Xandria
Ravenheart

It's a fact: female-fronted bands are the most exhausting metallic trend of recent times: melancholic atmospheres, synths, and orchestrations that embellish the tracks, a vocalist with an ethereal voice and a decent presence: the German Xandria is the embodiment of this musical genre, unfortunately, they produce music without the slightest depth, unoriginal and banal: their offering is the most derivative we've heard lately: a useless collage between Within Temptation and Evanescence, with some nods to our own Lacuna Coil.

Not to mention the voice: Lisa Schaphaus not only fails to be emotional, but at times is even annoying. The songs are of frightening banality and all feature the same identical structure, trying to follow all the stereotypes of today's melodic-symphonic metal, producing terrible work.

"Ravenheart" is their second album, after "Kill The Sun" released in 2003. The CD opens poorly with the clichéd "Ravenheart", introduced by pseudo-folk orchestrations: it's a mid-tempo focused entirely on the (eheheh) enticing voice of the German. The first single from the album. Next up is another mediocre track: "The Lioness", played on the alternation of more aggressive moments and more dynamic ones, with a nice solo in the middle that poorly integrates with the rest. In "Back To The River", the eastern sounds, melodies borrowed from "The Silent Force" (Within Temptation) and the very evanescent riffs (nu?) dominate, creating a piece that is ultimately sufficient.

Then, of course, there is the obligatory big ballad: "Everlsleepping", full of Celtic influences as usual and so cloying that it becomes unbearable after just a few seconds. "Fire Of Universe" is a very predictable piece where Schaphaus's voice is truly irritating. "Some Like It Cold" is a mid-tempo with a decent epic and emotional vein. The synths play their part with a minimum of reason, producing a pleasant track. "Answer" is another respectable piece. Its opening relies on the union between electronic inserts and guitar riffs. Lisa's voice almost manages to be emotional. "My Scarlet Name" is the most unpresentable piece of the entire CD: as boring as ever and Lisa is unlistenable. "Snow-White" opens with orchestral arrangements and then continues on the same path tread in the other tracks. In the interlude, the band tries to insert some metallic power as if to say: "Hey, we are also a Metal band!".
"Black Flame" follows the path of the previous piece: the guitars resume having an important role, producing an overall fun piece. "To Close To Breath" is a slow, extremely slow piece, up to madness. I believe that seemingly, slow songs are simple tracks; today, as things are, it's difficult to be moving with a quality slow piece, and this is certainly not the case for the German band. The CD closes with the adequate "Keep To My Secret Well" centered on piano riffs (my weak point), which are very Melodic Metal band-like, electronic inserts of various natures, and a successful refrain.

No offense to the band's fans, but to me, the CD seemed more than mediocre, full of inconsistent tracks. Of course, this is a subjective view. Maybe in their future works, they will manage to improve, but for now, my rating can't go beyond 2 stars.