Reviews
2007-05-23
Germany's Xandria have developed quite a lot since their debut "Kill The Sun", which I reviewed
here some time ago and was a good album in its own right. 3 albums later and this Goth rock/metal outfit has released what is certainly a very enjoyable, very catchy Goth album benefiting from strong songwriting and vocalist Lisa Middelhauve's strong voice.
It's pretty basic, really; the album goes straight for a surefire hit with "Save My Life", a catchy Goth-rock/metal with a very memorable chorus and just the right amount of orchestral keyboards. The sound is quite bare-boned and raw for this kind of music, which I actually liked; it sounds unassuming and lets the music speak for itself.
"Vampire" is another very catchy tune, but there's something more here, one of the best vocal performances Middelhauve gives in the album, a nice oriental touch to the melody too. This is exactly what this kind of music should sound like, it may be as melodic as pop music, but it just has the right vibe. "Salome" brings something more to the mix, a much slower and well crafted track with plenty of emotional impact, and they manage to pull that off as well.
Though there are some tracks that don't work as good, most of the album just flows nicely, with a track such as "Firestorm" being one of the best Goth Metal cuts here. Again, it's fairly unassuming, and isn’t very similar to the grandiose orchestral works of some similar bands, and that is part of what makes this band more appealing to me - they let the music speak for itself.
Alon Miasnikov
