Stuttgart modern metalcore band VENUES have opened a new chapter with “EDEN,” a sharp, personal single built around refusal — refusal to shrink, to perform, or to keep chasing a version of success that burns people out. The track features a blistering guest turn from Tobias Rische of The Oklahoma Kid (formerly of Alazka and Novelists), and it plays like a breaking point turned into a statement.
“EDEN” is less a next single than a reset. After three albums — Aspire (2018), Solace (2021), and the well-received Transience (2024) — the band is stepping away from the industry loop of bigger, faster, more. Vocalist Lela Gruber frames it as a return to the reason they started making music in the first place.
“‘EDEN’ feels like the starting point of a new chapter for me — one that stands in complete opposition to the idea of ‘bigger, faster, further,’” Gruber says. “We’re all caught in this constant competition where success seems to mean pushing yourself to the edge of burnout. I want to step away from that. To stop comparing myself to everyone around me and return to making music that feels authentic — where the music itself is at the center.”
The lyrics push back against the habit of reshaping yourself for other people’s expectations — muting what you actually feel so you can fit a mold that was never yours. The hook lands as a boundary, not a slogan: “I won’t bend for anyone.” That line sits at the center of the song, separating the person you were supposed to become from the one you decide to be.
Musically, VENUES match that idea with one of their most direct cuts. Heavy modern metalcore sits against atmosphere and big, open melodies. Gruber moves between vulnerability and command; Rische slams the heavier side forward, giving the track a second voice that turns the whole thing into a fight between pressure and release. The contrast is the point.
The band has spent years refining a mix of metalcore, post-hardcore, alternative textures, and oversized hooks. Aspire was named Album of the Week by Kerrang!, and the records that followed helped make VENUES one of the more distinctive names in Germany’s current heavy scene. Live, they’ve taken that sound onto bigger stages, including Wacken Open Air and Summer Breeze, building a reputation for sets that hit hard and stay emotionally charged.
“EDEN” treats all of that as foundation, not finish line. It questions what “progress” is supposed to look like and answers with authenticity instead of another lap in the same race. Heavier where it needs to be, exposed when it matters, and aimed at creating on their own terms, the single is the start of a new sound and a new stance.
This isn’t about leveling up. It’s about ending the war inside the song — and starting over without asking permission. For VENUES, that era begins here.
