Presented by Rockfact Music Club & Jaunty Productions

Rockfact Music Club, Münchenstein,  Switzerland – 21.02.2023

The Austrian Symphonic Metal band Edenbridge released its eleventh album „Shangri-La“ last year. The went on tour to promote it properly with the Swiss support acts Deep Sun and Askara. I was glad that Rockfact Music Club was chosen for the exclusive Swiss concert and in front of the door. Usually they were very often at Z7 in Pratteln. At present carnival was happening and the gig was at a Tuesday night but that doesn’t matter because metal is always more important this date had been marked in the agenda for a long time. You shouldn’t miss such an opportunity. The first band started to perform 45 minutes later on stage after the door opening at 6:30 pm. Askara could inaugurate the evening and an intro sounded. Guitar player Benny and Bass player Elia stood on stage with arms wide open.

After that the first notes of „Identity“ rang out and singer Myriam joined her two comrades with drummer Emanuel. The four-piece presented their dark gothic metal with gothic touch in a crowded Rockfact and was welcomed with a warm applause. Benny and Elia switched sides at „Broken Wing“ so that all spectators could enjoy both musicians. Next song "Nocturne" was about fate being funny from time to time and life ain‘t perfect. "Dark Night of the Soul, Part 1" was presented to the audience with a reference to the associated video. The sound has been improved a bit because the band presented itself even stronger on stage this time. The melodic vocal parts by Miriam and the growls by Elia complemented each other in the dark sound. Their performance ended with „The Kings Song“ and they made a good impression as support act. Setlist Askara Intro Identity Viator By God Broken Wing Nocturne Dark Night of the Soul, Part 1 The Kings Song Afterwards the second band Deep Sun could enter the stage as second support act and play. The lights went out at 8:15 pm and their appearance started after a prologue as intro. The catchy „Dreammaster“ with memories of early Nightwish and launched quickly like a rocket, and singer Deborah Lavagnolo greeted the crowd. She smiled a lot and animated the spectators to clap along and dance in „Rogue“. Her operatic singing blended in perfectly into the melodic sound by keyboarder Thomas Hiebaum and guitarist Erik Dummermuth kicked ass with solos. A drum solo by Tobias occured after „For Eternity“ and it looked just great. However, it became a medley of  "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, "We will rock you" by Queen, "Run to the hills" by Iron Maiden, "Lift U Up" by Gotthard and a short excursion into the percussion with "Played-A-Life" by Safri Duo. During "Living the Dream" Debora addressed the words to the audience that one should enjoy life and use the message of the song. The last song "Euphoria" was played and therafter an outro rounded off the successful performance. Setlist Deep Sun Prologue Dreammaster Heroes Rogue For Eternity Schlagzeug-Solo Worship the Warship Living the Dream Euphoria End of the Show (Outro) After a short break it was time for headliner Edenbridge. The watch indicated 9:15 pm and the band began their set with „Live and let go“. What immediately stood out was guitarist Arne "Lanvall" Stockhammer sitting on a chair. Singer Sabine Edelsbacher explained that he has been suffering from health problems one week before the the tour started and that's why he‘ll do the gig sitting down. A great gesture from him to play live despite this adversity. Sabine showed a lot of joy during the performance and inspired the audience with her voice. Although the focus was on the current album "Shangri- La" from 2022, one also came to enjoy older songs that had a nice rocky impact and were a variety to the previous performances. Furthermore, you could better understand the development of the group and get to know their previous records. "On the other side" made the legs dance with its folk influences. The rhythm was made for it. "Hall of shame" had an interesting background. This song was about an emperor who walks naked through a palace and nobody says anything to him until a little child points it out. You would‘ve loved seeing his face. Lead guitarist Dominik Sebastian shone with his guitar solos and often sought contact with bassist Steven Hall. A short ballad followed with "Trauerngold" where the audience had to stretch their hands in the air and move from left to right. What I hadn't known was the fans favorite song „Paramount“ which singer Sabine introduced me. Sounded as good as the American film studio Paramount Pictures makes movies. Another highlight with much rock influence was played with "Somewhere else but here". After the medley of the songs "The greatest gift of all", "Bonding" and "Bonding II", Sabine and the rest of the members left the stage. The show was so well received that encore calls occured. For this reason they returned and played the two encores "Shine" and "Higher". Their gig was then over and the Austrians were adopted with a lot of applause. 100 minutes of playing time was worthy of a headliner and they left a fantastic impression. Their audio-visual spectacle made you forget time and space for a moment. Setlist Edenbridge Live and let go The call of Eden Mystic River A Light A New Tomorrow On the other side Shianatara Hall of shame Paramount Somewhere else but here The road to Shangri-La At first light Starlight reverie Skylines end The Greatest gift of all / The Bonding / The Bonding II Shine Higher After these performances, the merchandise corner of the bands was very busy and many items were bought by the visitors. A great Tuesday evening with great moments was enjoyed and a big thanks goes to Madeleine from Jaunty Productions. Livereport by Dominic Latscha