Year : 2014 Style : Symphonic Metal , Gothic Metal , Female Vocal Country : Germany Audio : 320 kbps + all scans Size : 268 mb
Bio:
Xandria is a German symphonic metal band, founded by Marco Heubaum in 1994. The band's music combines elements of symphonic metal with light electronic elements.After various demos and great success on different MP3 portals, they released their first album in 2003, entitled Kill the Sun, which reached No. 98 on the German music charts.The follow-up album, Ravenheart (2004), stayed on the charts for seven weeks, reaching No. 36.In 2005 they released their third album, India, which reached No. 30 on the German charts.Xandria began recording their fourth album, Salomé – The Seventh Veil, on December 14, 2006. It was released on May 25, 2007 and reached No. 41 on the German charts.Lisa Middelhauve resigned on April 30, 2008 citing personal reasons and discomfort in being the band's frontwoman. The band found a new singer in February 2009, Kerstin Bischof a.k.a. Lakonia, best known for her collaborations with the band Axxis.However, after just one year Kerstin Bischof decided to leave the band to concentrate on a different career, and Middelhauve replaced her for a series of concerts in Summer 2010.On December 19, 2010, Xandria announced the addition of 29-year-old female singer Manuela Kraller to the group's ranks. Manuela Kraller made her live debut at the "Classic Meets Pop" event on January 7, 2011 at the Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld, Germany.On 5 February the band announced on their website and Facebook page their new bass player Steven Wussow, along with the message that they will enter the studio again for their next studio album the same year. Neverworld's End was released on February 24, 2012.As of 25 October 2013, the band announced on their website that Manuela Kraller had left the band to pursue a different career and announced Dutch Ex Libris singer Dianne van Giersbergen as their new vocalist.
Line Up:
Dianne van Giersbergen - Vocals (female) (2013-present) - See also: Ex Libris, Pathfinder (live) Marco Heubaum - Guitars, Vocals, Keyboards (1997-present) Philip Restermeier - Guitars (2001-present) Steven Wussow - Bass (2013-present) - See also: Domain, Illectronic Rock, ex-Misfit, ex-Nick Hellfort, ex-Shylock, ex-Palace (live), ex-Fjuse, ex-Iridium Gerit Lamm - Drums (2000-present)
Tracklist:
CD1:
01. Sacrificium 10:21 02. Nightfall 04:02 03. Dreamkeeper 04:36 04. Stardust 04:00 05. The Undiscovered Land 07:34 06. Betrayer 06:15 07. Until the End 05:47 08. Come with Me 03:46 09. Little Red Relish 04:39 10. Our Neverworld 03:51 11. Temple of Hate 05:59 12. Sweet Atonement 04:20
CD2:
01. The Watcher (Bonus track) 02. Sacrificium (Instrumental Version) 03. Nightfall (Instrumental Version) 04. Dreamkeeper (Instrumental Version) 05. Stardust (Instrumental Version) 06. The Undiscovered Land (Instrumental Version) 07. Betrayer (Instrumental Version) 08. Until the End (Instrumental Version) 09. Come with Me (Instrumental Version) 10. Little Red Relish (Instrumental Version) 11. Our Neverworld (Instrumental Version) 12. Temple of Hate (Instrumental Version) 13. Sweet Atonement (Instrumental Version)
Xandria - Fire & Ashes (EP) (Digipak Edition) (2015)
Year : 2015 Style : Symphonic Metal , Gothic Metal , Female Vocal Country : Germany Audio : 320 kbps + all scans + Video Size : 152 mb
Bio:
Xandria is a German symphonic metal band, founded by Marco Heubaum in 1994. The band's music combines elements of symphonic metal with light electronic elements.After various demos and great success on different MP3 portals, they released their first album in 2003, entitled Kill the Sun, which reached No. 98 on the German music charts.The follow-up album, Ravenheart (2004), stayed on the charts for seven weeks, reaching No. 36.In 2005 they released their third album, India, which reached No. 30 on the German charts.Xandria began recording their fourth album, Salomé – The Seventh Veil, on December 14, 2006. It was released on May 25, 2007 and reached No. 41 on the German charts.Lisa Middelhauve resigned on April 30, 2008 citing personal reasons and discomfort in being the band's frontwoman. The band found a new singer in February 2009, Kerstin Bischof a.k.a. Lakonia, best known for her collaborations with the band Axxis.However, after just one year Kerstin Bischof decided to leave the band to concentrate on a different career, and Middelhauve replaced her for a series of concerts in Summer 2010.On December 19, 2010, Xandria announced the addition of 29-year-old female singer Manuela Kraller to the group's ranks. Manuela Kraller made her live debut at the "Classic Meets Pop" event on January 7, 2011 at the Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld, Germany.On 5 February the band announced on their website and Facebook page their new bass player Steven Wussow, along with the message that they will enter the studio again for their next studio album the same year. Neverworld's End was released on February 24, 2012.As of 25 October 2013, the band announced on their website that Manuela Kraller had left the band to pursue a different career and announced Dutch Ex Libris singer Dianne van Giersbergen as their new vocalist.
Album:
The July 31 release of the German metal band Xandria EP “Fire & Ashes,” which will contain the new songs “Voyage Of The Fallen”, “Unembraced” and “In Remembrance”. But here you’ll also find covers of Sonata Arctica’s “Do not Say a Word” and Meat Loaf’s “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Will not Do That)”.
Line Up:
Dianne van Giersbergen - Vocals (female) (2013-present) - See also: Ex Libris, Pathfinder (live) Marco Heubaum - Guitars, Vocals, Keyboards (1997-present) Philip Restermeier - Guitars (2001-present) Steven Wussow - Bass (2013-present) - See also: Domain, Illectronic Rock, ex-Misfit, ex-Nick Hellfort, ex-Shylock, ex-Palace (live), ex-Fjuse, ex-Iridium Gerit Lamm - Drums (2000-present)
Tracklist:
01. Voyage of The Fallen 02. Unembraced 03. In Remembrance 04. Ravenheart (2015 Version) 05. Now & Forever (2015 Version) 06. Don’t Say A Word (Sonata Arctica Cover) 07. I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) (Meatloaf Cover)
Xandria - Theater Of Dimensions (2CD) (Mediabook Edition Digipak) (2017)
Year : 2017 Style : Symphonic Metal , Gothic Metal , Female Vocal Country : Germany Audio : 320 kbps + all scans + Video Size : 287 mb
Bio:
Xandria is a German symphonic metal band, founded by Marco Heubaum in 1994. The band's music combines elements of symphonic metal with light electronic elements.After various demos and great success on different MP3 portals, they released their first album in 2003, entitled Kill the Sun, which reached No. 98 on the German music charts.The follow-up album, Ravenheart (2004), stayed on the charts for seven weeks, reaching No. 36.In 2005 they released their third album, India, which reached No. 30 on the German charts.Xandria began recording their fourth album, Salomé – The Seventh Veil, on December 14, 2006. It was released on May 25, 2007 and reached No. 41 on the German charts.Lisa Middelhauve resigned on April 30, 2008 citing personal reasons and discomfort in being the band's frontwoman. The band found a new singer in February 2009, Kerstin Bischof a.k.a. Lakonia, best known for her collaborations with the band Axxis.However, after just one year Kerstin Bischof decided to leave the band to concentrate on a different career, and Middelhauve replaced her for a series of concerts in Summer 2010.On December 19, 2010, Xandria announced the addition of 29-year-old female singer Manuela Kraller to the group's ranks. Manuela Kraller made her live debut at the "Classic Meets Pop" event on January 7, 2011 at the Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld, Germany.On 5 February the band announced on their website and Facebook page their new bass player Steven Wussow, along with the message that they will enter the studio again for their next studio album the same year. Neverworld's End was released on February 24, 2012.As of 25 October 2013, the band announced on their website that Manuela Kraller had left the band to pursue a different career and announced Dutch Ex Libris singer Dianne van Giersbergen as their new vocalist.
Album:
Germany’s Xandria have returned with a new release of symphonic metal theatrics titled ‘Theater of Dimensions.’ And a mere three years since ‘Sacrificium,’ guitarist/composer Marco Heubaum and company have passed since that last release of their brand of highly cinematic symphonic metal. I was unaware of the band’s existence before reviewing this album, so my listening and knowledge of their catalogue was a cold listen. I also would never call myself a fan of the symphonic metal genre — I listen to a few bands that might fall under the label, but they are an exception to the rule. What I do know, however, is that Xandria have put out a rather fun album of material that will please their fans, and fans of the genre in general.The band start with the rather bombastic “Where The Heart Is Home,” although, truth be told, pretty much the entire album can rightly be called bombastic. My initial thoughts upon hearing this song and the general sound of the band were that they sounded like a metal band playing the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. You can easily imagine Captain Jack Sparrow fighting his way across his beloved ship many times during the album. Whether you consider this a good thing, or not so much, will of course be up to the listener. It gets a bit of an indulgent smile and chuckle from me; however, it’s damn catchy and has some nice riffs, so the Pirates movies may have been improved had Xandria been employed to take part in them.The band’s essential sound of driving power metal guitar riffs, fairly basic drum patterns, and lush strings are put in place during this first track, and the sound is quite consistent through the entire album. They are all held together by the high, floating vocals of classically-trained vocalist Dianne van Giersbergen, who does a commendable job throughout. Her vocals are fairly typical of the symphonic metal genre, and they work well with the music, although at times a stronger and more powerful voice would aid the heavier portions considerably. The fifth track, “We Are Murderers,” finds the first inclusion of male vocals on the record, which if my reading of the history of the band is correct are provided by Marco. They are mostly harsh and growled in nature — rather reminiscent of the vocals combination of Sirenia — and the combo works quite well with the heavier aspects of the music. I found myself wishing this pairing was done more often as it enriched the song a good deal.Not to go track by track, but the following song, “Dark Night of the Soul,” deserves mentioning, as the metal elements are entirely absent and the song is instead carried by orchestration and the lovely clear soprano of Dianne. Indeed, I feel this song to be her vocal highlight of the album, as she allows the natural softness and warmth of her voice to carry the song along. It’s actually quite lovely, and the melody may well worm itself into your mind as well. The band returns to their pirate theme with “Ship of Doom” and this time, the allusion is clear and not merely implied as it begins with Marco exclaiming “One, two, three, four, can you hear the cannons roar?” Yes, it comes across every bit as cheesy on record as it does reading it. However the song is a rollicking tale of high seas, plunder and pirates, and it’s a fun little tune, so it works.The album wraps up with its lone epic, the 14-minute title track “A Theater Of Dimensions” and it is a summation of everything that came before it. It contains light, airy melodies, and heavy strings at the beginning with Dianne singing over the top of it, and it gradually builds with their full metal sound. And halfway through, we have semi-harsh male vocals that sing and speak what are supposed to be intimidating spoken words. The song continues on in this manner and is clearly striving to be a “big” song — a real epic, like so many metal bands are fond of doing. The result is less than convincing, and the overall effect lacks the epic quality they were clearly going for and drags more than a little bit at times. In all likelihood, I’m letting my affinity for prog rock and metal get in my way; bands of my preferred genre use 14-minute songs as a warm-up, and Xandria simply doesn’t have the compositional or technical chops to impress me very much with their epic. But it’s a big, bombastic piece of music which encompasses much of what the genre stands for, so depending on your disposition and listening background, you might well get more out of it than I.Ultimately, Xandria have put out a fun, and rather typical example of symphonic metal. Fans of the band and the genre will find a lot to love with ‘Theater of Dimensions’ and so would do well to check it out. It’s a sometimes heavy, usually bombastic release, with lofty aspirations that occasionally are fulfilled, but often fall short. Still, if you’re looking for a cinematic, often catchy way to spend 70 minutes, you could certainly do worse.
Line Up:
Dianne van Giersbergen - Vocals (female) (2013-present) - See also: Ex Libris, Pathfinder (live) Marco Heubaum - Guitars, Vocals, Keyboards (1997-present) Philip Restermeier - Guitars (2001-present) Steven Wussow - Bass (2013-present) - See also: Domain, Illectronic Rock, ex-Misfit, ex-Nick Hellfort, ex-Shylock, ex-Palace (live), ex-Fjuse, ex-Iridium Gerit Lamm - Drums (2000-present)
Tracklist:
CD1:
01. Where The Heart Is Home 02. Death To The Holy 03. Forsaken Love 04. Call Of Destiny 05. We Are Murderers (We All) 06. Dark Night Of The Soul 07. When The Walls Came Down (Heartache Was Born) 08. Ship Of Doom 09. Céilí 10. Song For Sorrow And Woe 11. Burn Me 12. Queen Of Hearts Reborn 13. A Theater Of Dimensions
CD2: Acoustic Album
01. Call of Destiny 02. Dark Night of the Soul 03. In Remembrance 04. Sweet Atonement 05. Valentine
Year : 2023 Style : Symphonic Metal , Gothic Metal , Female Vocal Country : Germany Audio : 320 kbps + all scans Size : 175 mb
Bio:
Xandria is a German symphonic metal band, founded by Marco Heubaum in 1994. The band's music combines elements of symphonic metal with light electronic elements.After various demos and great success on different MP3 portals, they released their first album in 2003, entitled Kill the Sun, which reached No. 98 on the German music charts.The follow-up album, Ravenheart (2004), stayed on the charts for seven weeks, reaching No. 36.In 2005 they released their third album, India, which reached No. 30 on the German charts.Xandria began recording their fourth album, Salomé – The Seventh Veil, on December 14, 2006. It was released on May 25, 2007 and reached No. 41 on the German charts.Lisa Middelhauve resigned on April 30, 2008 citing personal reasons and discomfort in being the band's frontwoman. The band found a new singer in February 2009, Kerstin Bischof a.k.a. Lakonia, best known for her collaborations with the band Axxis.However, after just one year Kerstin Bischof decided to leave the band to concentrate on a different career, and Middelhauve replaced her for a series of concerts in Summer 2010.On December 19, 2010, Xandria announced the addition of 29-year-old female singer Manuela Kraller to the group's ranks. Manuela Kraller made her live debut at the "Classic Meets Pop" event on January 7, 2011 at the Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld, Germany.On 5 February the band announced on their website and Facebook page their new bass player Steven Wussow, along with the message that they will enter the studio again for their next studio album the same year. Neverworld's End was released on February 24, 2012.As of 25 October 2013, the band announced on their website that Manuela Kraller had left the band to pursue a different career and announced Dutch Ex Libris singer Dianne van Giersbergen as their new vocalist.
Album:
The time has finally come to dive into new adventures! Chart-topping German symphonic metal icons Xandria open the promising next chapter of the band's history with the long-awaited brand-new full-length "The Wonders Still Awaiting". With a potent new line-up, steadfastly centered around band mastermind Marco Heubaum to maintain the band's trademark essence, Xandria invites its devotees into a new world of wonders, genres and elements without ever forgetting its sonic roots. After breaking the silence with the latest stand-alone single, the aptly titled "Reborn", followed by the multifaceted, hard-hitting "You Will Never Be Our God" (featuring Primal Fear frontman Ralf Scheepers), "The Wonders Still Awaiting" marks the first record presenting new vocalist Ambre Vourvahis, Robert Klawonn (guitars), Tim Schwarz (bass) and Dimitrios Gatsios (drums). Along with the aforementioned tracks and presenting 13 songs in total, Xandria's sound emerges harder and darker than ever before, but holds an intimate setting and range of emotions at the same time. Each song nearly resembles an award-winning film score, creating a story that rapidly unfolds in the listener's imagination. The impressive vocal wealth of Ambre Vourvahis - ranging from rock grit, operatic highs and even death metal growls - opens the unit's sound to a wider palette of colours, all the while topped by a 40-piece classical choir and delicate violin and cello contributions from Subway To Sally's Ally Storch. Songs like "Two Worlds", "The Wonders Still Awaiting" and "Ghosts" manifest the thematic mood of the album while constructing incredible soundscapes of pure symphonic metal. "Paradise" showcases some of the strongest hooks that captivate with great metallic pop melodies. The veil of various influences is lifted once more in "Illusion Is Their Name", dashing all deception with heavy power metal vibes. Tracks like "Your Stories I'll Remember" and "Scars" show the intimate side of Xandria on one hand, while combining rhythmic heaviness on the other. The epic nine minute album closer "Astéria", with Greek lyrics written by Ambre Vourvahis, lands as the album's exclamation point, proving with a grand finish that the five-piece has fearlessly started a new revolution - commencing an impressive new era of Xandria with "The Wonders Still Awaiting".
Line Up:
Ambre Vourvahis - Vocals (2022-present) - See also: Fragment Soul (live) Marco Heubaum - Guitars, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals (1994-present) Tim Schwarz - Bass (2022-present) - See also: Hardbone Rob Klawonn - Guitars (2022-present) - See also: Ally the Fiddle, ex-Poised, Joachim Witt, ex-Weyland Dimitrio Gatsios - Drums (2022-present) - See also: Stahlmann
Tracklist:
01. Two Worlds 02. Reborn 03. You Will Never Be Our God 04. The Wonders Still Awaiting 05. Ghosts 06. Your Stories I'll Remember 07. My Curse Is My Redemption 08. Illusion Is Their Name 09. Paradise 10. Mirror Of Time 11. Scars 12. The Maiden And The Child 13. Astèria
Year : 2024 Style : Symphonic Metal , Gothic Metal , Female Vocal Country : Germany Audio : 320 kbps + scans Size : 97 mb
Bio:
Xandria is a German symphonic metal band, founded by Marco Heubaum in 1994. The band's music combines elements of symphonic metal with light electronic elements.After various demos and great success on different MP3 portals, they released their first album in 2003, entitled Kill the Sun, which reached No. 98 on the German music charts.The follow-up album, Ravenheart (2004), stayed on the charts for seven weeks, reaching No. 36.In 2005 they released their third album, India, which reached No. 30 on the German charts.Xandria began recording their fourth album, Salomé – The Seventh Veil, on December 14, 2006. It was released on May 25, 2007 and reached No. 41 on the German charts.Lisa Middelhauve resigned on April 30, 2008 citing personal reasons and discomfort in being the band's frontwoman. The band found a new singer in February 2009, Kerstin Bischof a.k.a. Lakonia, best known for her collaborations with the band Axxis.However, after just one year Kerstin Bischof decided to leave the band to concentrate on a different career, and Middelhauve replaced her for a series of concerts in Summer 2010.On December 19, 2010, Xandria announced the addition of 29-year-old female singer Manuela Kraller to the group's ranks. Manuela Kraller made her live debut at the "Classic Meets Pop" event on January 7, 2011 at the Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld, Germany.On 5 February the band announced on their website and Facebook page their new bass player Steven Wussow, along with the message that they will enter the studio again for their next studio album the same year. Neverworld's End was released on February 24, 2012.As of 25 October 2013, the band announced on their website that Manuela Kraller had left the band to pursue a different career and announced Dutch Ex Libris singer Dianne van Giersbergen as their new vocalist.
Album:
XANDRIA define the essence of modern symphonic metal and return with refreshing intensity on Universal Tales.XANDRIA surprised absolutely everyone last year! After a long hiatus, German symphonic metal icons came back with not only a new line up featuring the fantastic Ambre Vourvahis, who impresses audiences with her talent ranging from rock grit, operatic highs and even growls, they also came back with their strongest album ever, The Wonders Still Awaiting (#9 on the Official German Album Charts). On the fresh sounding masterpiece, XANDRIA reinvented themselves by taking their trademarks to a whole new level and setting the bar for modern symphonic metal today. With the epic upcoming nine-track EP, Universal Tales, out on November 22, 2024 via Napalm Records, the unit presents four brand new majestic songs, underlining the band’s new defined versatility and impressive intensity.Each of the songs highlight a different facet of XANDRIA’s musical range, alongside a new recording and beautifully re-arranged version of the title track from their recent album, The Wonders Still Awaiting. From bombastic film score atmospheres, choir-and-orchestra-driven anthems to real Celtic atmospheres and instruments like fiddle and whistles, the songs blend both classic and modern metal influences. Universal Tales offers a wealth of discoveries, while singer Ambre Vourhavis explores new heights and depths in her voice, making her even stronger than on the last album.The former standalone single “Universal”, alongside an official music video is a statement in support of a free, open, and diverse society, standing against authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism. It is dedicated to Jina Mahsa Amini and all those fighting for freedom. “No Time to Live Forever” is about the apparent loss of reason in the world, and the rise of tribalism, fired by religious fundamentalism that seems to fight a last battle against enlightenment and the achievements of civilization. “Live the Tale” follows that theme, showcasing that despite dark clouds, humankind could head in a positive direction as there is so much yet undiscovered and so much potential in mankind to live the tale of its imagination. On “200 Years”, XANDRIA fully embraces their Celtic roots like never before and explores the realms of the well-known book and TV series “Outlander”. Accented by renowned violinist Ally Storch (Subway To Sally), mesmerizing violin merges with resolute drums and with the blockbuster-like atmosphere, immediately transport fans to distant realms, fighting for a free and fair world.The Universal Tales EP concludes with orchestral versions of the four new tracks and will be released just before the band embarks on worldwide tours with genre peers Sirenia and Delain in the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025. While Marco Heubaum once again oversaw the recordings as the producer, Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Arch Enemy, Evergrey) handled the mixing and mastering.
Line Up:
Ambre Vourvahis - Vocals (2022-present) - See also: Fragment Soul (live) Marco Heubaum - Guitars, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals (1994-present) Tim Schwarz - Bass (2022-present) - See also: Hardbone Rob Klawonn - Guitars (2022-present) - See also: Ally the Fiddle, ex-Poised, Joachim Witt, ex-Weyland Dimitrio Gatsios - Drums (2022-present) - See also: Stahlmann
Tracklist:
01. No Time To Live Forever 02. Universal 03. 200 Years (ft. Ally Storch) 04. Live The Tale 05. The Wonders Still Awaiting (acoustic film score version) 06. No Time To Live Forever (orchestral version) 07. Universal (orchestral version) 08. 200 Years (orchestral version) 09. Live The Tale (orchestral version)
Year : 2024 (Japan Edition) Style : Symphonic Metal , Gothic Metal , Female Vocal Country : Germany Audio : 320 kbps + all scans Size : 102 mb
Bio:
Xandria is a German symphonic metal band, founded by Marco Heubaum in 1994. The band's music combines elements of symphonic metal with light electronic elements.After various demos and great success on different MP3 portals, they released their first album in 2003, entitled Kill the Sun, which reached No. 98 on the German music charts.The follow-up album, Ravenheart (2004), stayed on the charts for seven weeks, reaching No. 36.In 2005 they released their third album, India, which reached No. 30 on the German charts.Xandria began recording their fourth album, Salomé – The Seventh Veil, on December 14, 2006. It was released on May 25, 2007 and reached No. 41 on the German charts.Lisa Middelhauve resigned on April 30, 2008 citing personal reasons and discomfort in being the band's frontwoman. The band found a new singer in February 2009, Kerstin Bischof a.k.a. Lakonia, best known for her collaborations with the band Axxis.However, after just one year Kerstin Bischof decided to leave the band to concentrate on a different career, and Middelhauve replaced her for a series of concerts in Summer 2010.On December 19, 2010, Xandria announced the addition of 29-year-old female singer Manuela Kraller to the group's ranks. Manuela Kraller made her live debut at the "Classic Meets Pop" event on January 7, 2011 at the Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld, Germany.On 5 February the band announced on their website and Facebook page their new bass player Steven Wussow, along with the message that they will enter the studio again for their next studio album the same year. Neverworld's End was released on February 24, 2012.As of 25 October 2013, the band announced on their website that Manuela Kraller had left the band to pursue a different career and announced Dutch Ex Libris singer Dianne van Giersbergen as their new vocalist.
Album:
XANDRIA define the essence of modern symphonic metal and return with refreshing intensity on Universal Tales.XANDRIA surprised absolutely everyone last year! After a long hiatus, German symphonic metal icons came back with not only a new line up featuring the fantastic Ambre Vourvahis, who impresses audiences with her talent ranging from rock grit, operatic highs and even growls, they also came back with their strongest album ever, The Wonders Still Awaiting (#9 on the Official German Album Charts). On the fresh sounding masterpiece, XANDRIA reinvented themselves by taking their trademarks to a whole new level and setting the bar for modern symphonic metal today. With the epic upcoming nine-track EP, Universal Tales, out on November 22, 2024 via Napalm Records, the unit presents four brand new majestic songs, underlining the band’s new defined versatility and impressive intensity.Each of the songs highlight a different facet of XANDRIA’s musical range, alongside a new recording and beautifully re-arranged version of the title track from their recent album, The Wonders Still Awaiting. From bombastic film score atmospheres, choir-and-orchestra-driven anthems to real Celtic atmospheres and instruments like fiddle and whistles, the songs blend both classic and modern metal influences. Universal Tales offers a wealth of discoveries, while singer Ambre Vourhavis explores new heights and depths in her voice, making her even stronger than on the last album.The former standalone single “Universal”, alongside an official music video is a statement in support of a free, open, and diverse society, standing against authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism. It is dedicated to Jina Mahsa Amini and all those fighting for freedom. “No Time to Live Forever” is about the apparent loss of reason in the world, and the rise of tribalism, fired by religious fundamentalism that seems to fight a last battle against enlightenment and the achievements of civilization. “Live the Tale” follows that theme, showcasing that despite dark clouds, humankind could head in a positive direction as there is so much yet undiscovered and so much potential in mankind to live the tale of its imagination. On “200 Years”, XANDRIA fully embraces their Celtic roots like never before and explores the realms of the well-known book and TV series “Outlander”. Accented by renowned violinist Ally Storch (Subway To Sally), mesmerizing violin merges with resolute drums and with the blockbuster-like atmosphere, immediately transport fans to distant realms, fighting for a free and fair world.The Universal Tales EP concludes with orchestral versions of the four new tracks and will be released just before the band embarks on worldwide tours with genre peers Sirenia and Delain in the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025. While Marco Heubaum once again oversaw the recordings as the producer, Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Arch Enemy, Evergrey) handled the mixing and mastering.
Line Up:
Ambre Vourvahis - Vocals (2022-present) - See also: Fragment Soul (live) Marco Heubaum - Guitars, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals (1994-present) Tim Schwarz - Bass (2022-present) - See also: Hardbone Rob Klawonn - Guitars (2022-present) - See also: Ally the Fiddle, ex-Poised, Joachim Witt, ex-Weyland Dimitrio Gatsios - Drums (2022-present) - See also: Stahlmann
Tracklist:
01. No Time To Live Forever 02. Universal 03. 200 Years (ft. Ally Storch) 04. Live The Tale 05. The Wonders Still Awaiting (acoustic film score version) 06. No Time To Live Forever (orchestral version) 07. Universal (orchestral version) 08. 200 Years (orchestral version) 09. Live The Tale (orchestral version)
