{"id":46004,"date":"2014-10-12T10:26:58","date_gmt":"2014-10-12T15:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=46004"},"modified":"2014-10-12T10:26:58","modified_gmt":"2014-10-12T15:26:58","slug":"xtasy-revolution-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/xtasy-revolution-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Xtasy | Revolution<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"xtacy-revolution800\"Revolution<\/em> is the debut release from Spanish rockers Xtasy. The band began as a studio project consisting of vocalist Silvia and guitarist Jorge in 2011, and the pair recorded a number of tracks over the next 2 years with a bunch of guest musicians. Participating in the sessions were: Jon Huarte (Dreamwalker, Asymmetric), Josu Alzu (Six Miles Wide), Eneko Ollo, Manolo Arias (Atlas, Ni\u00e1gara), Robert Rodrigo (Airless), Willy Gasc\u00f3n (Steelhorse), David Morales (Asymmetric), Roberto Mart\u00ednez (Blackbeltz, Taxikarlo) and \u00c1ngel Garc\u00eda (Meridiam). In late 2013 the duo decided to become a full band, adding \u00c1ngel on guitar, David on bass, Tutumba on drums, and Jakin on keys. <\/p>\n

\u201cStronger\u201d is an apt title for the opener. Flowing keys over a crunchy hard rock guitar line lead into a radio-friendly mid-tempo tune that seems to encompass all that makes Xtasy a good band. Lead singer Silvia has a delivery reminiscent of Issa, and she delivers smooth and clear vocals, and does a nice job with layers on this pop-metal tune. \u201cRevolution\u201d is a very kicky and upbeat rocker with a bouncy rhythm line and some great drum work, while \u201cMillion Miles\u201d has a very pop-rock feel to it despite some gritty guitar work. \u201cAll For One\u201d could easily be a Bon Jovi style arena rocker \u2013 even the guitar hooks sound a bit Sambora. \u201cScream\u201d is a very commercial tune with a nice drum line, but the vocal line sounds a bit subdued for a track with the lyrics encouraging the listener to \u201cscream and shout.\u201d The true clarity and power of Silvia’s voice come through on the ballad \u201cIs It You.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRebel Rider\u201d is a bit old school, a bit progressive, and a bit pop \u2013 it sounds a bit schizophrenic. It would have come across better with a more consistent sound, but the main guitar break makes up for any earlier chaos. Crisp bass and fluid melody makes the short and sweet \u201cBurning Around\u201d a pop-metal toe-tapper, while \u201cMany Years\u201d is all about guitar hooks, a blinding solo, and layered vocals. \u201cHow Much Love\u201d is a well-done and nicely modernized cover of Vixen’s late 80s hit, while \u201cRocking The World\u201d sets out to do just that \u2013 and succeeds! Turn this one up! Appropriately, the mellow and mostly acoustic ballad \u201cBye Bye\u201d wraps the CD on a high \u2013 once again highlighting vocals and guitars.<\/p>\n

Fans of commercial and radio-friendly modern metal and female fronted rock will find a lot to enjoy here. Revolution<\/em> is a solid album, and while not breaking much new ground musically Xtasy delivers a lively and enthusiastic performance. Well constructed songs that layer modern flair and technique over hints of old school rock roots make Revolution an entertaining release and a strong debut. The album is mixed well thanks to veteran sound man Erik Martensson (W.E.T., Eclipse), who manages to keep the overall feel consistent despite the number of different performers involved. The only question is whether the full band can deliver the music that was originally performed by the \u201cstudio project\u201d and a diverse cast of players. Xtasy and its now full lineup is primed for bigger and better things in the future.<\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Pop-Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nSilvia (vocals)
\nJorge (guitar)
\n\u00c1ngel (guitar)
\nDavid (bass)
\nTutumba (drums)
\nJakin (keyboards)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tStronger
\n2.\tRevolution
\n3.\tMillion Miles Away
\n4.\tAll For One
\n5.\tScream
\n6.\tIt Is You
\n7.\tRebel Rider
\n8.\tBurning Around
\n9.\tMany Years
\n10.\tHow Much Love
\n11.\tRocking The World
\n12.\tBye Bye<\/p>\n

Label: MelodicRock Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.xtasyband.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Senior Columnist — Revolution is the debut release from Spanish rockers Xtasy. The band began as a studio project consisting of vocalist Silvia and guitarist Jorge in 2011, and the pair […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":46005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[9523,2317,10109,1643,10108],"class_list":{"0":"post-46004","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-revolution","9":"tag-cd-review","10":"tag-melodic-pop-metal","11":"tag-melodicrock-records","12":"tag-xtasy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}