Edenbridge

An Austrian symphonic metal group fronted by powerhouse vocalist Sabine Edelsbacher, Edenbridge deliver a cinematic blend of melody-driven power metal that incorporates elements of gothic, progressive, and neo-classical metal. Often backed by a full orchestra, the group's penchant for pairing pageantry, melody, and might evokes atmosphere-driven European power metal contemporaries like <a href="spotify:artist:2NPduAUeLVsfIauhRwuft1">Nightwish</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1O8CSXsPwEqxcoBE360PPO">Stratovarius</a>. Since debuting in 2000 with Sunrise in Eden, the band have seen their popularity increase both at home and abroad via career highlights like MyEarthDream (2008) and The Great Momentum (2017), the latter of which was their highest-charting LP to date.

Founded in 1998 as a studio project by guitarist and keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:7h5yHmKKRy4F5OrorpWAeQ">Lanvall</a>, bassist Kurt Bednarsky, drummer Roland Navratil, and vocalist Sabine Edelsbacher, Edenbridge recorded a demo in 1999 that caught the attention of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Massacre+Records%22">Massacre Records</a>, who released their debut album, Sunrise in Eden, the following year. Licensed to South America, North America, and Japan, the LP opened the door for the fledgling group, and heralded the arrival of second guitarist Georg Edelmann. Edelmann left the fold the following year and was replaced by Andreas Eibler, who made his studio debut on 2001's Arcana. The group's third full-length effort, Aphelion, arrived in 2003, with the concert album A Livetime in Eden and studio outing Shine, the latter of which drew comparisons to <a href="spotify:artist:5HA5aLY3jJV7eimXWkRBBp">Epica</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5nGIFgo0shDenQYSE0Sn7c">Evanescence</a>, arriving the following year.

2006's The Grand Design introduced some more progressive elements into the mix, and 2008's dark and ambitious, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Napalm%22">Napalm</a>-issued MyEarthDream saw Edenbridge joined by a full orchestra -- the <a href="spotify:artist:0m8SPeJ3LOEnfuzXf5LN9b">Czech Film Orchestra</a> appeared again on 2010's Solitaire. 2013's emotionally charged The Bonding arrived after a period of personal loss for both <a href="spotify:artist:7h5yHmKKRy4F5OrorpWAeQ">Lanvall</a> and Edelsbacher, and was Edenbridge's first outing for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22SPV%22">SPV</a>. In 2017, the band released The Great Momentum, which marked the arrival of new drummer Johannes Jungreithmeier. The group's tenth studio long-player, Dynamind, followed in 2019. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi