Any decent football manager, or Roy Hodgson, knows that having a settled squad of players is crucial. The higher the turnover of personnel, the less cohesion a team will have, leading to poor performances and inconsistent results. Although it’s tempting to say the same logic also applies to the line-up of a great band, melodic metallers Eden’s Curse consistently defy any such notion, ringing the changes with each release but seemingly always emerging stronger.
Since 2013’s masterful ‘Symphony of Sin’, drummer Pete Newdeck has been replaced by Code of Silence’s John Clelland, while Christian ‘Chrism’ Pulkkinen is in for keyboard player Steve Williams. The good news, though, is that Nikola Mijic, the band’s third and best singer, returns following an outstanding bow three years ago.
Most importantly, founding members Paul Logue and Thorsten Koehne are still present in the starting line-up, while Newdeck remains as their super-sub songwriting collaborator. Having said that, the first two tracks on ‘Cardinal’ do make you wonder if the constant upheaval has left the band facing a relegation battle.
Prophets of Doom is Eden’s Curse by numbers, its drawn out, underwhelming chorus failing to hit the back of the net like a Trinity or Masquerade Ball. Sell Your Soul - a cookie cutter AOR offering - delivers clumsy lyrics like ‘the grass ain’t always evergreen’ and references the devil in a way that doesn’t sit right over a soft rock background. Fortunately, form is temporary, class is permanent.
As soon as The Great Pretender’s growling riff, twinkling keys and power-packed backing vocals stride onto the field, it’s clear Eden’s Curse have warmed up and are ready to play. From there they don’t miss the target once on a record that’s their most stylistically diverse, technically mesmerising and, at times, heaviest to date.
The riffy juggernaut of Messiah Complex recalls Dream Theater’s Lost Not Forgotten, all exotic Egyptian scales, incendiary bass drums and a knife-wielding refrain delivered with a snarl by Mijic. In contrast, the mainstream pop-rock of Unconditional – a duet with Leaves’ Eyes vocalist Liv Kristine - sparkles like a lovestruck Within Temptation and Find My Way, an immense ballad that resembles a more adventurous Guardian Angel, sees Mijic exuding the kind of spine-tingling emotion and soul his predecessors lacked.
Inventive arrangements and scintillating instrumental passages abound as the band’s progressive side takes centre stage. From Kingdom of Solitude – elasticated Living Colour/Extreme funk riffage, stabbing Toto jazz chords, terrace backing vocals and a cosmic chorus – to Saints and Sinners’ waves of keys, drums, guitars and hooks, genre boundaries and structures are kept at a minimum.
Chrism is crucial to this sonic growth and puts in a superb performance. An endless bag of tricks, he’s formed a delightful partnership with Koehne that sees the pair bouncing stinging solos off each other, delivering a thrilling array of textural counter melodies and locking into some exceptional lightning runs.
The best song, though, is saved for stoppage time. A seven minute culmination of everything that’s preceded it, Jericho is an epic combination of Rainbow’s Stargazer and Dream Theater’s Pull Me Under with hints of Iron Maiden and Metallica. It’s a flawless composition and the bands undoubted masterpiece.
Some fans may be disappointed Eden’s Curse have outgrown their Dokken, Pink Cream 69 template, but this is stunningly executed hard rock and progressive metal propped up by world class melodic hooks and a massive, densely layered sound. No need for extra time or penalties to determine this result. “Unbelievable Jeff,” as Chris Kamara might say.
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