher
  2. On the Other Side
  3. Shiantara
  4. Alight a New Tomorrow
  5. Until the End of Time
  6. Shadowplay
  7. The Greatest Gift of All
  8. Dynamind (Easter 2020 Version) *previously unreleased
  9. Brothers on Diamir
  10. Paramount (Acoustic Version 2020) *previously unreleased
  11. Tauerngold
  12. The Bonding

  CD 2
 01. Live and Let Go
 02. Mystic River
 03. MyEarthDream Suite (For Guitar and Orchestra)
 04. The Moment Is Now
 05. Skyline’s End
 06. The Memory Hunter
 07. Remember Me
 08. Inward Passage
 09. Paramount
 10. Higher (Acoustic Version 2020) *previously unreleased 
 11. Into a Sea of Souls
 12. Bon Voyage Vagabond
 13. Eternity
 14. MyEarthDream

Watch “Tauerngold” official lyric video here: