INDIE BAND OF THE WEEK: EDEN’S CURSE

Rock is what RockRevolt is all about, and we love it when we can get in there and identify bands that will absolutely make your head bang long and hard. In our search, we came across this multi-national Melodic Metal group by the name of Eden’s Curse. Get ready, because these guys are gonna blow you away!

This band boasts members from four countries and two continents. Even since their inception in 2007, this band has had the world in their sights, and have consistently forged their way to continue to produce music that will ensnare your senses. This band’s path has not been without its shares of ups and downs. From brilliant releases, strategic touring with legendary bands (Stratovarious and Gus G. led Firewind), to drastic lineup changes, this band has seen it all, and they are still here, bringing out all the stops, and delivering the eternal promise of Eden’s Curse. Armed with a new lead singer, Nikola Mijic, Eden’s Curse released their latest album Symphony Of Sin in October 2013, proving that they are here and they intend to keep it that way.

We are pleased to announce Eden’s Curse as RockRevolt Magazine’s Indie Band of the Week. They have the perserverance, a business shrewdness that is unparalleled, and the sound that will make you take notice. We had a quick moment to speak with founder and bassist Paul Logue, and he definitely shed some light on some of the inner workings of this band.

How about a little back history on the band? I see that you formed the band back in 2006 with original vocalist Michael Eden. What inspired you or made you want to create this band?

I was in a Glasgow band for nine years and unfortunately we weren’t going anywhere. I continued to play on in a Van Halen tribute band, but all the while working on my songwriting craft. I then began working with David Readman of Pink Cream 69 on his solo album. I wrote a lot of songs for the project and played bass on the album and David introduced me to producer Dennis Ward, one of my bass and song writing idols. Those two guys gave me lots of encouragement. They told me that my material was really strong and that I should do something with it. I had been working on my songs in Scotland and sending files over the internet to them in Germany and it really opened my eyes and a world of possibility appeared before me. I started searching some musicians message boards on the net and found Michael. We hit it off and we sent out some ads for other players and found Thorsten Koehne amongst 50 applications. I knew Pete Newdeck from being on the same label and finally via Thorsten’s contacts Ferdy Doernberg (Axel Rudi Pell) completed the lineup. We recorded the whole album musicially before even meeting in person. Mike and I travelled to Germany to record vocals with Dennis and we signed to AFM Records pretty soon after the record was mixed.

There have been several personnel changes along the way, with drummer Pete Newdeck recently departing. I know Pete was a key part of your songwriting process. How tough is that on the band when you have a loss like that? Is it all part of the fine tuning process of the band truly becoming what you envisioned?

Pete developed into a key player, particularly over the last couple of records, in the respect that he participated a lot of great ideas towards the choruses, mainly. I still write 98% of the music, most of the lyrics and melodies, but we worked together really well as a team latterly. He is a big loss in the writing department for sure, but one I believe that we will cope without no problem. Besides, I’m not entirely sure whether that door is closed as Pete and I are very good friends and I’m sure he would write with me in a heartbeat. However, Steve Williams (Keys) and Nikola are very good writers, so it would be interesting to see what ideas they contribute.

Our new drummer John Clelland is a great player and adds and more progressive vibe with his playing.

It’s not fine tuning at all, basically people move on and want to do other things. In happens in the work place and it happens in bands. That’s life! In Pete’s case he had started his own band, Tainted Nation, a few years ago in which he sings and he wants to devote more time to them and his private commitments. Our previous keyboard player Alessandro Del Vecchio’s career as a mixing engineer took off and he had no free time to devote to Eden’s Curse and kindly stepped aside. So these are real positives for those two guys, and so we move on.

The singer situation is slightly different, as Michael quit and we fired his replacement six months after him joining. I’ve read a few comments about us becoming a “revolving door” and there is no way on earth we wanted that to be the case, but you know what, our time is so precious now that we have become very careful about who we decide to spend it with. Being in a band has to be fun, not an excercise in amateur dramatics!

Tells us a little about your newest album ‘Symphony of Sin’ for our readers who may be unfamiliar with it.

“Symphony Of Sin” is our fourth studio album and the first to feature new vocalist Nikola Mijic and new keyboard player Steve Williams. It’s us doing what we do best – Big Guitars, Big Drums, Big Vocals, Big Hooks and Big Production! I think we have grown as a band and we are very comfortable with what we do now. We just try and create music that makes us happy first and foremost and we seem to be blessed that our fans like it too. We are not the type of guys to grab crazy notions and change our style dramatically or anything, so we always set out with a blue print to make an album that sounds like Eden’s Curse. After all, we created this band because it was the type of music we wanted to hear and play. However, at the same time we will try and add new elements here and there. I think the album sounds like classic Eden’s Curse but with a flavour that no-one has ever tasted before. It’s fresh, it’s vibrant, it’s exciting and it’s 100% us.

EDEN’S CURSE – Evil & Divine (2013) //  Official clip // AFM Records  

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Is there a story behind the band’s name?

No, we just through together a bunch of ideas and out of the we liked the word “Eden” and searched for something to work with it. I found a book on Amazon called Eden’s Curse and it sounded perfect.

Who are some of the bands/artists who have influenced you and the band?

On starting Eden’s Curse I knew the style of music I wanted to create was the one I love the most and that the new band would be a blend of US rock bands like Queensryche, Dokken and even some Journey mixed with the European sonics that groups like Edguy, Pink Cream 69, TNT and Evidence One bring. There is also a big Malmsteen influcence from Thorsten and even some Rainbow/Purple and latterly we drew from bands like Firewind and Stratovarius and even Dream Theater. Music never stops influencing and inspiring us, but luckily I think when you play an Eden’s Curse track you know it’s us. That was something we wanted to keep from the third to the fourth album, especially with the personnel change, and I think it’s something we’ve succeeded in doing. You can’t go wrong if you retain the signature guitar sound and the songwriter.

Has the band ever performed here in the U.S.? If so, what was it like? If not, are there any talks of making it happen?

We appeared at MelodicRockFest 2 in Elgin, Illinois in 2010, alongside Winger, Y&T, Trixter etc. It was a mixed bag for us as our keyboard player was denied entry into the U.S. and deported, which resulted in our first live DVD and Album recording being scrapped. We also had last minute trips to immigration lawyers to fix our visas to allow us to play, which we did minus our keyboard player. We played very well and the reaction was superb. We’d love to come back to the USA but there aren’t many promoters that want to fly a band like us out there. The expense would be too much. However, in this business you never know what is around the corner.

I read on your Facebook page that in May you’re kicking off your UK Symphony of Sin tour. What can fans expect if they make it to one of those shows?

Well, it’s clearly promoting the new album and the new line up, so we will play a large chunk of it, but also celebrate all of the BIG Eden’s Curse songs that made us who we are today. Something old, something new, nothing borrowed and a little blues. (laughs)

On your 2008 album Second Coming, there was a duet “Angels and Demons” with Pamela Moore. I’m a huge fan of hers (I interviewed her for our magazine last year) and her work. How did that come together?

Pamela is a sweetheart and will be forever “our angel”! We needed a female voice, and being such huge fans of Queensryche she was at the top of our list. I mean it’s “Sister Bleeding Mary”! (laughs) We reached out and she was into it straight away and was an absolute pleasure to work with.

What lies ahead for the band?

World Domination? (laughs) Well, who quite knows, beyond the UK tour we have a couple of dates in the works for Europe later in the year and we also start working on ideas for the next album, so plenty to do and plenty of places to go!

Excellent! Any last words to wrap this up with for your fans and our readers?

Thanks to all our fans who continue to support us like only they can. See you all on the road in May !!!

 

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By:  Johnny Price, RockRevolt Magazine Lead Senior Journalist