Xang - Destiny Of A Dream
	Released: 1999 Label: Galileo Records Cat. No.: Total Time: 59:28
	Review courtesy John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, March 2000 It is said that it's difficult for any band producing solely instrumental music. However we see that more and more new bands in the progressive circuit opt not to use a singer. It is something I can only be pleased about because too many bands have asked a singer to join after all of the material had already been written. Instead of adding something extra they take away the quality of the music by means of their bland input. So hip-hip-hurray for French band Xang joining the ever-growing family of all instrumental bands! This band was brought to my attention during the festival in Corbigny, France in 1998, which is exactly where and when they signed a deal with the Swiss based Galileo records. On Destiny Of A Dream you'll find eight original songs all written on the cutting edge. Whilst names such as Yes and Marillion pop up with three of the four members it seems that guitarist Antoine Duhem is more into industrial music, classical music, black metal, rap and electronic music - genres which certainly will mark the music of Xang. Even if it only concerns instrumental music, some lyrics have been written so you can follow "the plot." Whilst the introduction for "Misgivings" is very much Pink Floyd, the music changes towards Arrakeen. "The Dream" is one of my favourite resting points on this album, a very classical piano piece composed by Vincent Hooge. In "Bitterness" a name like NeBeLNeST comes to mind, which is mainly due to the Brand X approach, especially when succulent Moog sprints share the same bed with Rothery-like [guitar] interventions. In "The Choice" they place the guitar on top of a babbling rhythm, which is taken over by keyboards playing in a folky way, before it's "all systems go' in true Rhapsody fashion. Church organ introduces "The Light" in order to create a needed pastoral feeling. With keyboards on one side and guitar on the other, Xang create a bombastic whole. There's a long silence, and a mere four minutes before the end of this album, some obscure sounds take over, whilst an acoustic guitar finds its way through a sea of "industrial noise." A complex album from a complex band showing new bits and pieces every time you listen to it. More about Destiny Of A Dream: Track Listing: The Revelation/Gaïa (7:26) / Misgivings/Guernica (4:51) / My Own Truth (5:22) / The Prediction (7:03) / The Dream (3:32) / Bitterness (10:24) / The Choice (8:12) / The Light (13:18) Musicians: Vincent Hooge - keyboards Antoine Duhem - guitars Matthieu Hooge - bass Manu Delestre - drums Contact: Website: home.nordnet.fr/~vhooge/ Note: will open new browser window Email: XANG@caramail.com or vhooge@nordnet.fr Discography Destiny Of A Dream (1999)
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