I like this release a lot. For those who don't know, Xandria is a goth-rock
type band with mainsteam qualities a la Within Temptation. I guess that would be the most obvious comparison...Within
Temptation with only some of the epic qualities of WT. Even the single for this album, In Love with Darkness,
starts out reminding me of Stand my Ground... not the song itself (other than the accessability of it), but the keyboard
hook at the beginning seems to have the same tone. Might just be me overthinking things, but that is what it reminds
me of.
So with that you get the idea of what this sounds like musically...the songs themselves
are awesome. You got your epic opener, your radio-friendly songs, a few slow ones and everything in between (even some
heaviness). They are all pretty catchy and some very memorable and get stuck in your head, relentlessly bouncing around inside
your cranium.
Vocally, Lisa's vocals are very pleasing and generally hang in the mid-range and are
strong as well. A few times she goes up and here and there goes into that 'little girl' voice (a la Sharon of WT).
If you are looking for some beauty and beast action....sorry...no growlies here.
Overall, a quality release and a nice steady improvement from their previous work,
Ravenheart.
Favorites: India, In Love with Darkness, Black and Silver, Like a Rose on the Grave
of Love, Winterhearted, Widescreen .....a lot of them I guess!!
89 / 100
