The Bonding is the 8th studio album from Austria’s Edenbridge, and it’s very much an album in the modern symphonic/gothic metal style.
Fans of Nightwish, Xandria, or Within Temptation will find plenty to like here. All the required bases are covered, the ballads, the up tempo guitar driven tracks, the epic song arrangements, the use of contrasting male vocals, the orchestral and choral overlays scattered across the various tracks.
But this is not a simple case of ‘copy cat’ styling – Edenbridge bring their own uniqueness to the table and stamp this new album with their own touch. Sabine Edelsbacher’s vocals are a feature throughout, and the overall performance and playing across the entire album is first class.
For a quick glimpse of what’s on offer here there’s the first single Alight A New Tomorrow, but the highlight of the album is Into a Sea of Souls, a moving and beautifully constructed track. In contrast, the fifteen and a half minutes of the epic title track The Bonding seem to somehow drag, and never rise to the heights that might be expected. It’s a slightly disappointing end to an album that is well worth the time to check out.
The Bonding is out through Steamhammer Records
Track Listing:
- Mystic River
- Alight A New Tomorrow
- Star-Crossed Dreamer
- The Invisible Force
- Into A Sea of Souls
- Far Out of Reach
- Shadows of My Memory
- Death Is Not the End
- The Bonding
