Edenbridge is a symphonic metal band from Linz, Austria, founded in 1998 by guitarist and songwriter Lanvall. Before that, Lanvall recorded three solo albums for WMMS Records in Japan. In vocalist Sabine Edelsbacher and bassist Kurt Bednarsky, Lanvall found the right musicians to start his new band. Once, when performing for a record company, Lanvall defined Edenbridge's style as "Angelic Bombastic Metal", which according to him defines the band very well to this day, as their sound is bombastic and Sabine has an angelic voice.
In early 2000, after quick negotiations, the band signed a contract with Massacre Records. In September, their first album was released: "Sunrise In Eden", with a good response and considered one of the best debut albums of that year. The specialized press gave Edenbridge high marks in their reviews, and sales grew considerably. Their songs could be described as a mix between Nightwish and Edguy, with a touch of Dream Theater, characteristics that could be heard during the tour held in November 2000 with Axxis and Pink Cream 69.
A year later the second album: "Arcana", was ready to be released, produced by Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69 and Unisonic). The album cover was created by Markus Meyer, responsible for work with Nightwish, Blind Guardian and Atrocity, among other bands.
"Arcana" was considered an important work of something that we can classify as progressive melodic metal.
In January 2003, the band released another album, entitled: "Aphelion", which features vocalist DC Cooper (Royal Hunt, Silent Force) on the track "Red Ball in Blue Sky", where he performs a duet with Sabine.
The two had previously worked together on the Missa Mercuria project, released by Hellion Records.
In 2004 the band recorded a CD and DVD in Germany entitled: "A Livetime in Eden", released shortly before a new studio album. Also in 2004, the band released a new album: Shine.
In 2006, another new album was released by the band: The Grand Design, in the same year the band signed a contract with Napalm Records, and the first studio album for the label was released in 2008. In 2007, the band's then drummer Roland Navratil (Sirenia live member, Leaves' Eyes) resigned, citing "personal, musical and financial differences", in early July of the same year. Edenbridge launches a note on its official website welcoming the new members of the band, Sebastian Lanser (Obscura, Panzerballett) replacing Roland Navratil on drums and Robert Schoenleitner on guitar.
Robert had already played with the band on the last tour so far, through England and Asia. With this, Edenbridge once again has five members after five years as a quartet. On June 1, 2007: "The Chronicles of Eden", a double rarities compilation was released. The songs contained were chosen by the band's fans themselves through voting on the official Edenbridge website, in addition, it also features the band's singles and some new songs written especially for the album.
In April 2008, Edenbridge released their sixth new album: MyEarthDream, the album features the Czech Film Orchestra (comprising 65 musicians from the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Czech Opera Orchestra) with arrangements by Enrique Ugarte. On November 13, 2008, Edenbridge announced the departure of their previous bassist Frank Bindig. In an official press release, the band stated that "... Frank Bindig has decided to leave Edenbridge, due to his other projects. Edenbridge wishes Frank all the best for the future."
In April 2009, the band announced Simon Holzknecht (Serenity) as their new bassist and Dominik Sebastian (Thirdmoon) as their new guitarist. A few days later, on May 4, 2009, Edenbridge released their live album: "LiveEarthDream", which was recorded at several concerts in 2008. Limited to 1,000 copies, it could only be ordered exclusively through their fanshop on the band's official website. The band also announced the title of their seventh new album: Solitaire, which was released on July 2, 2010.
Solitaire did not enter the charts in Austria, but peaked at number 95 in Germany. In February 2010, Edenbridge announced that bassist Simon Holzknecht had left the band for personal reasons.
In early 2012, Edenbridge updated their official website for the first time in nearly a year, citing personal reasons for the band's recent hiatus. It was also announced that the band was working on a new album to be released in 2012. In 2012, the band also offered the opportunity for fans to help promote the orchestra's recordings of the new album, as this could become very expensive. As of late 2012, all orchestra and drum recording has been completed.
In 2013, Edenbridge signed a new global contract with the German company SPV/Steamhammer. In June 2013, the band released their eighth new album: The Bonding, which features the Vienna Klangvereinigung Orchestra under the direction of Georg Luksch, according to Lanvall's comment: "The Bonding' is the baby's connection with the mother shortly after birth, as well as a greater connection, in the main sense." The 15-minute title track features a memorable duet between Sabine Edelsbacher and Erik Martensson (WET, Eclipse).
On October 25, 2019, the tenth studio album, Dynamind, was released by Steamhammer/SPV.
On August 26, 2022, they released their eleventh studio album titled Shangri-La. The album is the band's first album under AFM records.
Albums
Sunrise in Eden (2000)
Arcana (2001)
Aphelion (2003)
A Livetime in Eden (2004)
Shine (2004)
The Grand Design (2006)
My Earth Dream (2008)
LiveEarthDream (2009)
Solitaire (2010)
The Bonding (2013)
The Great Momentum (2017)
Live Momentum (2017)
Dynamind (2019)
Shangri-La (2022)
Members
Sabine Edelsbacher – vocals (1998–present)
Arne "Lanvall" Stockhammer – 7 & 6 string guitars, keyboards, instruments, orchestration (1998–present)
Dominik Sebastian – guitar (2008–present)
Johannes Jungreithmeier – drums (2016–present)
Stefan Gimpl – bass (2017-present)
Touring members
Andreas Oberhauser – bass (2002)
Mike Koren – bass (2003) (Visions of Atlantis)
Guest musician
Stefan Model – bass (2003)
Former members
Kurt Bednarsky – bass (1998–2002)
Roland Navratil – drums (1998–2007)
Georg Edelmann – guitar (2000)
Andreas Eibler – guitar (2001–2004)
Frank Bindig – bass (2004–2008)
Martin Mayr – guitar (2005–2006)
Robert Schoenleitner – guitar (2006–2008)
Sebastian Lanser – drums (2007)
Max Pointner – drums, percussion (2007–2016)
Simon Holzknecht – bass (2009–2010)
Wolfgang Rothbauer – bass (2013–2016)
Source: Translated from the Portuguese Wikipedia