Xandria Album: “India [Bonus Track]”

This album contains the typical elements of operatic/symphonic metal: choirs, good guitar riffs, an operatic voice, etc. But the unique thing is its Eastern sound. The band uses the Indian instruments in some songs, which makes this album quite unique.

Generally, Xandria is a good band. Good but not absolutely great. They are the newcomers in the genre, newcomers such as Midnattsol and Delain. And they have nothing on the "classic" bands, such as Nightwish or Within Temptation. Lisa, the lead singer, is a good singer generally with a good voice but displays no unique talent like Sharon of WT or Floor of After Forever.

But don't let that stop you from buying the album! The title track "India" sounds a bit Nightwish-esque in its chorus but the beginning sounds wonderful, with its Eastern mood.

Other highlights include:

Like a Rose on the Grave of Love: a beautiful sad ballad similar to that of Eversleeping (also by Xandria) but a whole lot more powerful.

End of Every Story: has a medieval tone in the beginning and in the chorus. Also great.

Black and Silver: This is the song that perhaps stood out the most, apart from India. The guitar is genius on this song and Lisa does add some variety to her singing.

Overall, a pretty good album that will definitely get more than one listen if you're into bands like Nightwish or Epica. The songs (thankfully) all sound different and the Indian tone is pretty unique but I did take one star off for Lisa's singing. She's not bad but she's not brilliant either.

Buy this album. Listen to it. It's definitely worth your money, especially if you choose this as your first Xandria album.

I follow them since Ravenheart. I pretty much like female vocals, and I can tell that this german band made a great record. Each album they release, they improve the maturity of their composition.

Even Lisa (former vocal that recorded this CD) as Krestin (nowadays) have two great voices.

They are out of print here, And I bought it along with Kill the Sun (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008Y4RI/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title) - their first record.

Being a fan of all forms of metal including that of genre pioneers Judas Priest, I was in no small measure upset when I noticed that the first and title track "India"'s opening riff sounds exactly like Judas Priest's Nightcrawler!

That travesty apart, the album is an okay effort. Lisa Middlehauve (sp?) is a good singer but definitely not a great one. There also seems to be a profusion of electronics all around... I guess everyone's doing it, and so are Xandria. While quite a few of the songs are catchy in a mainstream-ish way, I strongly suspect that's due to reusing catchy riffs and melodies (a statement I'm not going to back up, look for it yourself!). I know for certain that this album has grown old on me, unlike other female-fronted albums like Within Temptation's The Silent Force or The Gathering's If_Then_Else.

On the other hand, Xandria definitely have better talent than all but a handful of gothic/symphonic/female-fronted bands out there, the production of this album is good, and the vocals and guitars are clear and not overdone. Catchy tracks include "India", "In Love With The Darkness", "The End of Every Story". The album is excellent for easy listening (even though some tracks are heavy), but I was a bit let down by the lyrics and the lack of any "concept" to the album (given two tracks had 'India' in the title, etc.). Hope they do better in their next offering!