Edenbridge – Set The Dark On Fire
Edenbridge – Set The Dark On Fire
SPV/Steamhammer
16/01/2026
Review by Jon Deaux
7.5/10
I have listened to Symphonic Prog Metal long enough to know the drill: you get your operatic female vocalist, your classically-trained guitarist moonlighting as a keyboard wizard, and enough orchestral flourishes to score three Lord of the Rings knockoffs. Edenbridge’s twelfth album arrives like a phoenix from the ashes (their metaphor, not mine.) Though I’d argue actual phoenixes have better job security than most Symphonic Metal bands. Assuming phoenixes file taxes.
The Austrian quintet has been at this since the late ’90s, meaning they survived Nu-Metal, the dominance of Metalcore, and whatever Djent was supposed to be. That in itself deserves respect. “Set The Dark On Fire” sees them reuniting with Steamhammer/SPV and they’ve emerged heavier. Not Meshuggah heavy, and they haven’t suddenly turned into Nightwish snarling through distortion pedals either. It’s just heavier for them.
The voice of Sabine Edelsbacher possesses that crystalline European quality to which American singers spend thousands trying to emulate. She’s talking about going from “deepest depths to loftiest heights,” (which is Symphonic Metal code for “I can actually sing, not just wail dramatically.”)
The singles tell you all you need to know. “Cosmic Embrace” builds like a proper epic, replete with tempo shifts designed to keep the prog nerds engaged and annotating on forums at 2AM. “Where The Wild Things Are” goes full Celtic and introduces us to Aleen, some earth goddess character who embodies primal feminine power. I’ve written worse in work emails. At least they’re not singing about dragons again.
And there’s the title track, which for them is one of their fastest songs ever, probably tops out at about 180 BPM, which in actual Metal terms is more like a brisk jog. But, for a band that does regularly employ swarmandals and monochords, (I had to look those up too and promptly fell down a Wikipedia hole for forty minutes.)
But the real centrepiece is “Spark Of The Everflame,” a thirteen-minute four-part epic that does everything Edenbridge does in miniature: the bombast, the introspection, the orchestral swells that sound like they raided the Vienna Philharmonic’s sample library. Lanvall loves these extended compositions where he can stretch out, indulge his prog tendencies and probably justify that monochord purchase to his accountant who definitely has questions.
But what most strikes me isn’t the heaviness or the production or even the dulcimer solos. It’s that after twelve albums, Edenbridge still sounds earnest. In an era where irony is default and sincerity gets you dragged on social media by people whose profile picture is an anime character, they’re singing about inner peace and transformation through fire and cosmic embraces without a trace of self-consciousness. Sabine literally says she wants to “touch with her voice because being touched is healing.” Try saying that at a thrash show.
This album never tries to be anything more than what it is – no genre-bending experiments, no desperate grab at relevance, no dubstep breakdown in track seven – just Edenbridge doing Edenbridge things, with heavier guitars and better production. Sometimes evolution doesn’t require revolution. Sometimes it just requires staying awake long enough to finish the mix and remembering where you saved the files.
Will “Set The Dark On Fire” change the haters’ minds? Absolutely not. If your take on Symphonic Metal is that it’s overblown Renaissance faire music for people who take D&D too seriously, nothing here’s going to make you feel differently. But if you’re one of us who loves theatrical excess of this genre, this hits the spot.
In a world of disposable content and algorithm-chasing mediocrity designed to hold your attention for exactly eight seconds before showing you an ad for something you definitely don’t need, Edenbridge are a breath of fresh air. It’s a fine Symphonic Metal record made by people who still give a shit and probably argue about monochord tuning at three in the morning.
TRACKLISTING:
01. The Ghostship Diaries
02. Cosmic Embrace
03. Tears Of The Prophets
04. Our Place Among The Stars
05. Set The Dark On Fire
06. Bonded By The Light
07. Divine Dawn Reveal
08. Lighthouse
09. Spark Of The Everflame – Let Time Begin
10. Spark Of The Everflame – The Winding Road To Evermore
11. Spark Of The Everflame – Per Aspera Ad Astra
12. Spark Of The Everflame – Where It Ends, Is Where It Starts
LINKS:
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