The band was formed in 2000 and was firstly named Shadow Play, which was
later changed to X-Piral, because of another band that held that name...
Now the band, after some line-up changes, has released its debut album
under the label Burning Star. The band plays power metal with lots of
keyboards and generally sounds very melodic. Now let’s talk about the
details of the album starting from the vocalist (M. Apostolakis), which I
didn’t like much. I think that a power metal band needs a better
vocalist who can sing with more emotion and must have more vocal abilities...
His vocals sound a little monotonous to me and he also does not have a
good accent... The guitars (N. Papanikoplaou and Th. Tzanetopoulos) on the
other hand are fast and interesting enough... The rhythm section is pretty
good and heavy enough. The keyboards (D. Marinis), which play a vital role
in the bands music, are very good and make the album more interesting.
Apart from the above, the album has many 80’s heavy metal influences, an
aggressive tone to most of the tracks and some epic moments. All these add
a bigger variety to the whole album... Finally, the production should be
clearer and I admit that I didn’t like it. Generally, the band has to
make more efforts with the production and the vocalist should try much
more, because I think that the band has some good ideas on its songs. Best
tracks: “Steel Tears”, “Crawling In Your Mind” and “Plains Of
Perfection”.
G.K.
5/10
XYZ
"LETTER TO GOD"
Sometimes you can't believe in your own eyes! I must admit that when I read about the new studio album of XYZ, I thought that it was a lie! But then, when I got the album, I was not even surprised, but more I was curious to listen to the new studio album that XYZ released after almost twelve years! At first place the album is titled "Letter To God" due to tragic accident that happened to a member of Terry's family. Well, that's another reason why I admire persons like Terry, cause they have a big heart and so much strength. As it concerns the music side of the album, I must say that XYZ amazed me! Of course the first homonymous album is
better (they have also released one more album with the title "Hungry" and a live album called "Take What You Can…Live") but for sure "Letter To God" is not far way from it. I would say that it is a little bit different, cause it's darker and "stranger" than "XYZ". If you listen to songs like "Letter To God", or "Tango", or "Rainy Day", you will feel the dark side of XYZ! In this point I ought to say that Terry's vocals are once more incredible and powerful! In some songs he might bring on your mind the "legend" Robert Plant! The album as a result is well produced and has many good songs like the heavy "United", the mid-tempo rocker "Tell Me" and the hard rocker "Burn It Up". Also the album has three great ballads, which the two of them are new "Deny" and "All I'm Asking" (Terry's
voice will break your heart!) and the other one is the remake of their old amazing "What Keeps Me Loving You", which is slightly changed. I have no more to say and I'm sure that the fans of the band will buy (or at least will listen to) this album and the same thing must do all the hard rock fans. XYZ returned to claim what they deserve!
The band was formed in 2000 and was firstly named Shadow Play, which was
later changed to X-Piral, because of another band that held that name...
Now the band, after some line-up changes, has released its debut album
under the label Burning Star. The band plays power metal with lots of
keyboards and generally sounds very melodic. Now let’s talk about the
details of the album starting from the vocalist (M. Apostolakis), which I
didn’t like much. I think that a power metal band needs a better
vocalist who can sing with more emotion and must have more vocal abilities...
His vocals sound a little monotonous to me and he also does not have a
good accent... The guitars (N. Papanikoplaou and Th. Tzanetopoulos) on the
other hand are fast and interesting enough... The rhythm section is pretty
good and heavy enough. The keyboards (D. Marinis), which play a vital role
in the bands music, are very good and make the album more interesting.
Apart from the above, the album has many 80’s heavy metal influences, an
aggressive tone to most of the tracks and some epic moments. All these add
a bigger variety to the whole album... Finally, the production should be
clearer and I admit that I didn’t like it. Generally, the band has to
make more efforts with the production and the vocalist should try much
more, because I think that the band has some good ideas on its songs. Best
tracks: “Steel Tears”, “Crawling In Your Mind” and “Plains Of
Perfection”.
Sometimes you can't believe in your own eyes! I must admit that when I read about the new studio album of XYZ, I thought that it was a lie! But then, when I got the album, I was not even surprised, but more I was curious to listen to the new studio album that XYZ released after almost twelve years! At first place the album is titled "Letter To God" due to tragic accident that happened to a member of Terry's family. Well, that's another reason why I admire persons like Terry, cause they have a big heart and so much strength. As it concerns the music side of the album, I must say that XYZ amazed me! Of course the first homonymous album is
better (they have also released one more album with the title "Hungry" and a live album called "Take What You Can…Live") but for sure "Letter To God" is not far way from it. I would say that it is a little bit different, cause it's darker and "stranger" than "XYZ". If you listen to songs like "Letter To God", or "Tango", or "Rainy Day", you will feel the dark side of XYZ! In this point I ought to say that Terry's vocals are once more incredible and powerful! In some songs he might bring on your mind the "legend" Robert Plant! The album as a result is well produced and has many good songs like the heavy "United", the mid-tempo rocker "Tell Me" and the hard rocker "Burn It Up". Also the album has three great ballads, which the two of them are new "Deny" and "All I'm Asking" (Terry's
voice will break your heart!) and the other one is the remake of their old amazing "What Keeps Me Loving You", which is slightly changed. I have no more to say and I'm sure that the fans of the band will buy (or at least will listen to) this album and the same thing must do all the hard rock fans. XYZ returned to claim what they deserve!