Metal Reviews

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This isn't bad at all.

Ravenheart was good and from a relible source I know that India is just as good. I'll give it a try someday. It's good to see the constancy in the rating for all Xandria albums.
Btw, good review Ian. You're becoming my hope for a more gothic coverage on MR. It seems you've acquired a habit for reviewing power and gothic metal. Keep up the good work.








Hint: check the new Beseech

This album is great, Xandria are one of the better female-fronted metal bands out there. They're heavy, but also a bit poppy, but it works very well. The song "Ravenheart" being the perfect example. This is definitely an underrated band, they're 3-0 with me, three great CDs!

I bought this album on a whim over the summer when I was in Munich and I love it. It's one of my favourite goth-y cd's and I can't beleive you didn't give it over 90, especially seeing as no faults were mentioned in the review. There is no bad song or filler, each is different and sounds perfect. And while we're not talking A Night At The Opera brilliant or Ecliptica (or any Sonata) brilliant, it is near perfection.
It also kinda kicks Nightwish up the arse, like Epica did with Consign To Oblivion. I mean I like Nightwish but I think they got a bit complacent and big headed (especially Tarja) and while Once was great, some songs blended together and so were forgettable - like Dead Gardens and Romanticide (and The Siren but that got mroe noticed when released as a single).

Solid album, I heard Ravenheart what feels like years ago but having just MP3s and reformatting many times, I kinda lost track of them. At least until I heard of this new album some months ago. I'd buy the albums, but seems they arent sold around here and Im clueless with online shopping.

When I first got into metal I was all over the female fronted bands, but now Im not such a big fan, I still love all the ones I used to (Nightwish, Within Temptation's "Enter, Mother Earth", Darkwell's "Suspiria", Lana Lane's "Queen of The Ocean", Oratory, Edenbridge, etc..). I havent liked anything recent by any of these bands, with the exception of Nightwish. But anyways, my point is, is that Xandria wins a place in my ever shortening list of female bands I love.

Oratory? I'm impressed you've heard them. No one ever knows who that band is when I mention them.

They were among the first slew of bands I heard when I was getting into metal and stuff, an annoying friend of mine gave me a list of bands I should check out since I had liked both, Dark Wings (WT), and, Wishmaster (NW).

They have a new album due out, I can't wait. Have you heard Illusion Dimensions and Last Prophecy? They definitely made a good choice taking Ana Lara from the backing vocalist slot of putting her up there as lead vocalist, Beyond Earth is a killer album.

You ever hear her guest vocals on Rebellion's Shakespeare's Macbeth: A Tragedy in Steel? She sings on this song: HUSBANDRY IN HEAVEN. Her voice is definitely a little subdued on the Oratory albums because of the production, she sounds awesome here!

That was a pretty good song, little sick of the Macbeth theme though (because of my Jag Panzer album). I had not heard her in anything beyond Oratory and the only full album I've heard was Beyond Earth which was awesome. I've heard songs from another album, but I remember at the time it was so hard to find anything by them on a P2P.

I'm thinking I should get back into them since I liked Beyond Earth so much. And DC++ usually has everything I need. This is not an advertisement.

Oratory... I can't believe you know them... NICE!!! They're from Portugal, my country, and I've seen them some times. In Vilar de Mouros Festival last year, they opened the Main stage on thefirst day for Anathema, Within Temptation and Nightwish.

I don't really like power metal that much, but they do a nice job on the stage and on record and they are very competent.

Eyesore, you have just grown one more point im my consideration ;) And I really recomend you to listen to the new Hyubris and The Firstborn albums. They are also portuguese.

I've explained you how they sound in your thread: "What shall I review this week"

My ex-girlfriend loved this band. Well, it's soft, perhaps good for one or two listenings but for a long run it's boooring. Lacks energy. Very similar to Within Temptation

I like Oratory ok, I dig Edenbridge too and of course Nightwish owns, but Xandria, at least with Ravenheart is the type of bullshit band that gives Gothic Metal a bad name, at least the Ravenheart album, horrid song writing, vocals that don't match the music, just over rought BS. Not as utterly horrid as Darkwell (that chick in that band can not sing at all) but still gives the genre a bad name. Anyways, for the most part is a dead genre anyways since 99 or 2000

Oratory, Edenbridge and Nightwish are not the same style as Xandria. I'd also have to disagree with everything else you said. Hehehe.

That is cool, i would expect nothing less from you, but still crap like Xandria and Darkwell give the whole genre a bad name.

Early Theatre of Tragedy, Thy Sins of the Beloved, Tristania, Sirenia, Moonspell, Crematory, Darkseed, Sentenced, The Black League, Blackshine, Shape of Despair, Draconian, Leaves Eyes, Midnattsol, Paradise Lost, early Anathema, Lacrimas Profundre, Lacrimosa, Shellyz Raven, Flowing Tears, After Forever, Lacuna Coil, old On Thorns I lay, Darzamat, Artrosis, Tiamat, Katatonia, first Nightingale, Godgory, Elias, For my Pain, Beseech, Trail of Tears, Madder Mortem, Love History, Odes of Ecstasy, Rain Fell Within and others....

They all give it a good name.

Give what a good name? You just named a bunch of bands that are all kinds of different styles. I understand you don't like Xandria, but are they giving multiple genres a bad name? I'd say Xandria are in the same vein as Flowing Tears, but Flowing Tears are nothing like Moonspell or early Anathema or even After Forever.

So what would you call them? Gothic pop-metal/rock?

All the bands I named fit what I call Goth Metal and do different things with the genre that keep it fresh and somewhat alive. Flowing Tears on at least Serpentine (the only one I have) remind me of mid period Gathering (strange machines, songs like that).

Of Cousre Xandria fit in that catagory for the genre, they just suck.

I dont care what anyone says, I loved Darkwell's "Susperia" I found her voice.. while not amazing like say, Tarja, or something. It had a unique niceness of some sort that I really liked. Unfortunately ever since that album, they have sucked some seriously hairy nuts.

And I dont see how Xandria and Darkwell give the genre a bad name. I became bored of bands like this (even though I do realise many are actually quite different and cant be slopped together so easily) and the new Xandria album, along with Darkwell's Susperia (Oratory as well) have brought me back somewhat, I have an interest in this again, hearing some new female metal/goth/rock/whatever bands.