There are many great progressive bands coming out of Poland these days, and Xanadu can be added to that long list. The band came together in 2008 with the idea of performing ambitious music with a hint of melancholy – so I think it is safe to say that they have achieved their aims with this their debut album (there was a promo album ‘Violent Dream’ released in 2010) which came out in 2011 on ProgRock Records. It is obvious that there are going to be comparisons with Riverside due to the fact that they are from the same country, but here the comparison is justified as musically there are quite a few similarities. This is a driving rock band and Hubert Murawski is key to the overall success of this album as here is a band that remembers how to put ‘rock’ back into the genre. Lyrics are in English, with not too much accent, and the feeling here is of a band reaching for the heights and managing to attain them.
This is a prog album that demands attention of fans of Riverside, Votum and the like as they bring the power of neo-prog into an arena that verges on the metallic. Great stuff!
