The latest CD from the Austrian symphonic metal band Edenbridge is My Earth Dream. They’ve had some lineup changes since their last album, including new drummer Max Pointner and new live guitarist Dominik Sebastian. The band’s guitarist/keyboardist Langvall fills us in on the band’s latest, whether they plan to play in the U.S., his musical beginnings and several other topics.

Chad Bowar: How has the band’s sound progressed from The Grand Design to My Earth Dream?
Langvall: A big change is the use of 7-string guitars. We tuned them down a half step to Bb to be able to use the Bb keys which sound much more melancholy and in the end heavier. This was a good decision, because due to the low guitars they blend much better with the frequencies of the orchestra, so you don´t always have to make a decision which one should be louder. During the songwriting I tried to keep one thing in mind: not to overdo the orchestral thing. So you will find parts where you find the riffs only with just drums and bass and when the rochestra comes in it sounds huge. This is bringing in a lot of diversification into the sound.

And you must not forget that in the end every song had between 100 and 200 tracks to mix. To come back to the orchestra, this was the most time consuming process in arranging. Sometimes you find yourself sitting a couple of hours for just 8 bars to orchestrate until everything is to your liking, but in the end it´s just the result that matters and this is overwhelming.

Read the complete Edenbridge Interview