"Yet another in the growing list of female fronted metal bands?" I hear you cry. To answer this I would have to say yes and no. Unfortunately Edenbridge have never had that ‘wow’ factor for me that bands such as Nightwish, After Forever and Within Temptation have displayed. Lets face it, this band is always going to linger in the shadows of their more popular counterparts which is a bit of a shame because despite their lack of aforementioned ‘wow’ factor, Edenbridge are actually an fairly competent band that perhaps deserve to be graced with a bit more attention than they currently receive.

I must confess I am not familiar with much of Edenbridge’s material. I have listened to the odd song here and there but this is the first album of theirs I’ve bothered to listen to the whole way through.

Vocalist Sabine has an extremely powerful voice which is much warmer sounding than the operatics utilised by some of her peers in the world of female fronted metal. The only problem, and it is quite a big problem for me, is that she unfortunately tends to sound pretty much identical on every track.

As I have already stated, overall the band are very competent, leaving not much at all to be desired in terms of musicianship. The guitar solos are held back a tad, but when they do happen they are outstanding. Excellent production only goes to attenuate the rich, warm voice of Sabine and guitars which are crisp, powerful and put nicely to the front of the mix (If only Epica and Within Temptation could do the same!)

As for the songs themselves ‘Shine’, the title track of this album is without a doubt the best song to be found on here – an absolute belter of a track that features some great vocal harmonies. The semi-ballad ‘Centennial Legend’ contains some fantastic guitar work by Lanvall, the lead guitarist. We’re even treated to some folk influences on the track ‘Wild Chase.’ Indeed one cannot fault the range of influences on display with this album ranging from folk to balls out power metal to some more far eastern reminiscent sounds. Another of the highlights of this album would have to be the epic ‘The Canterville Ghost’ (Nicely introduced by the preceding track ‘The Canterville Prophecy’).

For those who may have grown slightly bored with acts such as Nightwish and Within Temptation I can wholeheartedly recommend this album as a breath of fresh air. My only fault lies with the Sabine’s vocals which sadly tend to lean towards the monotonous.

Standout Tracks:  Wild Chase, Centennial Legend, Shine.

Overall Score:   7.5 /10