Album Review: Xtasy - Phoenix

When last we heard from Xtasy, they were epitomizing a phenomenon that occurs in music. No matter our preferred genre, there are bands that stand above all the rest, even when we can't explain exactly why. There are dozens of bands that will all use the same building blocks, but one will hit us in a way the others do not. What makes this even more interesting is when collaboration gets involved, and some of the same players and writers get different reactions with different bands.

Xtasy worked in collaboration with Erik Martensson of Eclipse on that record, and again on this record. That is notable, because Eclipse has been gaining stature in the melodic rock world, and yet I have gone back to "Eye Of The Storm" again and again, while Eclipse has done exactly what their name implies. There's something about Xtasy's sound that is brighter, sharper, perhaps more exotic, and it leads to a band that stands out in a crowded field.

Much of that focuses on Silvia's voice, which is the unique piece of this puzzle. Her tone is unlike most everyone who sings this kind of music, a piercing siren with the ability to put just enough rumble into her voice to keep the band's sound from getting too light and airy. She keeps this melodic rock from becoming soft rock.

"Can't Get Enough" embodies Xtasy at their best, with gang vocals that anchor a chorus you would be humming to yourself long after the record is over, and a guitar solo that offers just enough shred to tell us there's more they have to offer than what we're being shown. Moments like those make clear they are playing for the sake of the song, because the most impressive thing is to write and play songs that stick with us. Xtasy certainly did that on "Eye Of The Storm", and they're doing it again here.

Xtasy makes the whole package sound easier than it is. Writing memorable songs is hard, and so is selling them to the audience. I think that's actually what separates them from Eclipse, as Erik's vocal performances can't match the charm Silvia has. Some of her deliveries come with something close to an audible wink, which invites us in to be part of the music. There's no effort to convince us how hard they're trying, which reads with an authenticity I certainly appreciate.

In the six years since "Eye Of The Storm" came out, and despite the incalculable number of bands and songs I have heard since then, I never forgot Xtasy. Every time a melodic rock album came out that impressed me, what it did was remind me of the benchmarks of the genre, which include Xtasy for me. "Phoenix" has a lot to live up to, and it does. It doesn't have the ability to catch me by surprise the same way as when I first heard Xtasy, but the harder task is to impress us once we know what to expect. "Phoenix" picks up right where the band left off, and that they can keep the momentum flowing without missing a beat is impressive indeed.

"Phoenix" sees the band rising up once again, this time hitting a little harder, rather than subduing us into submission. Both approaches work, and which one you prefer will be entirely up to you. I, for one, am just glad to have Xtasy back.