EDENBRIDGE – Shine

This world is filled with things no one really needs. You have the obvious – George W. Bush, whole milk, Smirnoff Ice, etc., and once in a while someone brings new things out to the people that also fit this mold. This album is one such thing.

Being the band’s fourth studio album, one would usually expect the band to have managed to create a style and sound of their own, but instead, this album is once again way too long-lasting, filled to the brim with something that sounds like the leftovers from the tapes Tuomas Holopainen made when he first founded Nightwish. The melodies are dull and of the Sarah-Brightman-singing-lonely-and-dead-drunk-after-a-night-at-the-theatre kind, the arrangements are quasi-symphonic and more Finnish sounding than a frog trying to talk human language, the playing is scaringly uninspired, and the vocals of Sabine Edelsbacher never exceed average.

Although the above statements were very harsh, there are a few tolerable parts in this album. The opener and self-proclaimed “hit single” (well) “Shine” is okay, and if one looks away from the annoyingly bad attempt at Queensryche-style riffing, and a predictable chorus of the kind you know before it’s even played the first time, this is a decent track. Likewise with the quite cool Irish-sounding violins in “Wild Chase,” and the epic “The Canterville Prophecy” isn’t too bad either.

Other than that, this album was a real belly flop.

If you still want to learn more about the band, after reading this review, the band’s Web site can be found here