Interviews

MR: Many fans of the band have their personal favorite Edenbridge album. Was the writing and recording for each album approached the same way or differently? Was there a particular sound that you were trying to achieve for each one?

Lanvall: Well, I always have concrete ideas concerning the sound for an album when I´m producing it. Dennis Ward, who is responsible for the engineering and the mixing can perfectly convert them. My goal for the songwriting and producing is that every album should be different and I think when you look at our 3 albums, we’ve achieved this.

MR: I notice that the new album has more of a return to a heavier guitar sound and is much faster paced than Arcana. Was there a conscious decision to make Aphelion a heavier album than Arcana?

Lanvall: No, because I don´t make up my mind in advance how the album should be. I let the inspiration flow and after a year there is a result. This time, the songs needed a heavier guitar sound but this doesn´t mean that there are less keyboards. There are also more string arrangements than in the past.

MR: With a female vocalist (Sabine), and with her vocal style, I'm sure you must get tired of hearing about all the Nightwish comparisons. How do you feel about that?

Lanvall: Yeah, you´re right, I´m pretty tired about those comparisons and I don´t wanna comment on them anymore. I’ve said this a thousand times and when some people can´t hear the differences, I don´t give a fuck anymore.

MR: Does Sabine have any formal vocal training or is her talent natural?

Lanvall: Sabine is more or less a natural talent, although she took lessons in the past. Most of them were based on relaxing and breathing techniques. I think Sabine is a singer you recognize by the first note she sings.

MR: Could you give us a quick history of the current band members? (i.e. previous bands and/or musical experience).

Lanvall: Well there is not so much to say because none of them ever played in famous bands before (ha,ha). Andi and Roland played in a band together before Roland joined Edenbridge in 98. Andi came to Edenbridge in 2001. Sabine sang in an all-girl band before, but this also was nothing big. I had my solo career before, releasing 3 albums between 94 and 97.

MR: I would like to ask a few more questions about your previous solo work. How would you describe it in comparison to what you are doing with Edenbridge now? Why did you abandon the solo work? Do you think there may be a time when you may do more solo work again?

Lanvall: My solo albums were primarily instrumental symphonic guitar rock albums. A kind of rockier Mike Oldfield style, but totally different. I also had some big church choirs on 2 of them. When my solo deal ran out in 97 I wanted to bring Edenbridge forward and put my solo project on ice. At the moment, I´m working on my 4th solo album, which might be finished this summer. The album will be totally orchestral, written for an orchestra, so it´s a combination of orchestra, my guitar playing and rock/metal elements.

MR: How is the search going for a new bass player? What kind of person are you looking for?

Lanvall: We are currently searching for new one. We will audition 2 guys from Germany soon. What kind of person ? Well, the guy should be playing like hell (ha,ha) and should perfectly fit in with us.

MR: Are you the main songwriter for the band? Do any of the other members contribute as far as music and/or lyrics?

Lanvall: Yes, I´m the only songwriter for Edenbridge, both music and lyrics. The others don´t write songs, except Andi, but he has a different background concerning his songs and those songs don´t fit into Edenbridge.

MR: It seems very trendy now for metal bands to use female vocals especially in the Gothic metal genre. What do you feel are the advantages of using a female lead singer over a male one as far as your vision for Edenbridge?

Lanvall: I´ve been working together with female singers since 1994. Sabine entered in the pre-project out of which Edenbridge developed in 1996 and at that time it wasn´t that popular to be working with female singers in metal. But I couldn´t imagine Edenbridge with a male singer anyway.

MR: How have the sales been for Sunrise In Eden and Arcana so far?

Lanvall: Great. We had a perfect start with “Sunrise in Eden”, which was one of the most successful debuts in the year of 2000 concerning melodic metal and could top those sales with “Arcana”.

MR: In what parts of the world do you find the biggest Edenbridge fans?

Lanvall: Well, we´re glad to have enthusiastic fans all around the world, but Brazil, Korea, Japan and Germany are the biggest markets.

MR: How has the new album, Aphelion been received so far?

Lanvall: Great. The reactions from the fans have been wonderful.

MR: Will there be a tour in support of the new album? Any chances of a North American tour?

Lanvall: Yeah, we will go on triple-headliner tour with Sirenia and Trail of Tears in May. The tour will cover Scandinavia, Germany, Holland, Austria, France and Italy. Then it´s very possible to go on a South American tour in June, but this is not firm yet. Also, our Japanese company wants to bring us over this year. Concerning North America, I don´t know, but it doesn´t look that good at the moment.

MR: What have been some of the best live experiences that you've had so far with Edenbridge?

Lanvall: Definitely our co-headlining gig on the first day of the “International Busan Rock Festival” in front of 20.000 fans last year. It was unbelievable standing in front of such a big crowd. This gig was also broacasted by a cable-channel in a lot of parts in Asia.

MR: In the live situation, do you play keyboards onstage or do you bring a keyboard player on tour with you? Do you use any other musicians live that are not used in the studio?

Lanvall: I´m playing guitar. The keyboards come from midi-files. In the studio I am also responsible for the keyboards and it might be weird, but we couldn´t find a good keyboard player here in Austria so we don´t care anymore. Also without a keyboardist, there are 5 people on stage and a lot of action (ha,ha).

MR: How important is playing live and touring to you? How does it compare to the creation process and working/recording in the studio?

Lanvall: Those are two different things. In the studio, we are striving for perfection. The live situation is something completely different. We try to move a lot on stage and we´re banging a lot (ha,ha). I think it doesn´t matter when there are some small mistakes in playing, the show is what matters and therefore I love playing live and also getting in touch with the fans after the concert.

MR: Do you foresee a time when you may want to experiment again with both male and female vocals, like Nightwish did on their Century Child album?

Lanvall: Well we had this experiment on the new album on the 9-minutes long track “Red Ball in Blue Sky” with D.C.Cooper (ex-Royal Hunt, Silent Force). D.C. is simply great and I wouldn´t deny that we will do such things also in the future. We´ll see what comes.

MR: Are there any plans for a DVD release? It would be a great way for fans around the world (like me!) that may never get a chance to see the band live, to experience Edenbridge in concert.

Lanvall: I love DVD´s, but I think it´s too early for us. But, we always have our handycam with us and when there is enough material, we will surely do a DVD.

MR: What direction do you see Edenbridge taking in the future? What are your personal and musical goals for the band?

Lanvall: My goal is to bring this band as far as possible, that´s what I´m working on day by day. Musically, Edenbridge should develop from album to album. The next album is scheduled for end of 2004. I think the style will remain the same, cause that´s what people love us for but there will always be room to experiment like in the past.

MR: Do you have any last words for your fans out there and readers of Metal Reviews?

Lanvall: Thanks for your support and visit our hompage www.edenbridge.org for all the news, concerts and so on.

MR: Thanks again so much for answering our questions.

Lanvall: Thanks for the interview!

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