Xandria
| Xandria | |
|---|---|
 The group's logo used since 2012 |
|
 Xandria at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2017 |
|
| General information | |
| origin | Bielefeld, Germany |
| Genre (s) |
Dark Rock , Alternative Rock , Symphonic Metal (Until 2008) Symphonic Metal (Since 2012) |
| founding | 1994, 2000 |
| resolution | 1997 |
| Website | www.xandria.de |
| Founding members | |
| Marco Hay Tree | |
| Niki Weltz (until 1997) | |
| Current occupation | |
Guitar, keyboard
|
Marco Hay Tree |
guitar |
Philip Restemeier (since 2001) |
| Steven Wussow (since 2013) | |
Drums |
Gerit Lamm (since 2000) |
| former members | |
singing |
Manuela Kraller (2010-2013) |
bass |
Nils Middelhauve (2004–2012) |
singing |
Kerstin Bischof (2009-2010) |
Vocals, piano
|
Lisa Middelhauve (2000-2008) |
bass |
Roland Krueger (1999-2004) |
singing |
Dianne van Giersbergen (2013-2017) |
| Live and session members | |
singing |
Aeva Maurelle (since 2017) |
Xandria is a symphonic metal band that was founded in Bielefeld in 1994 .
history
prehistory
Inspired by Paradise Lost and Tiamat , Marco Heubaum and Niki Weltz, a drummer friend, played in 1994 with the idea of mixing metal with atmospheric soundscapes. A short-lived band emerged from this project, whose style was characterized by the alternating vocals of Heubaum with a female counterpart. The resulting line-up with keyboard player Andreas Litschel, guitarist Manuel Vinke and bassist Holger Vester was supplemented by Nicole Tobien, who was the guest singer. After the release of a demo self-titled as Xandria in January 1997 and an appearance in the summer of the same year, the group broke up due to artistic differences. Years later, the cast came together again to appear as a cover band together.
First successes
Heubaum took his musical ideas, which he could not realize with the previous project, and rehearsed with musicians from Bielefeld. Some of these musicians previously played in a band with bassist Roland Krueger. The musicians recorded the demo Kill the Sun as a studio project under the musical direction of Heubaum . Kill the Sun was offered for download. The musicians involved were not clearly named and anonymized by the names of the Egyptian deities Osiris, Isis, Anubis, Horus and Seth. The group later announced that the demo had been recorded with the drummer Gerit Lamm and a regional singer who quit before the production of the debut album. By publishing it as a download, Xandria reached a wide audience before signing a record deal.
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Udo Zimmer from Drakkar Entertainment soon got involved as manager of the group and favored the conclusion of a contract with the metal label in 2002. After the recordings of the demo, an increasingly permanent line-up had come together around Heubaum. Together with Heubaum, Krueger and Lamm, the guitarist Philip Restemeier and the new singer Lisa Schaphaus , later Lisa Schaphaus-Middelhauve, recorded the official debut album Kill the Sun in the winter of 2002. The album was produced by Dirk Riegner , released in May 2003 and reached number 98 in the German album charts in the same month. To further promote the album, Xandria performed with Schandmaul and Subway to Sally , played a tour with Tanzwut as the opening act , another with ASP , as well as a festival appearance at the M'era Luna Festival .
In the same year the second album Ravenheart was recorded with the producer Jose Alvarez-Brill . After the recordings, Krueger left the group to meet his professional obligations. The album was released in May 2004 and is considered the band's commercial breakthrough. It stayed in the German charts for seven weeks and reached number 36. A frequently played music video was produced for the title track. The album stayed in the album charts for seven weeks and reached number 36. This was followed by national and international festival appearances, at the Summer Breeze and the free Busan International Rock Festival in South Korea, the largest open-air festival in Asia and the first tour as Main band, with which Entwine appeared as the opening act. With the second release, Eversleeping , accompanied by another video , the group reached the German single charts. Eversleeping reached number 86 and was able to hold its own in the German charts for two weeks.
After the success of the album Ravenheart , Drakkar built up the pressure of expectation for the successor. Heubaum endeavored to produce a work that was more epic in relation to the previous work, but there were creative differences within the band, the pressure of the label and the lack of time for the product proposed by Heubaum. India , which was recorded again with Alvarez-Brill and released in August 2005, only partially corresponded to the ideas of Heubaum, yet it reached number 30 in the German album charts. With the cooperation with the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg , Xandria worked for the first time with an orchestra in support. Shortly before the album was released, Schaphaus and Middelhauve got married. The album release was followed by tours and appearances that determined 2006, including first-time appearances in Mexico, Russia and England.
After the performances in 2006, Heubaum decided to produce the album following India himself. the concept album Salomé - The Seventh Veil , which loosely dealt with the theme of the biblical figure of Salome , took a new musical direction and was less orchestral. In retrospect, the group presented it as an indecisive album that lacked a clear direction. Again the group suffered from creative differences regarding the musical direction of the group. Despite a slight charter success with number 49, the album could not follow the success of its predecessors. The group also criticized the tours that followed the album as poorly attended. After the last concerts of the Germany tour for Salomé - The Seventh Veil , Lisa Middelhauve decided to leave the group.
Upheaval phase
With Kerstin "Lakonia" Bischof, a new singer was presented in February 2009 at the same time as the announcement of a tour. Heubaum continued to struggle with the results of the two previous albums and only wrote song material that should correspond to his vision. Meanwhile, the group toured South America for the first time . Bishop left Xandria after a year for personal reasons. The former singer Middelhauve agreed to step in for upcoming performances. However, Middelhauve did not become a permanent member of the group again, instead Xandria was officially looking for a new singer. After several hundred candidates had sung, Manuela Kraller was announced as the new singer in December 2010. Kraller made her stage debut at a concert in the group's hometown. In the new line-up, Xandria also changed her management, which from then on was taken over by Urs Middelhauve, the brother of the band bassist. In addition, the group signed a new label contract this time with Napalm Records .
In the new constellation, Xandria began producing a new album in the summer of 2011. The production period was interrupted by Xandria to participate in the European festival tour Out Of The Dark with Van Canto , Tristania , Serenity and Amberian Dawn . In November 2011 the group completed the recordings, in which Joost van den Broek from After Forever participated as arranger. The album Neverworld's End was released in February 2012.
The album was critically compared to older works by the band Nightwish and received high praise. Neverworld's End stayed in the German charts for two weeks and reached number 43. As a result, Xandria went on a European tour as opening act for Epica . In the same year the group completed another tour with Kamelot . Meanwhile, Middelhauve left the band, and Steven Wussow took over bass in his place.
With Dianne van Giersbergen
In October 2013 the band announced recording activities for the successor to Neverworld’s End. A few days after the announcement, the group introduced Dianne van Giersbergen from the Netherlands as the new singer. In the announcement the band announced that Manuela Kraller had decided to go other musical ways from now on. Accordingly, the recordings were completed with van Giersbergen. With this, Xandria also went on a tour of Spain in November of the same year. The album Sacrificium , for which van den Broek again acted as arranger and this time as co-producer alongside Heubaum, was released in May 2014 and reached number 25 in the German album charts.
Further international tours and concerts followed. The group performed in the USA , Canada , India and Dubai, among others . In the meantime, the group recorded an EP with re-recordings of older pieces, covers of Meat Loafs I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) and Sonata Arctica's Don't Say a Word, as well as three new tracks. The EP Fire & Ashes was released in July 2015.
In the summer of 2016 the band began recording a new album. The group invited a variety of well-known musicians, especially singers, as guests. The PA'dam Chamber Choir , who already appeared on Sacrificium and previously supported other metal projects such as Epica, the Devin Townsend Project and ReVamp , took part. In addition, Ross Thompson from Van Canto, Zaher Zorgati from Myrath , Björn Strid from Soilwork and Henning Basse from Metalium joined in as singers. Van den Broek was once again involved in the production as arranger and co-producer. In January 2017 the album Theater of Dimensions was released , which reached number 17 in the German charts. In December 2016, We Are Murderers (We All) and in January 2017 Call of Destiny was released as download singles from the album Theater of Dimensions .
In September 2017, Xandria and van Giersbergen announced the separation of the band and singer in their own statements. The dissent between the singer and the group turned into a public conflict on social media , to which many fans as well as former singers of the group and the band spoke up. In November of the same year, the band embarked on a previously booked European tour with Aeva Maurelle from Aeverium .
style
The style of Xandria is mostly assigned to symphonic metal . Later publications in particular are considered reference works for the genre. The group's early work, especially the releases with Middelhauve, are also brought close to dark and alternative rock .
Until Salomé - The Seventh Veil
For the early releases, the music was compared with representatives of symphonic metal such as Nightwish and Within Temptation . At the same time, comparisons were made with performers of the turn of the millennium popular dark and alternative rock such as HIM , The Crest , Bloodflowerz , Tiamat , Theater of Tragedy , Evanescence and Lacuna Coil . The collective term Gothic Metal was often used to vaguely identify the style. The group combined "melodic [...], sometimes hymn [...] pieces with rocking guitars and [...] sensitive female vocals". Middelhauve's vocal performance was positively highlighted in many reviews. The singing is unaffected and stands out from the symphonic metal interpreters with soprano singing. The further instrumentation is described as varied and riff-stressed music between rock and metal. Mostly the group present "[a] atmospheric [n] Metal with an earthy guitar note and keyboard vibes full of emotions".
With the release of Ravenheart , the group was already accused of emulating popular symphonic metal representatives, especially Nightwish and Within Temptation, without ideas . Elsewhere, Xandria was judged to be a copy of Evanescence. The style of the group remained close to that of the previous album, increased "mainstream compatibility" was added to the mix, the proportion of metal was reduced to the counterpart. Nevertheless, the music would remain varied, especially in the tempo played. The album India is also discussed as an imitation of the group Nightwish. Xandria is oriented towards the “scene sizes. As if hard guitars, bombastic orchestral passages and fat choirs were the currently valid entry ticket to the charts. The group still retained the overall concept in the "usual mix of distinctive, varied melodies, fine vocals, really hard guitar riffs and decorative keyboard arrangements that come along with a good portion of kitsch."
With Salomé - The Seventh Veil , Xandria distanced themselves selectively from the style they knew, towards a "straightforward, albeit with delicate flourishes, rock". Once again, Middelhauve's vocal performance was highlighted as a special feature. This was described as more willing to experiment and more complex compared to the previous works. However, despite the more rock-oriented alignment of Salomé - The Seventh Veil , Xandria stayed close to the previous albums. The album has "no major changes"; instead, the band stayed true to their style.
Since Neverworld's End
With the singer switching to Manuela Kraller, Xandria were judged to be a full copy of early Nightwish. The music and the vocals on Neverworld's End would correspond to that of the early Nightwish. Accordingly, the album was compared to Oceanborn and Wishmaster . The music "gallops at the right tempo with pleasantly good riffing [...] and the symphonic parts are predominant everywhere without being intrusive or annoying [...], while they give the entire work great splendor."
“[The comparison with early Nightwish] begins with the expansive structure of the songs, continues through the rousing, epic riffing, the impressive orchestral arrangements, through numerous details, such as the choirs used at certain points or a subtle, gentle second voice to accompany certain parts to the singing of the new singer Manuela Kraller, who actually sounds almost exactly like Tarja Turunen in terms of vocal range, timbre and use of the voice . "
Despite the line-up change to van Giersbergen, the group kept the path taken with Neverworld's End . The direction initiated with the predecessor was continued on Sacrificium . According to the criticism of the Internet magazine Metalnews “with a lot of bombast, force, fat drums and guitars and a singer who sounds as if she has always sung with this band.” The following Theater of Dimensions is assessed similarly . This is also “pomp-metal produced in a modern way, determined by powerful operatic singing and of course a sufficiently sounding orchestra and choirs”.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 CH
|
 AT
|
|||
| 2003 | Kill the Sun Drakkar Entertainment |
DE98 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
First published: May 5, 2003
|
| 2004 | Ravenheart Drakkar Entertainment |
DE36 (7 weeks) DE |
- | - |
First published: May 24, 2004
|
| 2005 | India Drakkar Entertainment |
DE30 (3 weeks) DE |
- | - |
First published: August 22, 2005
|
| 2007 | Salomé - The Seventh Veil Drakkar Entertainment |
DE49 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
First published: May 25, 2007
|
| 2012 | Neverworld's End Napalm Records |
DE43 (2 weeks) DE |
CH51 (1 week) CH |
- |
First published: February 24, 2012
|
| 2014 | Sacrificium Napalm Records |
DE25 (1 week) DE |
CH48 (1 week) CH |
AT71 (1 week) AT |
First published: May 2, 2014
|
| 2017 | Theater of Dimensions Napalm Records |
DE17 (1 week) DE |
CH24 (1 week) CH |
AT56 (1 week) AT |
First published: January 27, 2017
|
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
|||
| 2004 | Eversleeping Ravenheart |
DE86 (2 weeks) DE |
- | - |
First published: October 11, 2004
|
More singles:
- 2003: Kill the Sun (single, Drakkar Entertainment)
- 2004: Ravenheart (single, Drakkar Entertainment)
- 2005: In Love With the Darkness (single, Drakkar Entertainment)
- 2007: Save My Life (single, Drakkar Entertainment)
- 2015: Fire & Ashes (EP, Napalm Records)
Compilations
- 2008: Now and Forever (compilation including DVD, Drakkar Entertainment)
Demos and downloads
- 1997: Xandria (demo, self-published)
- 2000: Kill the Sun (demo, self-published)
- 2007: Sisters of the Light (download split single with Jesus on Extasy , Drakkar Entertainment)
- 2016: We Are Murderers (We All) (download single, Drakkar Entertainment)
- 2017: Call of Destiny (download single, Drakkar Entertainment)
swell
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Xandria. metalstorm, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ^ Christian Heckmann: Interview with Marco Heubaum from Xandria. Metal1, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Jason Birchmeier: Xandria. Allmusic, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c Xandria: Kill the Sun. EMP, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Xandria: Kill the Sun (album). officialcharts.de, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Xandria: Ravenheart (album). officialcharts.de, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Xandria: Eversleeping (Single). officialcharts.de, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Xandria: India (album). officialcharts.de, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Xandria: Salomé (album). officialcharts.de, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Katharina: Xandria: Neverworld's End. metal.de, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ xandria: Opening the Next Chapter ... xandria, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ xandria: Announcement. xandria, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ^ Xandria: Sacrificum (album). officialcharts.de, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Tour Archives. Xandria, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Fire & Ashes: Our 7-Track EP is out Now. Xandria, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Fire & Ashes to be released July 31st. (No longer available online.) Xandria, archived from the original on September 22, 2017 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Recording Our New Album Update. (No longer available online.) Xandria, archived from the original on September 22, 2017 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Theater of Dimensions Credits. Allmusic, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Xandria: Theater of Dimensions (album). officialcharts.de, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Frank Jaeger: XANDRIA: Singer Dianne Van Giersbergen is out! Powermetal.de, September 19, 2017, accessed October 16, 2017 .
- ↑ Angela: Xandria - The Shitstorm summarized. metal.de, September 17, 2017, accessed on February 27, 2018 .
- ↑ Sebastian: XANDRIA - NEW SINGER, OLD AUDIENCE. Silence Magazine, November 6, 2017, accessed April 28, 2018 .
- ↑ Xandria: Kill the Sun (demo). Twilight Magazine, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c Oliver: Xandria: Kill the Sun. (No longer available online.) Medienkonverter.de, archived from the original on September 21, 2017 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Jack: Xandria: Kill the Sun. Metal Reviews, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Kathy Schütte: Xandria: Kill the Sun. Powermetal, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Dennis Arancio: Xandria: Kill the Sun. (No longer available online.) Sonic Cathedral, archived from the original on September 21, 2017 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Steph: Xandria: Kill the Sun. (No longer available online.) Whiskey-soda, archived from the original on August 4, 2014 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Heiko B: Xandria: Kill the Sun. (No longer available online.) The Gothicworld, archived from the original on June 23, 2008 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Xandria: Ravenheart. metal.de, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ a b chris: Xandria: Ravenheart. (No longer available online.) Burn Your Ears, archived from the original on September 22, 2017 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b The Wendigo: Xandria: Ravenheart. (No longer available online.) Whiskey-soda.de, archived from the original on August 4, 2014 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b Christian Hubert: Xandria: Ravenheart. Powermetal, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ^ Brother Cle: Xandria: India. Rock Hard, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ chris: Xandria: India. (No longer available online.) Burn Your Ears, archived from the original on September 21, 2017 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Christian Rosenau: Xandria: India. Bloodchamber, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Enrico: Xandria: Salomé - The Seventh Veil. (No longer available online.) Medienkonverter.de, archived from the original on September 21, 2017 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Oliver Jung: Xandria: Salomé - The Seventh Veil. (No longer available online.) Metalnews, archived from the original on September 21, 2017 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Fallen Angel: Xandria: Salomé - The Seventh Veil. Terrorverlag, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Ag Fox: Xandria: Neverworld's End. Metalstorm, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Katharina: Xandria: Neverworld's End. metal.de, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ^ Ingo Nentwig: Xandria: Sacrificum. (No longer available online.) Metalnews, archived from the original on September 21, 2017 ; accessed on September 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Sebastian Kessler: Xandria: Theater of Dimensions. Metal Hammer. Retrieved September 21, 2017 .
- ^ Matthias Weise: Xandria: Theater of Dimensions. metal.de, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Luke: Xandria: Theater of Dimensions. Silence Magazine, accessed September 21, 2017 .
