German symphonic power/gothic band Xandria have been in the scene for almost thirty years now. Led by mastermind Marco Heubaum, only remaining founding member through many line-up changes, this is band’s eighth full opus, first one in six years with completely new line-up. New singer Ambre Vourvahis sounds really convincing with her strong and melodic voice, and her interplay with Marco’s growled and almost black metal screamed voice comes to front in songs like awesome ‘You Will Never Be Our God’, featuring guest performance by Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear/Gamma Ray fame, being one of my personal favorites on this one. This brand of symphonic melodic gothic/power metal didn’t always sit with me well in the past, but this band always somehow was good and they continue that way. Choirs and symphonic orchestrated parts are epic, bombastic and band is still metal besides that and guitars and their melodies lead the way through soundscape of music which opens up and touches you most inner feelings and fights and struggles. Songs that I can also list as my favorites are: ‘Ghosts’, ‘Your Stories I’ll Remember’.
Ach Germany! Bringing so much great bands and projects every day and week and month to our black hearts. Leipa is a one man band/project from Bavaria active since 2021 and this is the second full length opus. This one contains 7 songs with lyrics in German. Music of Leipa is melodic black metal, with lots of emotion and atmosphere reminding me why I love this music so much. Guitar melodies are melancholic, sad, even when aggressive blast beats prevail in song parts of almost every song on this opus. Vocals are screamed but not too extreme so you can understand if you happen to speak German as I do. Now, some would call this depressive black metal. Maybe it is, but only in lyrics which deal with personal thoughts, demons and really, why try different roads when all roads lead to nothing in the end. Besides aggression there are also some calmer more atmospheric parts with some spoken word and listening to this record I can not really help myself but if I must compare Leipa to some band that reminds me of it would be Nocte Obducta. This is melodic atmospheric black metal par excellence, so check this one out.
Thin Ice are hardcore band from Schweinfurt, Germany and this is their new promo e.p. release to shorten the wait until the release of the band’s debut full length album. This e.p. contains three songs , two new and one re-recorded version. This is a modern hardcore standing with one leg in the nineties and all those metallic releases a la Biohazard, Madball, old Ryker’s and Brightside. There are not so much fast hardcore punk drumming parts, but there are moshing and mid tempo hardcore song parts just made for stage diving and singing along to gang backing vocals. This is street core in its truest sense of word. Of all three my personal favorite is new version of Less Talk, More Action. I haven’t listened to it before, so it is new for me anyway.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 