Time for another new CD review!  This one is on Xandria’s fifth album, Neverworld’s End, out now in Europe and on March 6th in North America via Napalm Records.

I’ve always liked Xandria’s music, but the only pre-Neverworld’s End record of theirs I’d recommend would be their 2005 album India.  Otherwise, their brand of gothic pop-metal with Celtic and Middle Eastern elements was… decent. Over the past few years, however, Xandria have had to replace their frontwoman twice while crafting a major shift in style. Today, Xandria’s sound is more symphonic, more metal, more bombastic and operatic (thanks to soprano singer Manuela Kraller) – and much more awesome. That’s one of many reasons why I called Neverworld’s End “[Xandria’s] ticket to the forefront of the genre.” I think we’ll be hard-pressed to find a more impressive symphonic metal album this year, even from Epica, whose next album comes out in a couple of weeks.

Click here to read my review of Xandria’s Neverworld’s End.

More articles coming soon at both Sonic Cathedral and Suite101!

~ Sara