Edenbridge - Aphelion (2003)

Edenbridge's third album is possibly a bit heavier than their first two, but it's pretty much what one would come to expect from them by now - graceful, dignified metal, with Sabine Edelsbacher's lovely voice once again flying in all the right places. What's more, in the concluding "Red Ball In Blue Sky", she's joined by one of the best male vocalists in metal, D.C. Cooper. Now that's a great match.
Edenbridge songs (usually written by main man Lanvall) are not the kind that are instantly catchy, or jump out at the listener; you don't find any three-word choruses in them.  They glide along, changing keys, diving gently and then rising to the sky, so much of it being rewarding for the listener who really concentrates and takes in what they're doing. This does mean that it can be hard to pick particular songs out from the pack; I'll mention "Farpoint Anywhere" and "As Far As Eyes Can See" (Edenbridge is also one of the few metal bands which is naturally deft at ballads), but there's so much to like here, as usual. They really are an enchanting band.

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