01	Kill the Sun						03:23
	02	Mermaids						03:44
	03	Ginger						04:56
	04	She's Nirvana						03:22
	05	Forever Yours						05:08
	06	Casablanca						04:04
	07	So you disappear						04:41
	08	Wisdom						03:10
	09	Isis/Osiris						03:49
	10	Calyx Virago						03:36

Art Music + Drakkar

Kill the sun

recorded: winter 2002/2003
studios: Principal - Munster (GER)
DRP Studio - Bochum (GER)
mix: Base 5 - Hannover (GER)
producer: Dirk Riegner
label: Drakkar Records
distribution: BMG
released: 2003-05-03 (GER/AUT/CH)
2003-10-13 (FRA by XIIIbis)
2003-10-30 (BRA by Hellion)


Kill The Sun


A brief Internet search on the subject of "Xandria" is more than likely to come up with a sex toy palace for grown-ups; for the time being, anyway, because the World-Wide Web is about to be complemented by a number of fan sites that promise even greater pleasures. The reason for this impending development stems from the "metropolis" of Bielefeld in eastern Westphalia. While this location may not exactly sound like the magical source of a new musical revelation, what the heart of Westphalia lacks in terms of spiritual aura is about to be compensated for by one of the most exciting new bands in the gothic metal genre.

Founded a little over two years ago by guitarist and keyboarder Marco, Xandria are now on their way to conquer the limelight with their debut album "Kill the Sun", produced by Dirk Riegner, for which you should spare more than just a passing glance. You'll find yourself looking in vain for spectacular or bombastic sound effects, after all Xandria are not desperately looking for an easily identifiable trademark, like a fetish, but work with slim, pithy and at the same time extremely diverse arrangements that leave the vocals as much breathing space as possible. And oh, what vocals! What the band's singer, Lisa, celebrates on this album shows that she's not trying to live up to those confused standards expected from the mandatory woman in a gothic metal act, but creates sound out of her own emotions with every vibration of her vocal chords. Multi-faceted, perfectly intoned, yet by no means polished - what she is sharing with us is authentic in its expression, fairylike and ethereally beautiful at times, brittle and fragile at others, but always full of passion.

The band's founder, Marco, considers the "tearing down of the hard faзade", as he aptly characterizes the development from the death metal of the late Eighties to the much more complex contemporary dark metal scene, the pivotal point of Xandria's work. Consequently, the quintet don't revel in any kind of musical muscle play but demonstrate toughness only where a track's dramaturgy requires it. It's the melodies that matter, and yes, these may occasionally sound a little more poppy than the metal scene's ideologists will approve of. But once you've come to accept the fact that pop and commercialism do not necessarily have to go hand in hand, you'll discover that there can be only one winner whenever these widely accepted borders are crossed: a good song. And precisely this is what happens ten times in succession on "Kill the Sun".

By reflex action, you could award Xandria a label like "Germany's answer to Lacuna Coil, Nightwish, After Forever and Within Temptation", but these comparisons don't do justice to the material's diversity. Xandria know how do deal with influences in our age of post-modernism: in precisely the same measure that band names become synonymous with certain atmospheres and emotions that due to their complexity would otherwise be difficult to put into adequate words, quotation becomes a legitimate medium for musicians that refuse to be held back by the stylistic catalogue of the contemporary gothic scene, but consciously orientate themselves to its sound range. Xandria quote easily and without any inhibition, at the same time they submit all references to other artists to their own creative process, using them, as it were, in virtuoso style as abstract instruments.

It would probably be a mistake to pile concluding evaluations on "Kill the Sun" at this early stage, after all this band is still at the beginning of its musical development. One thing, however, remains certain: this album is one of the most delightful debuts in ages - because it catches the essence of modern gothic metal: elegant, emotional and moving.

Robert Muller, March 2003