Edenbridge
One of the most important Austrian Metal bands and one of the greatest Symphonic Heavy Metal bands we've seen in the last years, Edenbridge, is back with a new masterpiece and band's 7th official release called "Solitaire"; probably the best release ever recorded by Edenbridge, which through its main leaders Sabine and Lanvall will open the gates of mystery to reveal us all, fans, media and Metal freaks around the world, what is about inside of it announce a new era of musical conquers and the new king of the scene!
Arcana Noctis: Guten Tag, Edenbridge! It seems that things going great for you these days when band's new opus called "Solitaire" has just been released through Napalm Records! How do you feel about that and what interesting news from your camp could you share with us in the beginning of this interview?
Sabine: Indeed, the new album is doing great. For the first time we entered the German Album charts which is a great success for us.
Arcana Noctis: When you started working on this new material I mentioned above and what will be the main differences at the working and compositional processes that you had on "Solitaire" compared to your previous full length "MyEarthDream"?
Lanvall: The process was pretty similar as we worked nearly exactly with the same team. Everything except drums was recorded in my studio and Karl Groom again mixed the album as Mika Jussila did the mastering. It was a very relaxed process. I started in summer 2008 with songwriting and wrote about half the album. Then we did some touring again in Korea, Benelux and Norway which resulted in the "LiveEarthDream" live album. After this I wrote the rest of the album and finished songwriting in spring 2009. In summer 2009 I wrote all the lyrics for the album and then recordings began.
Arcana Noctis: In my point of view "Solitaire" is much professional, at sounds and music levels, compared to everything you did until now, which brings in front of us the same melancholic music you used us with but a much superior concept! What do you think that will be the main differences between "Solitaire" and your previous releases and what older elements could we find as the main connection between all your albums?
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 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 B♭. I love writing in the B♭ keys because they have this dark and melancholic vibe. When the orchestra appears, it's most of the time a blast. All in all Edenbridge have never sounded more varied than on "Solitaire". The main connection concerning the older elements is still the unusual chord structures I often use. I have been working with a lot of modulations in the songs and the use of World Ethno influences was also from the beginning on.
Arcana Noctis: As I can see "Solitaire" helped you to pass to a faster speed, thanks to your aggressive lines and brutal guitars well emphasized by symphonic parts and lot melody! Is this evolution something that you proposed yourselves or it's just the normal continuation of everything you did with Edenbridge 'til now?
Lanvall: This is an absolutely natural development. I knew that we would do "MyEarthDream" with a real orchestra so I had to change to something in our guitar sound to let both come through in the overall sound. Therefore I bought a 7-string and love working with it. The overall guitar sound is much lower and heavier which brings the orchestral sounds through.
Arcana Noctis: The whole content is evidently mature and it reminds me, through the whole melodic line, a little bit about Therion's "Atlantis Lucid Dreaming" which as reference is not bad at all! Although we can say that some old influences could be visible in here, Sabine's vocal score, so mysterious and crystalline, makes the difference in almost every level! How you managed to combine all these elements with such talent and what do you think will be your vocalist's role in this masterpiece you create for us?
Lanvall: Well, after the songs themselves it's the vocalist who is the most important person in a band. And the vocal lines were always the central focus. Sabine is an absolutely amazing singer and you cannot compare her to anybody else in the Metal scene. Her voice is totally unique. She has a great range and sound in her low register as great as in the middle and the high one. This is great for me because I can write in all keys without having to think if she can sing it or not because she simply can! She is doing a lot of breathing and relaxing exercises to make her voice better and better.
Arcana Noctis: Besides your usual way of playing, Symphonic Heavy Metal, we can hear some Thrash and Ambient passages although you have nothing in common with this musical genre! Sometimes your direction I found it to be extremely good for a soundtrack, and I imagine Edenbridge doing music for fantasy and war movies such as "King Arthur" or "Dungeons Of The Dragons"! Do you ever imagine such things could be possible for your band?
Lanvall: Doing soundtracks would be a great thing in the future as we have a lot of elements in our music. The good thing in Edenbridge is that I have no limitation at all. If I wanna integrate an unusual part like a Thrash Metal riff in "A Virtual Dream", I do it the same with Ambient soundscapes like in "Out Of This World" and it still sounds like Edenbridge.
Arcana Noctis: I know that Simon left Edenbridge because of his personal problems, but did you found a substitute able to play your music full time? Knowing that he is still involved in Serenity, do you think that could be one of his decisions to quit Edenbridge?
Lanvall: Serenity is his main band and there his heart is on first hand of course. Due to the fact he his building his own house at the moment and he also has a job it was too much at all. We have not found a substitute yet but we will do some auditions soon and I am looking forward to those.
Arcana Noctis: The whole material was mixed by Karl Groom and the final mix was handled by Mika Jussila in Finnvox Studio! What can you tell us about their contribution to Edenbridge's last opus "Solitaire"?
Lanvall: This is the third record I have been doing with Karl and it's always a pleasure to work with him in England. I am always there for 2 weeks and this is a good time frame for mixing the record. The special thing about him is that he can mix a record powerful and crystal clear. I have always a clear imagination of how it should sound like and Karl brings it to life. Mika is one of the masters of mastering and I don't know what he is doing but it always makes the mix perfect in the end and adds all the power.
Arcana Noctis: The third chapter of your new opus is the lyrical universe, which brings in front of us ancient dogmas and paradigms about inside questions of human being! How would you describe this aspect of your lyrical chapter and what will be in your opinion the main link between lyrics and music?
Sabine: The lyrics are extremely important in Edenbridge. Music and lyrics should always form a unity. 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. Like each water drop is unique and forming to the sea in connection with other water drops. It is routed in our band name that we are a link between the different elements. The bridge stands for a connection between the cultures, a fact that we are using instruments from different cultures and Ethnic sounds in our music. I see it as our way to integrate extremes what we want to express musically. It's the way of the heart, which is connecting everything and also lets everything stand for its own.
Arcana Noctis: What can you tell us about the cover artwork that you used for "Solitaire" and how do you think that visual, lyrics and musical content goes hand in hand to create this awesome outcome you have on "Solitaire"?
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 and what is undestroyable. Apart from the fact that the symbol is appealing me very much, it has a deeper meaning. 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. Anthony Clarkson's work what he has done for "MyEarthDream" was amazing so it was clear to work with him together again. I think he even topped his work with "Solitaire". It's simply his style and the richness in details what we like.
Arcana Noctis: Many people see you closer to Loreena McKennitt musically speaking! I'd like to tell you that such things are away from me; but, I will tell you that on your first song "Solitaire" I detected on your refrain an ABBA trace! I suppose you know what I mean! Is ABBA one of your influences and what do you think about all these comments about how an album sounds and what musical influences a band have in its baggage?
Lanvall: We both love ABBA. ABBA is for sure the greatest Pop band of all times, no doubt about that. And it is not just Pop, there is no specific style you can call them. Their last 5 five albums are all must haves. What they did in the late 70s and beginning of the 80s musically is absoluetly timeless and years ahead of their time. I grew up with ABBA when I was a child as my father was listening to them a lot. Songs like "Thank You For The Music", "I Wonder", "Eagle" and "The Winner Takes It All" still sends goosebumps down my spine. Funny that you hear some influences of them in the title track as I cannot hear any relations there. I remember there was one song on "The Grand Design" which had a bit of them, which was called "On Top Of The World".
Arcana Noctis: Knowing that Edenbridge is a band with an interesting live appearance, including here 2 official live materials, what interesting details could you give us concerning the live promotional campaign for "Solitaire" and what will be the visual dimension of your live acts?
Sabine: We are concentrating on the Asian market at the moment. We just returned from a one week promo tour from Indonesia preparing the shows scheduled for November. Then it looks quite good that we will play in Vietnam for the first time and there is planned more. So Asia is a very good market for us. Of course we are still hoping for an interesting European tour as we do for the U.S.
Arcana Noctis: Do you think that "Solitaire" could be an opportunity to give birth to another live CD/DVD in the near future? And what other plans do you have for Edenbridge's next period excepting gigs and tours around the world?
Lanvall: It is very possible that we are recording the 3 concerts in Indonesia for a DVD release but it's still too early to talk about. Apart from touring there are no specific plans as the next album will not come out before 2012 as I have just a few bits written for it.
Arcana Noctis: In the end of this interview we did together, I'd like to thank you for this awesome moment we spent in your company and ask you to leave a final message for fans, listeners, readers and everyone interest in Edenbridge and its new opus "Solitaire"!
Sabine: Thanks to all our fans for keeping up with us. Hope you all have a listen to our new album!!!
Arcana Noctis: Thanks for the interview, Sabine and Lanvall!
Arcana Noctis: Guten Tag, Edenbridge! It seems that things going great for you these days when band's new opus called "Solitaire" has just been released through Napalm Records! How do you feel about that and what interesting news from your camp could you share with us in the beginning of this interview?
Sabine: Indeed, the new album is doing great. For the first time we entered the German Album charts which is a great success for us.Arcana Noctis: When you started working on this new material I mentioned above and what will be the main differences at the working and compositional processes that you had on "Solitaire" compared to your previous full length "MyEarthDream"?
Lanvall: The process was pretty similar as we worked nearly exactly with the same team. Everything except drums was recorded in my studio and Karl Groom again mixed the album as Mika Jussila did the mastering. It was a very relaxed process. I started in summer 2008 with songwriting and wrote about half the album. Then we did some touring again in Korea, Benelux and Norway which resulted in the "LiveEarthDream" live album. After this I wrote the rest of the album and finished songwriting in spring 2009. In summer 2009 I wrote all the lyrics for the album and then recordings began.
Arcana Noctis: In my point of view "Solitaire" is much professional, at sounds and music levels, compared to everything you did until now, which brings in front of us the same melancholic music you used us with but a much superior concept! What do you think that will be the main differences between "Solitaire" and your previous releases and what older elements could we find as the main connection between all your albums?
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 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 B♭. I love writing in the B♭ keys because they have this dark and melancholic vibe. When the orchestra appears, it's most of the time a blast. All in all Edenbridge have never sounded more varied than on "Solitaire". The main connection concerning the older elements is still the unusual chord structures I often use. I have been working with a lot of modulations in the songs and the use of World Ethno influences was also from the beginning on.
Arcana Noctis: As I can see "Solitaire" helped you to pass to a faster speed, thanks to your aggressive lines and brutal guitars well emphasized by symphonic parts and lot melody! Is this evolution something that you proposed yourselves or it's just the normal continuation of everything you did with Edenbridge 'til now?
Lanvall: This is an absolutely natural development. I knew that we would do "MyEarthDream" with a real orchestra so I had to change to something in our guitar sound to let both come through in the overall sound. Therefore I bought a 7-string and love working with it. The overall guitar sound is much lower and heavier which brings the orchestral sounds through.
Arcana Noctis: The whole content is evidently mature and it reminds me, through the whole melodic line, a little bit about Therion's "Atlantis Lucid Dreaming" which as reference is not bad at all! Although we can say that some old influences could be visible in here, Sabine's vocal score, so mysterious and crystalline, makes the difference in almost every level! How you managed to combine all these elements with such talent and what do you think will be your vocalist's role in this masterpiece you create for us?
Lanvall: Well, after the songs themselves it's the vocalist who is the most important person in a band. And the vocal lines were always the central focus. Sabine is an absolutely amazing singer and you cannot compare her to anybody else in the Metal scene. Her voice is totally unique. She has a great range and sound in her low register as great as in the middle and the high one. This is great for me because I can write in all keys without having to think if she can sing it or not because she simply can! She is doing a lot of breathing and relaxing exercises to make her voice better and better.
Arcana Noctis: Besides your usual way of playing, Symphonic Heavy Metal, we can hear some Thrash and Ambient passages although you have nothing in common with this musical genre! Sometimes your direction I found it to be extremely good for a soundtrack, and I imagine Edenbridge doing music for fantasy and war movies such as "King Arthur" or "Dungeons Of The Dragons"! Do you ever imagine such things could be possible for your band?
Lanvall: Doing soundtracks would be a great thing in the future as we have a lot of elements in our music. The good thing in Edenbridge is that I have no limitation at all. If I wanna integrate an unusual part like a Thrash Metal riff in "A Virtual Dream", I do it the same with Ambient soundscapes like in "Out Of This World" and it still sounds like Edenbridge.
Arcana Noctis: I know that Simon left Edenbridge because of his personal problems, but did you found a substitute able to play your music full time? Knowing that he is still involved in Serenity, do you think that could be one of his decisions to quit Edenbridge?
Lanvall: Serenity is his main band and there his heart is on first hand of course. Due to the fact he his building his own house at the moment and he also has a job it was too much at all. We have not found a substitute yet but we will do some auditions soon and I am looking forward to those.
Arcana Noctis: The whole material was mixed by Karl Groom and the final mix was handled by Mika Jussila in Finnvox Studio! What can you tell us about their contribution to Edenbridge's last opus "Solitaire"?
Lanvall: This is the third record I have been doing with Karl and it's always a pleasure to work with him in England. I am always there for 2 weeks and this is a good time frame for mixing the record. The special thing about him is that he can mix a record powerful and crystal clear. I have always a clear imagination of how it should sound like and Karl brings it to life. Mika is one of the masters of mastering and I don't know what he is doing but it always makes the mix perfect in the end and adds all the power.
Arcana Noctis: The third chapter of your new opus is the lyrical universe, which brings in front of us ancient dogmas and paradigms about inside questions of human being! How would you describe this aspect of your lyrical chapter and what will be in your opinion the main link between lyrics and music?
Sabine: The lyrics are extremely important in Edenbridge. Music and lyrics should always form a unity. 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. Like each water drop is unique and forming to the sea in connection with other water drops. It is routed in our band name that we are a link between the different elements. The bridge stands for a connection between the cultures, a fact that we are using instruments from different cultures and Ethnic sounds in our music. I see it as our way to integrate extremes what we want to express musically. It's the way of the heart, which is connecting everything and also lets everything stand for its own.
Arcana Noctis: What can you tell us about the cover artwork that you used for "Solitaire" and how do you think that visual, lyrics and musical content goes hand in hand to create this awesome outcome you have on "Solitaire"?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 and what is undestroyable. Apart from the fact that the symbol is appealing me very much, it has a deeper meaning. 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. Anthony Clarkson's work what he has done for "MyEarthDream" was amazing so it was clear to work with him together again. I think he even topped his work with "Solitaire". It's simply his style and the richness in details what we like.
Arcana Noctis: Many people see you closer to Loreena McKennitt musically speaking! I'd like to tell you that such things are away from me; but, I will tell you that on your first song "Solitaire" I detected on your refrain an ABBA trace! I suppose you know what I mean! Is ABBA one of your influences and what do you think about all these comments about how an album sounds and what musical influences a band have in its baggage?
Lanvall: We both love ABBA. ABBA is for sure the greatest Pop band of all times, no doubt about that. And it is not just Pop, there is no specific style you can call them. Their last 5 five albums are all must haves. What they did in the late 70s and beginning of the 80s musically is absoluetly timeless and years ahead of their time. I grew up with ABBA when I was a child as my father was listening to them a lot. Songs like "Thank You For The Music", "I Wonder", "Eagle" and "The Winner Takes It All" still sends goosebumps down my spine. Funny that you hear some influences of them in the title track as I cannot hear any relations there. I remember there was one song on "The Grand Design" which had a bit of them, which was called "On Top Of The World".
Arcana Noctis: Knowing that Edenbridge is a band with an interesting live appearance, including here 2 official live materials, what interesting details could you give us concerning the live promotional campaign for "Solitaire" and what will be the visual dimension of your live acts?
Sabine: We are concentrating on the Asian market at the moment. We just returned from a one week promo tour from Indonesia preparing the shows scheduled for November. Then it looks quite good that we will play in Vietnam for the first time and there is planned more. So Asia is a very good market for us. Of course we are still hoping for an interesting European tour as we do for the U.S.
Arcana Noctis: Do you think that "Solitaire" could be an opportunity to give birth to another live CD/DVD in the near future? And what other plans do you have for Edenbridge's next period excepting gigs and tours around the world?
Lanvall: It is very possible that we are recording the 3 concerts in Indonesia for a DVD release but it's still too early to talk about. Apart from touring there are no specific plans as the next album will not come out before 2012 as I have just a few bits written for it.
Arcana Noctis: In the end of this interview we did together, I'd like to thank you for this awesome moment we spent in your company and ask you to leave a final message for fans, listeners, readers and everyone interest in Edenbridge and its new opus "Solitaire"!
Sabine: Thanks to all our fans for keeping up with us. Hope you all have a listen to our new album!!!
Arcana Noctis: Thanks for the interview, Sabine and Lanvall!