XorigiN – XorigiN
Frontiers Records
www.frontiers.it
Rating: C
Johannes Stole (vocals) and Daniel Palmqvist (guitar)
first formed a band back in 1999 when they were
attending the Musician’s Institute in California. Now,
they have reunited and signed a worldwide record deal
with Frontiers Records. The self-titled album is a
monstrous slab of Melodic Rock reminding one, at times,
of the ‘80’s pop of Foreigner mixed with more
progressive bands such as Yes and Giant.
The pair of musicians are the entire band, treating
this more like a musical project rather than a full
tilt, go on tour type of band. There is no doubt that
they are extremely talented. Stole’s vocals are perfect
for this kind of music and Palmqvist actually is a very
accomplished guitarist, who has had some success with
the Progressive Rock band POB and his current band, The
Murder of My Sweet.
This album will be very exciting for Melodic Rock
fans, who tend to melt when surrounded by impeccable
vocals, complex musical arrangements and that sound that
one can only get when a song is written in a major key.
XorigiN do well on the technical front, however, the
music will take several listens to learn it well enough
to differentiate one track from another. In other words,
this is a tad bit repetitive. Not bad, just a lot of
music that blends together so much that it threatens to
become monotonous. Melodic Rock nuts will laugh in my
face and disagree with me but harder rocking music
lovers will understand my point. Still, it’s worth a
listen as it is an interesting mix of music.
By Jeb Wright
