Edenbridge - A chat with Lanvall.
Edenbridge just released the album MyEarthDream, which got a positive review on Metalrage. Still, questions remained unanswered. Fortunately, we were able to ask a few things to Lanvall, who handles guitar and keyboard duties. And being the main writer of the material, he is the obvious choice to conduct this interview with.
How are reactions so far on the new material?
"Absolutely fantastic, thank you."
The tour with Rage is almost at an end. How did the fans of Rage react towards you?
"Well, this was not always easy of course. The reactions were good, but the fan bases are totally different. I thought Rage had done something with an orchestra, we also did so, so maybe there is some kind of connection. Well, in the end it was important to tour all over Europe and you cannot always find packages where you totally fit in."
'My Earth Dream' marks the first time you worked with an orchestra. Is this what you will continue to do on the next albums?
"I hope so. Edenbridge´s music was always symphonic and bombastic and this can only result in working with a real orchestra. I have learned a lot of things in connection with an orchestra this time and I would love to write another album where a real orchestra is playing on."
How does this effect on you playing live? Half of the material must be on tape.
"Yes, that´s right. All our orchestra, keyboard and choir stuff comes off harddisc, but who cares? You could never afford to play a tour with a real orchestra so this has to come from tape anyway. We have 2 guitar players on stage and the live focus is different, anyway. I know bands who have a keyboarder on stage who doesn´t play, cause all the stuff is coming from tapes. We don´t cheat, the people who are on stage play live."
Do you have the ambition to write an entire score for a movie?
"Of course, this would be another big dream, working in the movie industry. I think I have proved I can do this with our new album and there are a lot more things to come."
You do release a lot and seem to have no lack of inspiration. Where does the inspiration come from?
"Well, the output has gone back a bit. We released a lot of albums within the first 5 years but you cannot do an album like “MyEarthDream” every year, especially when you are the only songwriter. I need at least one year to write all the music and then the whole recording process starts, so it´s basically a period of 2 years from one album to the next one.
It´s not always easy to find inspiration, especially not when you do a lot of touring. The best thing for me is to be out in nature. I love skiing in winter and mountain hiking in summer, this is the best to get your mind free and load the batteries."
As your career progresses, your music is getting more and more complex. Could this be one of the reasons why many band members, mainly drummers, have left the band? Because they couldn’t keep up with the music?
"Haha. I wouldn´t say that our music is getting more complex, I think it´s getting heavier and more symphonic which doesn´t mean it´s getting more complex. It´s a natural process. About the drummer thing: We split with Roland because of many reasons, but one was surely the music, that´s right. Roland likes it simple and I don´t think he could manage to play some stuff on the new album. But don´t misunderstand me, that doesn´t mean that he´s a bad drummer. Absolutely not. Sebastian was just a member for a short period of time. He played on the new album in a fantastic way, but when he heard we would be touring for such a long time he didn´t want to stay, so we had to search again and found Max."
According to the tour dates on your webpage, you haven’t played in Holland since 2003. When are we going to see you perform in Holland?
"This is a real pity and I don´t understand why there wasn´t a show in Holland on this tour. I can only say I always enjoyed playing in Holland and we would love to come back as soon as possible."
Thanks for the interview, Lanvall.