Every once in a while an album comes along that just hits the exact right spot, and so it is with the debut album from multi-national newcomers Eden's Curse. Well I say newcomers but the majority band have been around for a while in various guises, it's just that, with their self titled debut effort, all of the boxes seem to have been ticked and from the reviews the album has been receiving it isn't just the HRH staff that are impressed. We caught up with bassist, and song writer, Paul Logue for the low down....

 

 

Eden's Curse

 

Hi Paul. To kick things off, for people who may be unaware of Eden‘s Curse, would you care to introduce yourself and the rest of the band to the readers of HardRockHouse?

 

PL - “Hi Dougie, sure thing! I am Paul Logue, from Glasgow, Scotland and I am the bass player and the principle songwriter. Fronting the band, from Indiana, USA is Michael Eden on vocals and pest control. The Lord of the Strings himself - Thorsten Koehne from Bielefeld, Germany on Guitar. Ferdy Doernberg from Hannover on Keys and one liners and last but no means least Pete Newdeck, skin beater and skin feeler!”

 

The story of how the pair of you (Paul and Michael) got together, musically, is pretty interesting. How easy was it to build a working relationship when, geographically, you were so far apart?

 

PL - “It was as easy as setting a rat trap! The world is a lot smaller in this day and age thanks to the wonders of the internet. Michael and I have pretty much spoken for 5 days a week, over Skype for the last year and a half, almost up to four hours per day. We both were the previous driving forces in our bands and when two guys like that starting knocking their heads then ya better take cover !!! We put in some serious hours that no-one knew about, not even the guys in the band, and Mike would stay up until the wee hours of the morning to talk to me - sometimes not even getting to bed until 7am his time. Through sheer dedication and determination we were able to make this glide along almost effortlessly.”

 

  

 

Michael Eden                               Paul Logue

 

Carrying on from there, what was the process for writing the songs for the album and did you have a direction in mind from the outset or was the writing more organic?

 

PL - “The writing process all starts here in my head. I write all of the songs, first the music, then the lyrics. I then send a scratch MP3 demo off to Mike with my crappy singing on it and from there on in we work on the lyrics that I have written and Mike pretty much takes my melodies and makes them his own. He trusts me implicitly as a song writer and so far the process has worked very, very well. The other guys contribute also here and there, but in the main the songs are mostly all my ideas. As far as direction goes, what I write is purely from the heart and purely me. It's riff orientated Melodic Rock / Metal - call it what you want? I don't try to sound like any particular band or sound but of course I have influences and I think personally they are quite easy to pick up on.”

 

How much of the album was actually written before you got the rest of the band in place?

 

PL - "Judgement Day" and "After The Love Is Gone" were the only two completed songs. "Fly Away" was also written - but, I had no lyrics except for the chorus. Once the lineup was in place I set about finishing "Fly Away" and writing the rest of the songs.”

 

And how easy was it to find other musicians compatible with your vision for Eden’s Curse?

 

PL - “It was very easy. The main requirements were simply outstanding musicianship and also having access to your own recording setup… that was going to be the only way we could make it work. Pete Newdeck was a phone call away and jumped on board immediately. Searching for a guitarist was entertaining - we placed an advert on a popular rock website and we received some fifty plus applications. It took a week and a bit to go through all the MP3's and emails, songs and biographies and so on. Once we heard Thorsten the search was over. We were surprised when Ferdy came on board, as he’s a musician of the highest calibre. He loved the music but I think it's fair to say he's been even taken back by how well the record turned out.”

 

The trio that you recruited to round out the band all turn in superlative performances on the album. What do you feel are the strengths each brings to the band?

 

PL - “Pete is rock solid, without being too flashy. He knows exactly when to hold the groove and exactly when to fill it up. He’s also a great singer and brilliant producer in his own right. Along with Mike he was always a guy I turned to for his opinion on the new material and he was extremely supportive in what I was writing. I began to grow to understand what the guys liked to hear as basically everything I write they loved! A guy like that in the band is worth his weight in gold. Ferdy joined very late in the proceedings after all the songs had been written. However, he was able to pen the intros "Book Of Life" and the unbelievable heart stopping "The Bruce" which is cinematic scoring at it's finest. He is an unbelievable talent and he hears things in a different light to a lot of musicians. I have played with a lot of great keyboard players over the years but Ferdy Doernberg is without doubt the finest I have ever heard. I rate him up there with the Jordan Rudess' and Andre Andersen's of today!”

 

“What can I say about Thorsten? Finding this guy was like finding a diamond in a dung heap. He is without doubt one of the finest guitar players I have ever heard and the best guitarist I have ever worked with. Add in the fact that the guy has no ego and is one of the most down to earth easy going dudes you could ever wish to meet - then you have an all round great guy. This guy is going one way and that is straight to the top. I don't think there is a single song on this record where he does not cause me to catch my breath. His playing is incredible and I find it hard to believe that he is relatively undiscovered. Believe me, the world will know about Thorsten and his abilities by the time we're finished!” 

 

     

 

                                                      Pete Newdeck                           Thorsten Koehne                       Ferdy Doernberg

 

 

PL - “100% input! They were given my demos and told "do your own thing guys". Obviously there are the odd instances where, with my producers hat on, we discussed a little change here and there, but in the main these guys knew what would work for these songs and delivered them. At no point did I stress you must do this. I love being surprised and everyone of them surprised me with killer takes time and time again. They took my pencil sketches and painted the Mona Lisa, basically!”

 

Dennis Ward was responsible for working alongside you on the recording of the album, what in particular did he bring to the table that you were able to incorporate into the finished CD?

 

PL - “Obviously, as he mixed the record he is responsible for the overall sound, but on the production front I think his main input came during the vocal recordings. The coaching he gave Mike resulted in him singing like a man possessed and producing what I think is one of the best vocal performances that I’ve yet heard on a debut album in the last ten years! He was also fantastic at throwing us ideas for little ad-lib parts, instead of keeping everything structured and mirrored, to make different verses exciting. That's something I'll carry into my writing forever now.”

 

Again with the geographic spread of the band, and given how busy Dennis is these days, how did the recording process shape up?

 

PL - “For the music part of the record we all recorded our parts at our own home studios, with Dennis being kept in the loop via email/mp3s. He is also an email or a phone call away. We had completed all the music by the time Mike and I flew to Germany to record the leads. Dennis was also offering production ideas that could be altered here and there when it came to mixing, so it worked great. We trust Dennis 100% and we didn't feel we needed to be there in on the mix. He mixed each song and sent us an MP3. He works great that way and he knew what we wanted and delivered it.”

 

Of all the songs on the album perhaps the most surprising is the inclusion of the Steelheart track ‘We All Die Young’. Given that the song has already been released both by Steelheart and as part of Rock Star soundtrack what made you decide to cover it?

 

PL - “It just came up in conversation one day when Mike and I were talking. We both loved it and I knew he used to do the old Steelheart tunes years ago with a local band of his. We discussed it and threw it into the list with the idea of using it as a bonus. When we heard the job that Mike had done and then latterly Dennis, everyone kept saying that we should not keep it off the record, and that's what we decided eventually. I am glad we did. We also sent Mike Matjevic a copy and he gave it the thumbs up and his permission to print the lyrics. That was cool!”

 

I understand that, initially, the album was due to be released via MTM before the deal fell through, what happened there?

 

PL - “We walked off the label. We’d a real fight on our hands with MTM. They never seemed to be happy with anything we were doing. The artwork, the release date - everything was a major hassle to them and all along we keep hearing rumours that "this band haven't been paid" or "such and such has left the label" so we decided to go right to the top. I asked Mario what was going on. He admitted that they were in financial trouble and might not be around come August. So we fired a few arrows in a few sorry asses, packed up our Wig Wam's, gathered the tribe and marched on out of Liar's Lane, leaving no litter behind.”

 

Once you left MTM how quickly, and easily, were you able to hook up with AFM?

 

PL - “That took about two weeks. We talked to several other labels, well make that "tried to be bullied" by several other labels. Everyone wanted a slice of the pie, but it wasn't Happy Hour at the Cafe Eden! AFM were our number one choice all along and when we made the call to Markus Wosgien he ensured that him and his team fell over backwards to sign the band; we were glad he did. Thanks for the Ferrari Markus!!”

 

Looking forward what are your hopes, and realistic expectations, for the album?

 

PL - “Ultimately, I hope it sells. I hope it sells enough copies that AFM ask us to do a second album ….- I hope so as I have 30 demos already. If we get to tour then that would be amazing, but I have always said success for me is if we are asked to make a follow up. Everything above that would be a bonus.”

 

Gonna move away from Eden’s Curse a little now – Paul you were involved for a long time with Cry Havoc, and likewise Michael was involved with Seven Ten – are those something you hope to revisit again in the future or are they over and done with now?

 

PL - “There is no point in flogging a dead horse. Cry Havoc is done, Seven Ten is done as well.” 

 

You were also involved heavily with David Readman’s new album; how easy do you find it to split time between different projects?

 

PL - “I recorded David's album even before Eden's Curse was formed. Working with David gave me a new found confidence that I didn't get in Cry Havoc. Suddenly people were saying, man you are a really great writer. It spurred me on to start a new tour de force!”

 

Moving back to Eden’s Curse before we wrap things up, do you see the line up as it is now as permanent and will we see any live shows from the band?

 

PL - “Of course. It is 100% a band and this is the band's lineup. Michael and I might be the driving force and the guys making the business decisions behind the scenes, but believe me when I say that Pete, Thorsten and Ferdy are firmly behind the vision we have created and enjoying every minute of the ride! I love working with everyone of those guys and so far I haven't heard any complaints. There is no dictatorship within Eden's Curse at all and all ideas are accepted and welcomed. We have a debut album that has been sensationally received by the world's press and we have to remember not to deviate from what has earned us that reputation - hard rocking riff orientated songs!”

 

“As for live shows. Yes, it will happen. Whether that comes as a festival or a tour is down to sales, but it will happen.”

 

And further down the line are you already writing for and planning for a second album or is it too soon to even think about that?

 

PL - “It is a little soon, but anyone that knows me will know that I write all the time. I became a Father for the first time in February of this year, so I wrote a whole load of songs - in fact I have around 30 demos already, to try and get ahead of the game for when it comes around. We'll finish the press over the next few months and we have a couple of things to look at like our "Making of Eden's Curse" DVD that we need to put together plus a little surprises, then come early 2008 I will dig out the demos and go through the one's that will be keepers. There are a few really, really great ideas too, and we already have a working title for the second record. I can picture the off the wall Thomas Ewerhard artwork already !!! I hope that answers your question…”

And finally, the standard HardRockHouse question is there anything further you would like to mention that we haven't covered so far?

 

PL - “OH YES !! How could I forget, Dougie? - ahem (clears throat) - You wanted to ask me was “Fallen King” a dig at my Scottish roots or serious, did you? I did laugh when I read that (in the review!!). If it was a dig at my Scot's roots it would have been called "Haggis Munching Jock Bass Boy" or something like that. "The Bruce" and "Fallen King" were penned about King Robert The Bruce and his lowest moments in his life when he was ready to give it all up. His wife and kids had been captured and tortured and the king was in hiding in the caves off Northern Ireland. Can you imagine how low he must have felt? So there you go, Dougie. Thanks anyway, mate for the support!! All the best to the readers and I hope you guys dig what we have created. For up to date news keep an eye out at www.EdensCurse.com"

 

 

Eden's Curse self titled debut album is out now on AFM Records. You can read the HRH review of the album by clicking here and, as Paul mentioned above you can find out more about the band by visiting their website at www.EdensCurse.com