Customer Reviews

Arcana

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Arcana, the second release from the melodic metal band Edenbridge finds them progressing exactly how I wanted them to from the first album. The new album is quite simply, a notch better in every regard. The production this time around is cleaner, with the drum sound in particular sounding more powerful. This adds a lot of punch to the overall sound, making them sound a bit heavier than before. The songwriting is top-notch, and they have increased the tempo overall. (Sunrise in Eden while very impressive, could have used another fast track!)Lanvall's melodic solos are still a wonder to listen to. I appreciate the fact that he doesn't feel the need to cram 5,000 notes into a solo. He is very selective, and it shows. Sometimes more can be said with less when it comes to soloing. Sabine's vocals are as heavenly as ever, and even the bonus track, (which is usally filler)does not disappoint. So what are you waiting for? Pick it up already and be lost in the beauty that is "Arcana!"

This was the very first Edenbridge CD I ever listened to and I loved still love it. Here's the break down

1. Ascending rating N/A It is just the opening nothing going on here.
2. Starlight Reverie rating 10 I really love this song it is fast and reminds me a lot of a sci-fi movie.
3. The Palace rating 9 this is the first of two long songs. The opening to this song is very different. And the guiter playing is great.
4. A Moment Of Time rating 10 Not much to say here a good song that starts slow then really picks up.
5. Fly On A Rainbow Dream rating 10 Very good up left song.
The next three songs Color My Sky, Into The Light and Suspiria are all great songs though out of them I like Suspiria the best but all three get a 10.
9. Winter Winds rating 10 it is there real slow song and is very nice to put on druing those winter days that you are inside becasue you start thinking about spring and summer.
10. Arcana rating 10 this is a great song if you can stand the the fact that it gets near the 10 minute mark.

Velvet Eyes Of Dawn (Bonus Track)I can not rate this song becasue it was not on the CD I have. If I ever do get the CD with this song on it I will rate it.

What I find about Edenbridge is that their songs I really like are all spread about all of their albums. For me, at least, Arcana has a fair density of songs I like, and I could find it the cheapest. That's why I bought it, and I'm glad I did.

Hailing from Austria, Edenbridge is a fairly unique band in the "metal band with female vocalist" genre. Their particular sound, self-described as "angelic, bombastic metal" is somewhere between Nightwish and melodic rock diva Lana Lane. The music is lush and melodic, with a heavy emphasis on keyboards, and falls squarely in the Helloween/Angra power metal category. The only thing remotely goth-like about this band is their wardrobe. The vocals, which are provided by the lovely and talented Sabine Edelsbacher, are a breath of fresh air in a genre where every female singer seems determined to be a glass-shattering opera star.

Arcana is the band's second album, and is one of their best. All of the trademark elements from Sunrise in Eden are present - well-orchestrated songs, Sabine's incredible voice, and the "sunshine and light" approach, which is a pretty rare thing to find in a metal band (it's pretty much just Edenbridge and Freedom Call at this point). This time around though, Sabine seems a lot more comfortable with her voice, which has more power, better control, and more range. The main drawback remains the fact that the songs tend to sound very similar.

Edenbridge is definitely not for everyone. They are well worth checking out, particularly if you're a fan of bands like Nightwish, After Forever, et al and have grown tired of the opera metal style. If you prefer your metal to be dark and aggressive, or crave progressive metal technicality, you may want to skip this one.

Fairy tale metal sounds like an oxymoron of the first class -- after all, metal is not known for its whimsy, unless it's of the "Lord of the Ringsy" variety. But that's the basic description of Edenbridge's second album, "Arcana." While the vocals and music are pretty, the poor songwriting and overly ethereal fantasy theme bog "Arcana" down.

The album starts off with a symphonic buildup in "Ascending," with an organ solo that wouldn't be out of place in a Webber musical, before kicking off into the catchy "Starlight Reverie" and gothic "The Place." So far, things seem to be solid -- whimsical lyrics, but fairly restrained as Edenbridge goes.

With that as a base, Edenbridge embarks on a rather short string of whimsical metal-pop songs, formed of a mix of the whimsical and the gritty, the metal and the balladic, such as the airy, fluttery ballad "Fly on a Rainbow Dream," the dramatic rocker "Velvet Eyes of Dawn," and the desperate-sounding "Into the Light."

One of the biggest problems with Edenbridge's sound is that while the music is majestic, the theme of the album seems to have been lifted from second-rate fantasy fiction. It clashes badly. Certainly it's a little jarring to hear about "the stardust angel" against rock-hard music. Had the theme been toned down a little, made less airy, it would fit. But it doesn't.

The music itself is very solid, a mix of fast-paced, slightly poppy metal, and a distinctly symphonic sound. "The Place" opens with an organ backdrop that sounds like something out of "Phantom of the Opera," before shifting into a faux-medieval dance number. Sabine Edelsbacher has a solid voice, very strong and pretty, although she sounds unsteady in the softer songs.

And the songwriting is where Edenbridge really stumbles -- even the forced whimsy could have tolerated, if it wasn't for strained lines like "Ancient myth arcana, Elysian seas of time/the stones of wisdom shine again, the moonlight hides the rhyme." Really, guys, I can only take so many references to stars, oceans, rainbows, stardust, Elysia, flying, and other things like that. It's cute at first, but soon it starts to grate.

While the vocals and fairy-metal are solid, the music of Edenbridge's "Arcana" is undermined by the over-the-top whimsy and horribly written lyrics. Promising, but in the end it's disappointing.

Nightwish this,Lacuna coil that,The Gathering this.Sure those groups are okay,and all,but they are also for the most part very slow,and boring,and that's most of the time.Not to mention some overly Operatic vocals,that one goes mainly just for Nightwish.Now I will say that as for Edenbridge I think the Sunrise in Eden album lacked alot of speed,and I wasn't to impressed with the album in the beginning,but the song Midnight at noon is a real good fast song that has a good Power metal feel to it.And as for this album Arcana!Well it makes albums like Nightwishes Century Child seem very,very slow,and Malancholy,which in all actuallity that album is.Plus the guys horrid vocals plagued the only fast song they had on that album,and the same thing goes for Lacuna coil's albums.It seems like the better the Female singer sing's the worst the male singer sings.So they should just shut up,and let the Female singer sing.Personally I hate the contrast between the two almost every time.
Unless ofcourse the singers were amazing like Michael Kiske the Ex Helloween front man,not to mention a living legend,and maybe someone like Sharon Den Adel from Within Temptation or something,that would probably work pretty good.Anyways,I think this albums pretty good,but the main downfall I'd say is that Edenbridge is not everyones cup of tea.It might be to unagressive,and foreign sounding for like Metallica fans.So I'd definately recommend trying first bands like Mid career Helloween,Iron Maiden,Nocturnal Rites,Brainstorm,Sonata Arctica,Daargard ext.just to get a feel for the type of music.After that Sabine Edelbacher's Julie Andrews style vocals shouldn't bother you.Infact you'd probably be happy just to find a Power Metal group that has a female singer.Because there's not that many,let's see,there's Oratory,and their new album Beyond Earth,they are really,really good,plus,they sound to me less foreign,there's also Zed Yago,Dark moor,and Nightwish is totally optional,to me they seem more like just Opera metal.