Artificial Eden: When Hard Rock Meets Progressive Metal

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We listened to the self-titled debut album by Artificial Eden. A record built on Hard Rock and Progressive Metal foundations.

The truth is that the Progressive style is perhaps one of the most impressive out there. There's constant change in every track, dynamics and odd timestamps. All this makes the music extremely interesting. Through this style, we're introduced to Artificial Eden, with their first, self-titled record.

A debut record should always have just one name

I've touched on this before, on what title a band's debut album should carry. In my opinion, the first record is the band's greeting to its listeners. The first handshake. The first contact you have with someone you don't know. That's why the title shouldn't carry too much baggage. The band will have plenty of time to 'tell' whatever stories it wants on future albums. But the first one, ideally, should be self-titled, bearing the band's own name. It's the only way to say to someone: 'Hi, I'm Jimi!'.

Artificial Eden aren't newcomers

Even though they just launched their first record, the band has quite a history behind it. They were originally formed in 2003. Drawing influences from hard rock and progressive metal, they soon started composing their first songs. As a result, in 2006 they released their first demo, made up of three tracks. A release that came out under the band's original name, which was Quadra.

In the years that followed, Artificial Eden took part in numerous festivals, building up and enjoying the support of many fans. Some notable moments for the band were opening for the Greek black metal band Rotting Christ, opening for former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno, and opening for the Swedish band Enforcer. Also, playing a live rendition of the song "Seven" by virtuoso guitarist Prashant Aswani and posting the video on YouTube, Mr. Aswani himself rushed to get in touch with the band to give his congratulations. Now that's a badge of honor!

Following that, the band's core members, Antonis Panagopoulos and Thanos Paparidis, worked closely together on the band's first full release, which includes six songs.

This point also marks the band's name change to Artificial Eden, which we believe reflects the creative direction the band's music is taking.

A debut album that certainly leaves a lot of promise

The record was released on October 16, 2020 by the German Boersma Records. On it, Artificial Eden laid down their credentials. From the very first listens, you understand there's quite a bit of potential here. This isn't a band that just claims progressive metal as its style, but one that actually puts it into practice with their playing. And I'd dare say they even manage to give the whole style a new lease on life.

On the music

There are plenty of interesting elements on the album. The rhythm section is the very definition of progressive. Constant changes in timestamps, pauses and emphasis on the upbeats. All of this serves as ammunition in the band's hands, aimed at giving us a wonderful musical experience.

Guitar-wise, the tones range from clean sounds with plenty of atmospheric effects to very polished, compressed, distorted sounds. All in all, a musical sensibility that carries pieces from the style, solos of artists such as Steve Vai and Prashant Aswani, but also of songwriters such as Steven Wilson. Beyond the sounds, there's a really lovely display of guitar technique that gives the music a different feel.

Everything comes together and locks in around the vocal melodies. Here the frontman doesn't just stick to clean vocals, but also shows off his skills on metal vocal lines. There are spots where he really 'goes up' in terms of pitch, throws in some grit, and gives the tracks another level of intensity. But in no case does the melodicism get lost.

In conclusion

The Artificial Eden is an excellent showcase of the band's potential. Their sound and prospects rightfully put them within striking distance of the big foreign bands of the genre. And to be clearer, Artificial aren't just a comparable band to the ones already out there in the firmament. In my opinion, this is a band that can carve out a very significant role in the goings-on of this particular style. And they can pull that off with their music and songwriting chops, right from their very first record.

I hope I get the chance to catch the band live at some point. It'll be really interesting to see firsthand how they build their sound. A sound that, on the record, is extremely well-crafted (both production-wise and in terms of composition). Being able to listen to a band's work and actually pick out every note and every dynamic shift is something I consider very important. Even more so when the composition is this intricate and full of shifts. Artificial Eden nail exactly that. To hear the sound and feel as if you're the one standing behind every instrument.

So, see you at their future shows. Though I'll also be waiting with huge anticipation for their next releases.