User:Branskylar/sandbox

EDEN is an American Industrial Metal/Electronic band founded in 2014 by Brian Ashland and Brandon Skylar in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. EDEN's current lineup consists of vocalist EDEN, guitarist Brian Ashland, guitarist Brandon Skylar, bassist Lisa Mansour and drummer James Schin.

Formation (2014-2016)
EDEN began as a story, created by Brian Ashland of Shadow Gallery fame, that depicts a re-imagining of humanity’s origins. The main character of the story, Eden, is a mysterious and alluring entity that helped shape the tides of history.

Stage Performance (2017-Present)
The band’s live show is one of visual and aural captivation. Eden leads the chaos and beauty with her blend of fierce power and magnetism, setting the tone from one entrancing moment to the next. The tribal-esque rhythms synthesized by drummer James Schin and the electrifying pulse of bassist Lisa Mansour compels the listener into motion and playfully manipulates the ebb and flow of energy in the room. Marrying to those rhythms, guitarist Brandon Skylar churns out percussive guitar lines to further ignite the auditory intensity. Breathing an atmosphere of wonder is Brian Ashland, who uses all the knowledge and tools a professional guitarist has in his arsenal to color the music with a swatch of ethereal melody. Affectionately referred to as “Beauty and the Beast”, Brian and Brandon play in perfect complement.

Musical characteristics and lyrics
The eponymous character Eden is embodied in this musical adaption, fronting a group of seasoned musicians whose music can scarcely be described with simple words. Some buzzwords typically associated with the act include: industrial, electronic, avant-garde and atmospheric.

The lyrical content of EDEN consists of elements from the story. It tells of the dark side of humanity, their fascination with the spiritual and their burning desire to know “Why…”

Imagery and Themes
Aesthetically, the band imbues modern high tech and post-apocalyptic themes into their dress, equipment and musical style to further illustrate the dark tone of the story. To accomplish this image, a luthier from Astoria, Queens named Dean Gordon was hired to build multiple guitars for the project.

Both in the studio and stage, Ashland and Skylar exclusively use their custom Virtus models from Dean Gordon Guitars.

"EDEN"
Ashland's first Virtus, aptly named "EDEN" is designed to look more natural and earthy, featuring a hand-picked slab of black pashaco wood as the body and a brushed maple neck (pictured below).

Influences
EDEN pulls its inspiration for heavier sounds from the likes of Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails and Rob Zombie, using the iconic marriage of rhythmic synths and overdriven guitars to lay the foundation of the rhythmic section. This technique is most prominently heard on tracks like "Adrenaline" and "DNR". Another large influence on the band's sound comes from the avant-garde stylings of Björk and the cerebral pulse of Massive Attack and Amethystium. More ambient and colorful chord phrasing can be heard on tracks like "Deep Blu" and "Katatonik", with Ashland using more spacial synths to provide audible "lighter-than-air" movements.