On disc: Xandria

 
 Kill The Sun
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Ravenheart
 
- Katja Müller -
 
 


 
 India
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Salomé - The Seventh Veil
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Salomé - The Seventh Veil
 
- Philip Thelen -
 
 


 
 Neverworld's End
 
- Lars Bjørn -
 
 

Neverworld's End

(Napalm Records - 2012)



 
 

 

After being in the music world for more than 13 years the German band Xandria now comes with a line-up that includes the fantastic singer Manuela Kraller, who comes from Finland and have a very clear inspiration in Tarja Turunen and the music that Nightwish did when Turunen was singing for them. Kraller is trained in classical and church choir singing, but her interest lies in metal music, so in 2010 she became the new vocalist of Xandria and leads the performances on their 6th album, Neverworld's End. There are both good and not so good things about having a vocalist who can splinter glass with her voice. The rest of the bands musicians don't have to be absolutely top class, resulting in some songs that gets too much dominated by Manuela Kraller. But this is the conditions that rule in Xandria, and we have to enjoy what their music is after all.



Cursed is their song which goes in the gray area between doom metal and gothic metal, add violins and the balanced voice of Kraller, it turns out to be a great and hard song. Valentine has a more bombastic line and you can hear the obvious inspiration they have in Nightwish musical genre. A Thousand Letters has the gothic overpowering sound even if this song is slow and soft, there is still the colossal power behind the music. Forever More also has soft power, and great guitar solo but the most important is the melodic building of the song where the voice of Manuela Kraller comes in and gives it the final spark to the top.

 
 










Lars Bjørn


  
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Salomé - The Seventh Veil

(Drakkar - 2007)



 
 

 

Salomé - The Seventh Veil is the name of the latest disc of the gothic metal band Xandria. At their new album they present powerful and emotional songs.

The opening track Save My Life could have been the follow-up of their successful track Ravenheart. Vampire which is also on the single Save My Life is heading into the same direction. Songs like Beware, the title track Salomé and Only For The Stars In Your Eyes are real fun. Even Firestorm is a cool track with some nice riffing, but personally I don't like the growls. The ballad The Wind And The Ocean is showing their soft side.

In general I can say that this album rocks! The sound is great and the band really grooves. Pure power - the way we know Xandria. But they add some new elements to their sound which makes it interesting and adds some variety to their sound.

Well, they could have done another cover, but who cares? As long as the music is killer, I don't care. My resume: Nice piece of work! It's a very enjoyable album! Check out: Save My Life, Vampire, Only For The Stars In Your Eyes, Firestorm (even with the growls), The Wind And The Ocean (for friends of ballads) and Sisters Of The Light.
 
 










Philip Thelen


  
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Salomé - The Seventh Veil

(Drakkar - 2007)



 
 

 

With Salomé - The Seventh Veil the German quintet presents their 4th studio album - and get more away from gothic rock. Even if the album title and cover artwork may indicate that this is a conceptual album, it isn't. The opening track Save My Life was also the first single and is symphonic rock / epic melodic metal with a catchy hook line. On Vampire the band includes some oriental sounds and Lisa Middelhauve adds some deep notes. Personally I miss a darker atmosphere with a song called Vampire... A bit too happy for me, but well done. On Emotional Man the band is getting a bit closer again to bands like Within Temptation - with orchestral elements and operatic vocals. Partly there is a male counterpart to Lisa Middelhauve - nice idea. The wind blows... In the beginning it's acoustic guitars and quite atmospheric... Then Lisa is starting off Salomé softly. The acoustic guitar part sounds very familiar, even if I can't get it off the tip of my tongue... Actually here I expected more oriental influences... Not just in the middle of the songs during an instrumental part. Xandria surprise the listener with Only For The Stars In Your Eyes which is a heavy up-tempo tune. A bit HIM-like... especially when Entwine singer Mika Tauriainen joins in. One of my highlights at Salomé. With the sound of surf they start into The Wind And The Ocean. In the beginning it's piano and Lisa's voice. A beautiful ballad, but I wish the vocals would be a bit more up-front... Towards the end it gets more orchestral, but also a bit boring. More oriental sounds you get with Sisters Of The Light which is a groovy, heavy tune. The last track On My Way starts with heavy guitar riffs and shows them again more epic and Lisa is singing mainly a bit deeper and only adds high notes here and there. Perhaps this is the chosen path...

Not a bad album, but After Forever and Within Temptation released very good albums and in comparison with them they can't keep up. And soon Epica will release their latest piece of work and if the songs they played live are an indicator, then The Divine Conspiracy is killer... Perhaps Xandria are on their way, but have to find their final destination musically. At the moment they haven't left the gothic rock behind completely and with the orchestral elements they stay close to the symphonic opera metal of Within Temptation. The band is on their way, let's see where they will go.
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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India

(Drakkar - 2005)



 
 

 

The debut album Kill The Sun was a decent album, but the follow-up Ravenheart was a bit too commercial and it sounded like the Germans wanted to attrack Nightwish fans. Luckily with India the heaviness is back and these days I would compare then with Epica and Within Temptation - if a comparison is necessary. They kick off the album with the title track India. A heavy, guitar-driven gothic metal song which is crowned by the clear vocals of Lisa Middelhauve. During the chorus a touch of opera metal is added and slower parts make it interesting to listen to this tune. Now & Forever and In Love With Darkness sound more like Within Temptation - musically -, but the vocals still remind me of Epica's Simone Simons. The heavy guitar riffs at Fight Me shows their heaviness and the electronic sounds make me think of Lacuna Coil... And this already shows what the album lacks - uniqueness. Almost every song let you think of one or the other band, but still this is a decent album. On Black & Silver you get a glimpse of the true Xandria style and if they manage to do more songs like this next time, then they can step out of the shadows of bands like Within Tempation and Epica.

Anyway, the quintet hired the Irish folk band  Sceal Eile to add some typical Celtic sounds to Like A Rose On The Grave Of Love. The Celtic elements and the sweet voice of Lisa add something special to this tune. With an electronic groove they present Widescreen which partly has some danceable groove, but the slower parts will prevent that you'll hear it at some metal disco. A string section leads into the orchestral Dancer which they recorded with the Babelsberger Filmorchester. Its always better to work with a real orchestra then using synthesizers, coz the natural sound is warmer and more alive. But it's understandable that not every band can afford to work with an orchestra, luckily Xandria had the possibility. The last track is called Return To India where you can hear a sitar which adds some exotic sounds. Unfortunately Lisa's voice is not enough up-front and she doesn't have a strong voice like Cristina Scabbia, but on the other hand the softness of her voice, the aspirated words make them differ from others.

A decent album which has some great songs. If the five-some is able to develope a more unique sound then they can reach the next level.
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Ravenheart

(Drakkar - 2004)



 
 

 

With Kill The Sun the German band Xandria got first attention and entered the charts. Thanks to Within Temptation and Nightwish who made the gothic / opera metal big. For the title track Ravenheart they did a video clip which is aired a lot on Viva and other music TV channels. The title track is catchy. Okay, gothic metal with angel-like vocals isn't something new, but on Ravenheart the band tries to find their own identity. Based on metal riffing is Fire Of The Universe while Black Flame has a touch of HIM. I like Xandria, I think Lisa Schaphaus is not as artificial as many of her female colleagues. Sorry girls, but I'm not into opera metal. I usually prefer male singers. Sure, they didn't invent something totally new, but they do really good. I think they have a chance to survive when the next trend starts and many bands will go with it. Only a handful will survive and Xandria will be one of them! Well, I hope they will be.
 
 










Katja Müller
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
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Kill The Sun

(Drakkar - 2003)



 
 

 

Never heard of Xandria? No big surprise, coz this it the debut album of the German gothic quintet Xandria. In the underground they made themselves known with their demo and got them the contract with Drakkar. Whenever a female-fronted band is playing gothic metal there have to face to be compared with Nightwish. But Lisa Schaphaus' voice is a bit deeper and even if it seems that she had singing lessons, she hasn't a trained voice like Tarja.
The kick off the album with the title track Kill The Sun and during the first moments there are similarities to Nightwish, especially through the high vocals. But when they start full ahead it becomes obvious that they aren't just a clone. The track is a heavy one where Lisa can show her vocal range, never really deep, but changing between high and less high notes. She can express feelings with her voice, something I personally miss in Tarja's vocal performance.

Mermaids starts with some keyboard notes. After the band joins in it gets faster... More heavy... Grooving. Partly Lisa is almost whispering. A catchy chorus makes this a good track to check out. It get's really heavy with She's Nirvana which has some HIM feeling and additionally some violin in the background which gives this song something special. For me the first highlight of the album, even if Lisa perhaps shouldn't hit the high notes here. A slower, more balladesque one is Forever Yours which lives from Lisa's voice. But without the basic work of her band it wouldn't work. They deliever the soundscape or the heavy goove. A heavy grooving track is Casablanca, but much more interesting is So You Disappear which has some oriental touch. My 2nd favorite track. A contrast builds Wisdom which is more a gothic electronic groover. Something for the dancefloor. Followed bey another danceable song with electro sounds. But Isis - Osiris is a bit heavier.

A good debut and a decent start, but it seems that they haven't decided yet which way to go. Let's see what they present in future. Not a must-buy, but no waste of money either.
Listen to: She's Nirvana, Ginger, Wisdom and So You Disappear.
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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