HISTORY
UNDER EDEN had its origin in Minnesota's flourishing metal underground, bringing together elements of American thrash and Scandinavian blackened death. In the fall of 2000, the band took shape as a three-piece: Ryan McAtee (guitars, bass), Christian McAtee (guitars) and Josh Fetzek (drums). Driven by Josh's precise double-kick attack and unique cymbal work, the thrash-oriented guitars combined with furious death-metal drumming to take on a violent, apocalyptic nature mirroring the lyrics. Keeping with that theme, the name UNDER EDEN was chosen.
UNDER EDEN unleashed the demo Songs from the Savage Circle in early 2003, earning strong reviews worldwide. Ryan and Josh collaborated on the demo vocals, but it would be when lead vocalist Eric Thon joined that the band was transformed into a cohesive performance-oriented unit. Gaining momentum from compilation appearances, radio play and a succession of live shows, UNDER EDEN joined forces with Greece's Black Lotus Records in the fall of 2004. Building on this firm foundation, the band pushed ahead - faster, more melodic, with heightened aggression and complexity - resulting in the 2005 debut release The Savage Circle. UNDER EDEN enlisted bassist Jesse Wedel and resumed its live performances, for the first time with no vacant positions onstage.
For the next year and a half, the band went about the business of rehearsing and gigging locally, playing alongside such influential acts as Nile, Hypocrisy, Prong, Usurper and Decapitated, with up-and-comers like Epicurean and The Absence, and expanding to outlying areas they had not previous visited. Writing of new material progressed, and initial discussions detailing the next album's release with Black Lotus Records led everyone to believe that all was well, but no sooner had the label increased its distribution to provide a stronger North American presence then Black Lotus abruptly closed its doors. There was brief talk of another label picking up all BLR artists' contracts, but this proved to be a false hope.
With several songs already in various stages of completion, there was nothing to do but forge onward toward an eventual release of a second album. Rather than seek out a new label with only a handful of new songs rehearsed, UNDER EDEN would instead begin systematically recording new material, offer remixes of "classic" Savage tracks via MySpace and compilations, and independently release the first of the new songs in the form of the Phoenix on Frozen Wings EP in May of 2008. That done, UNDER EDEN continued onward in the songwriting process for the next full-length release, a concept album entitled The Science of Self-Defeat. The following year, bassist Jesse Wedel left the band on the heels of an appearance at the Heathen Crusade 3 festival, so the band - in the midst of recording the new album - reverted to a four-piece for the completion of the album. Josh Fetzek departed upon completion of the recording, with longtime friend and engineer Jamie Strobach taking over drumming duties as well as the mixing and mastering of the album. After a long and chaotic journey, The Science of Self-Defeat was first made available for digital download in June of 2011, and released on CD via Greek label Sleaszy Rider Records in July of that year.
Coinciding with the release of The Science
of Self-Defeat, UNDER EDEN announced the addition of bassist Patrick Morris
(Demonicon) and vocalist Alex Gorgos (Vulnerata) to its ranks.
CONCEPT & PHILOSOPHY
UNDER EDEN is, above all else, a vehicle for releasing and performing original music. Although not all songs share common themes or even fall within the same stylistic subcategories, the lyrics and music of each are carefully matched to create a certain atmosphere or evoke certain feelings. Some songs pertain to very specific subjects, while others are widely open to interpretation. There is no agenda, only a presentation of ideas that may seem farfetched to some listeners and deeply personal to others. References to history and myth, politics and religion, Creation and Armageddon, appear throughout. Fact and fiction - myth or theory or speculation - coexist, to be determined as one or the other by the listener. There is no contrived brutality or "tough guy" posturing here.
Anyone looking for music clearly defined by and confined within a specific genre will not find it here. UNDER EDEN certainly formed on a particular day in a particular year, and songs were written and rehearsed in a certain order that reflects influences and inspirations of the time, but some of the notes played and words uttered existed for a long time as ideas only, without much thought given to final form. For UNDER EDEN, performance is our pre-production stage, and stylistic variety allows us to play alongside bands that might seem incompatible if we restricted ourselves to one single genre. Bitterness and melancholy and aggression and contemplation are defined as much by sounds as by words, and those sounds are varied.
Click on a member's name below for personal bio information:
Ryan McAtee Jamie Strobach Christian McAtee Patrick Morris Alex Gorgos