Eden On Fire is an original, melodic, symphonic, metal band from Erie, Pennsylvania. They released their debut album, Unresolved, on November 1, 2024.
The current members include: Amy Gould, lead vocalist and keyboard player; Connor McCray, lead guitarist; Scott Hagerty, bass guitarist; and Steven Starvaggi, the drums and percussion player.
Eden On Fire is succeeding where so many other metal bands are failing. The others place a female out front, but use male growling or require a female to growl or scream, to make the band look tougher. What they need is a vocalist like Amy Gould. She is a natural. Her rough voice reminded me of Paul Stanley of Kiss singing “Love Gun,” on the Eden on Fire song, “Love Bomb.” In fact, the “Unresolved” album kinda reminded me of that era of Kiss. Powerful, upfront, take no prisoners, no compromises, heavy metal. “Love Bomb,” may be the best song on the album, in terms of establishing Amy Gould and the band’s place in the myriads of female-fronted metal bands in the galaxy.
To put it bluntly, Amy Gould is the real deal. She has worked the floor and stages throughout Pennsylvania and the Midwestern area of the USA; learning her trade and building a network of fans, the hard way. I grew up in the Midwest. The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame is in Ohio for one reason; Cleveland and the Midwest were early supporters of rock and metal music. It could have been located in New York or California, but everyone knows that modern rock and metal was built and supported the most, in the Heartland of the Midwest. The people I grew up with in Ohio, bought the tickets and attended the concerts, just about every weekend, throughout the year. There was not a lot to do in the Midwest, and people there loved music, especially rock and metal. Amy sings with that authenticity, of knowing how long she has travelled and work to get where she is.
And “Brigade,” is another great example of Amy and the band’s commitment to pure, genuine, metal rock. The song opens with fast played drums and keyboards, before the electric lead guitar brings the metal to the soundscape. Then, Amy sings what I’ve been talking about, “It’s not an easy road to travel on alone. It’s even harder when discord’s your chaperone. Built up a wall of stone, a fortress on the path. Until a castle stood and held in all the wrath. Iron and stone is forged to make the heart seem strong. Nothing can penetrate, to no one will belong. Armed and protected from all who would invade. Until the heart is stone, a victim to its own brigade.” The metal guitars, bass and drums from this band support and give her power. She continues, “It’s not an easy life to hide behind the walls. The heart cries out for more rejecting all its calls.” An almost 6-minute song, as an ovation, to the difficult work of trying to break free and open your heart to the world.
“Love Bomb (Remastered),” also reminds me of early, raw AC-DC. Just straight ahead rock n’ metal, like it used to be when I was growing up. This is the kind of music so many bands really want to play, but they cannot pull it off like Eden on Fire. Amy sings, “Every corner turned there’s something wrong. Make me feel like I don’t belong. Endless battles, defeat the strong. Wearing down to string along. Days spent thinking it’s all real. Never knowing how you feel. Crumbs of love that feel surreal.” The metal guitars are right out of the 70s. Some may say, why go back? I don’t look at it that way. I say make it real, authentic, and Eden of Fire does.
“Parasite,” opens slow with keyboards and an almost bagpipe sound to the guitars. Amy is not gonna take it anymore, “Like a serpent lurking in the garden. Watching prey and waiting for the strike. Acquired abstracts used without discretion. Wielding lies to make you seem god like. Won’t let you feed another day. I’m more than a keepsake. A trophy on display. I’m more than a namesake. To keep and lock away. I’m more than a number. To call up late at night. I’m more than a host for you. You’re a parasite.” She is absolutely not afraid to, as Triumph once sang, Lay it on the line!” Despite the toughness in the words, Amy ends this with an emotional piano ending. Just perfect.
“Set Me Free,” grinds the soundscape with drums, bass, and electric guitar as the metal gears up again. Amy sings, “I was standing on the edge of another time. You were running I was waiting for you to rescue me that day. There I was on the edge didn’t know I was your prey. Wasn’t all that long ago. Life was so unkind. I was living in a haze lost somewhere in time. I was cryin out for mercy hoping that you’d hear my cries. But you were lurking in the dark ready with malignant lies.” I have heard so many “somebody has done somebody wrong,” songs in my life, but this one has more real emotion behind it.
“Fallen (Remastered),” provides another side of Amy’s voice. She can also sing with more than just the fierce emotional tones. Soft piano and orchestration fills the soundscape as Amy let’s her emotions run lose, in a very deep emotional battle to avoid the perils of darkness, “I’ve fallen down, down, down, down, down, and I don’t know how to climb back out of this darkness. Oh, I keep falling down, down, down, down, down, into the darkness. And I don’t know how to get out of the darkness. Every morning a brand-new start. Except that it always ends up there. There’s no easy way to endure. Sabotage by hands to instill fear. Staying numb a survival skill. The only way to get through the day here. Used to look forward to better days. But hope no longer resides here.” Nothing more to add to that statement.
“Listen to Me (Remastered),” is another opportunity to hear the other side of fierceness. Amy sings, after some soft keyboards at the opening, “Listen to me. I’ve got something to say to you. You’re talking over to me like. I’m not even there. Just shut your mouth open up your ears. Can’t have my heart. If you’re not playing fair. Can’t have my love if that’s all that I’m for.” The longest song on the album, and it is full of Amy’s emotional cry as well as some of the best lead electric guitar and drums on the album. Amy also adds a wonderful keyboard solo to warm your heart.
Softer lead electric guitar opens “Broken (Remastered).” It is another mistreating song. Amy sings, with her powerful and fierce voice, “What have you done to my heart. You knew it was broken at the start. Seems like it was never a forethought. To keep it safe no matter what the cost. What have you done to my mind. Broken shattered pieces left behind. Was I just a fix for your routine. Pull me off a shelf when you need.” What she is saying is that as tough as she may seem and sound, she has a heart and is looking for love, and not to be used. And so many of us are in search of the same thing.
“Where Love Resides,” is another song from Amy requesting us to find empathy and emotion and love each other. Amy speaks the lyrics, first, then sings them later, “Alone again in the dark. You lay beside me but I’m alone in my heart. Alone again in the night darkness surrounds me and nothing feels all right. Forever and ever seem so far behind. The heart surrenders to a fate unkind. Always searching for a way to rewind. Out of reach is always where it seems love resides.” The spoken word is a more powerful way to interrupt listeners and make them pay attention to what is being said. It is also another example of genuinely talking things out, when things are not going as planned. The galloping electric guitar ride with drums is also a highlight of this song. Amy’s keyboards add fire.
“Make Me Bleed,” took me right back to another icon of my generation, Alice Cooper, who has recently returned to the stage. I am pretty sure Amy has heard the song, I’m talking about. It sounds like this song is an answer to “Only Women Bleed.” Amy sings, “I will never be that. No not someone’s doormat. I would rather be dead. Than to live with that dread. You cannot take what’s left of me. And bring me down onto my knees. Not a play thing in a g-string. Not a scapegoat sowing your wild oats. Not a victim to depict in. Your perversion some sick excursion. You will never get the best of me. You are never going to make me bleed.” When she sings the title part, you definitely can feel her ferocity!
“Wake the Monster,” is the closing song on the album. The other two songs are great bonus tracks. Amy sings, “Seething rage inside of me. Only get what I let you see. Better off if you’d let me be. Don’t wake the monster! Lurking creature just below. The surface where you did not know. Triggered fury down below. It might not be what you deserve. But that is what is being served. Destructive carnage. A warpath, can’t escape her wrath. Monsters woken. Better run before there’s aftermath. Pressure’s rising. Eruption coming on too fast. Fueled by a fucked up, bullshit past.” Beware of Amy, if you’ve made her made or done her wrong. A powerful closer, sure to make, especially the female fans come alive at shows.
On this version of “Parasite (Bonus Track),” the piano keyboards seem to last longer. It is a more acoustic version of the song. And you get to hear the full capability of Amy’s voice. She really can sing, without a thundering soundscape behind her. Thank you for including this track. Proof that Amy is a star that needs to shine brighter in the metal galaxy. The real deal.
“Love Bomb (Radio edit Remastered).” Why not hear this powerhouse one more time?
As I said before, Eden on Fire is the real thing, and “Unresolved,” gives you the opportunity to listen to, and see if I, and the many fans who support this band are right or wrong. I think after listening to this example of how metal used to, and should sound like, (powerful and committed to emotional empathy), (think of Ozzy singing, “Momma I’m Coming Home”); and you will want to hear more. “Unresolved” is not probably going to win album of the year, but it is the kind of album you will put on day in and day out. It will give you the momentum you need to see through the devastating difficulties that Amy sings about on the album. It will also be the album you play in your car before a concert, or listen to at parties you attend. It is the solid kind of rock n’ roll/metal that I grew up with and helped build rock and metal music; and a glorious Hall of Fame, to celebrate it in. It is the everyday man or woman, like all of us, crying out for a different kind of world. One that is more empathetic and warmer to its members. Thank you, Eden on Fire for making this album and sending it to me. Now it’s your turn to give Eden on Fire’s “Unresolved,” a listen…and a chance to be heard.
Album Track List:
- Brigade – 5:49
- Love Bomb (Remastered) – 4:10
- Parasite – 5:58
- Set Me Free – 4:19
- Fallen (Remastered) – 5:01
- Listen to Me (Remastered0 – 7:43
- Broken (Remastered) – 4:36
- Where Love Resides – 5:43
- Make Me Bleed – 4:06
- Wake the Monster – 6:50
- Parasite (Bonus Track) – 6:05
- Love Bomb (Radio edit Remastered) 4:10
Music and lyrics: Amy Gould. Music: Richard Knapp, Scott Haggerty, and Michael Calabrese. Produced and recorded at BFE Studios. Mix and mastering by Lore Entertainment. Additional mixing by BFE Studios.
Band Website and Social Media Links:
https://edenonfire.bandcamp.com/album/unresolved
https://edenonfire.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/edenonfiremetalband
YouTube and Music Video Links:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKmzTc0Qa-Pm-Kjay01mNcw