Eden’s Curse: Eden’s Curse – Revisited (AFM)

OK, let’s get that whole “elephant in the room” thing out of the way right up front. The split with original Eden’s Curse vocalist Michael Eden has been well-documented, as have his attempts to cash in on his tenure with the band. Given that, I’m not remotely surprised to see Eden’s Curse rerecording their early material with their new singer. They’ve made two very strong albums (and a really solid live album) since Nikola Mijic joined the band, and I can totally understand how they’d want to reintroduce their older work with their new voice. I’m on “Team Real Eden’s Curse” here, and don’t fault them at all. Except…

Rerecording older works, especially entire albums, is risky business. It can look like a cash grab or contract filler, and if it’s not handled well you could alienate the fans who love the old songs. With the tenth anniversary of the Eden’s Curse debut at hand though, the band decided the album was worth revisiting. The advantages – better technology, the musicians being better at their craft, and their very talented new singer – outweighed the risks. For the most part, it paid off. I have to say it was jarring and a little off-putting to hear “Judgment Day” and “Eyes of the World” with such a different voice, but once the shock passed I came to appreciate what they’ve put together here. It connects the new Eden’s Curse to the old, and in some cases (“The Voice Inside,” “Fly Away” and “We All Die Young” for example) they may have even outdid themselves.

I still think that 9 times out of 10 these rerecording albums aren’t really necessary, but Eden’s Curse managed to pull it off without any major missteps, and it’s nice to have some “new” Eden’s Curse material to listen to while we wait for a follow-up to their very excellent Cardinal. Eden’s Curse – Revisited is perfect for fans who discovered the band in the past few years, and for long-time fans it’s at least worth hearing. It helps that they’ve sweetened the deal by including a 100-minute DVD called Live in Glasgow – Official Bootleg with live footage from their Live With the Curse-era tour.