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In a period where many try to imitate Stratovarius, Him, Korn and Mayhem, someone excellently matching different styles and knocking boundaries down at the same time is more than welcome to me. Not that you have to be original at any cost, but if you choose that path you have to keep in mind that the trap of 'sounding odd and surprising the listener' might turn to a double-edged weapon should one be devoid of the necessary tools. Luckily, this is not the case.
The 4-piece from Verona's suburbs has released a debut work of elevated conceptual inspiration, which is represented by corresponding outfits and make-up on the occasion of their live-shows, consisitently with the four life's elements, the main lyrical theme.

The four-track MCD is opened by "Anger Vs Anger" where the didjeridoo winds up among the opening guitar riff. The song, first slow, bursts into Metalcore with battering slapped bass, but the icy on the cake is the high amount of vocal inserts (aggressive, whispered, wretched, monophonic, adrenalinic), especially the ones used in an Alice In Chains-like break. The finalé with enraged groovy parts followed by faded didjeridoo waves close this stunning composition, destined to take no fucking prisoners during a live performance.
"Frailties of Generation" shows a more experimental side of the Italian new sensation through psychedelic guitars, effects and vocals before the onslaught. There's ample place for dirges, lunatic vocals and of course the hyper-frustrated ones that cover most of the throat duties of singer John. Sudden short noises and Funky slapped bass passages abruptly interrupt the brutality of the harsh song, just to be sure the auditory's involvement remains all of the time.
There're no fillers and the songs are not short, so it'll take some time to assimilate one like the frantic and hypnotic "Burning Trix", within which delayed and whispered sing-songs are fiercely smashed by Extreme metal momenta. Particularly appreciable the unexpected spoken word intermezzi and the tight entwinings between drums and bass, yet what makes this the best of the four tracks is - without fear of being denied - the central melodic part with delayed vocals and guitars, giving the impression of listening to the music under water; also Eastern and jazzy percussions contribute towards rendering this piece special. As to the fiery rest of the track, the powerful and brilliant recording sets off the act's Metalcore face.
Almost 8 minutes of Nu-metal, Noise and choked moments constitute the core of "A Bullet in Your Pride". Saying Slipknot and Pantera meet Tool and Jane's Addiction is not so distant from the truth; there's much more but the fineness of the guitar webs along with the LSD- and mushroom-influenced vocals magnificently deformed by a vocoder are rare to find in a violent band that besides has nothing to envy monsters such as Tool or Meshuggah, who all leave a trace in their sound but are NEVER plagiarized. As if it weren't enough, this subliminal opus wavers enriched by exacting vocal duties; it is on these occasions that the beauty of a voice is tested and the vocal modulation shows all the singer' spectrum and depth and for a band with several melodic or semi-distorted parts a peculiar person behind the mike can make the difference.

The lyrics about anger, psyco-physical strifes aimed at safeguarding one's soul's integrity, personal weakness are all linked with the major topic, life and more precisely, instinct of survival. Apart from the above-cited bands, this avantgarde Nu-metal/core record is recommended to fans of American Head Charge, The Dillinger Escape Plan and early Incubus, too. A platter that needs more listens to be appreciated but that afterwards, I hope, you will want to prize as I did.

MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - 20th September 2006

	'*Elements'* (self-recorded and produced) MARK: 97/100



	In a period where many try to imitate Stratovarius, Him, Korn and Mayhem, someone excellently matching different styles and knocking boundaries down at the same time is more than welcome to me. Not that you have to be original at any cost, but if you choose that path you have to keep in mind that the trap of 'sounding odd and surprising the listener' might turn to a double-edged weapon should one be devoid of the necessary tools. Luckily, this is not the case. The 4-piece from Verona's suburbs has released a debut work of elevated conceptual inspiration, which is represented by corresponding outfits and make-up on the occasion of their live-shows, consisitently with the four life's elements, the main lyrical theme. The four-track MCD is opened by "Anger Vs Anger" where the didjeridoo winds up among the opening guitar riff. The song, first slow, bursts into Metalcore with battering slapped bass, but the icy on the cake is the high amount of vocal inserts (aggressive, whispered, wretched, monophonic, adrenalinic), especially the ones used in an Alice In Chains-like break. The finalé with enraged groovy parts followed by faded didjeridoo waves close this stunning composition, destined to take no fucking prisoners during a live performance. "Frailties of Generation" shows a more experimental side of the Italian new sensation through psychedelic guitars, effects and vocals before the onslaught. There's ample place for dirges, lunatic vocals and of course the hyper-frustrated ones that cover most of the throat duties of singer John. Sudden short noises and Funky slapped bass passages abruptly interrupt the brutality of the harsh song, just to be sure the auditory's involvement remains all of the time. There're no fillers and the songs are not short, so it'll take some time to assimilate one like the frantic and hypnotic "Burning Trix", within which delayed and whispered sing-songs are fiercely smashed by Extreme metal momenta. Particularly appreciable the unexpected spoken word intermezzi and the tight entwinings between drums and bass, yet what makes this the best of the four tracks is - without fear of being denied - the central melodic part with delayed vocals and guitars, giving the impression of listening to the music under water; also Eastern and jazzy percussions contribute towards rendering this piece special. As to the fiery rest of the track, the powerful and brilliant recording sets off the act's Metalcore face. Almost 8 minutes of Nu-metal, Noise and choked moments constitute the core of "A Bullet in Your Pride". Saying Slipknot and Pantera meet Tool and Jane's Addiction is not so distant from the truth; there's much more but the fineness of the guitar webs along with the LSD- and mushroom-influenced vocals magnificently deformed by a vocoder are rare to find in a violent band that besides has nothing to envy monsters such as Tool or Meshuggah, who all leave a trace in their sound but are NEVER plagiarized. As if it weren't enough, this subliminal opus wavers enriched by exacting vocal duties; it is on these occasions that the beauty of a voice is tested and the vocal modulation shows all the singer' spectrum and depth and for a band with several melodic or semi-distorted parts a peculiar person behind the mike can make the difference. The lyrics about anger, psyco-physical strifes aimed at safeguarding one's soul's integrity, personal weakness are all linked with the major topic, life and more precisely, instinct of survival. Apart from the above-cited bands, this avantgarde Nu-metal/core record is recommended to fans of American Head Charge, The Dillinger Escape Plan and early Incubus, too. A platter that needs more listens to be appreciated but that afterwards, I hope, you will want to prize as I did. MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - 20th September 2006
	Line-up on this record: John, all v. Cela, b. Paolo, d. and percussions Mattia, all g. and didjeridoo Contacts: E-mail: info@xvs.it Official sites: www.xvs.it www.myspace.com/xvsband Demo-/Disco-graphy: -Elements (MCD - 2006)