XII - Album review V2

John 'Capachino' Carter's band.

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The Last Voice
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XII - Album review V2

Post by The Last Voice » Sat Jan 03, 2015 6:16 pm

Currently available on pre-order only, 'Moving in the Shadows' is going to surprise, and has surpassed my expectations. Why this band are not signed is a mystery.

The self-produced debut, 'Moving in the Shadows' sees XII deliver on the promise that their previously available demo's hinted at. A long time in the making, XII demonstrate some skill at their craft, and are to be congratulated.

The two digital-only singles, 'Vitue' and 'More' are present, as are their respective b-sides, 'Solitary Sanity' and 'Before', so there's some inherent familiarity in the proceedings, but the album tracks work well together, seeming to pull the whole together into a very neat package and highlighting the familiar in a different way.

Opus No. XII starts proceedings well, a curtain raiser if ever there was one, introducing the band with a bit of ceremony. 'Before' is the first taste of the band proper, here the listener has a taste of THE BASS and I find it's very much to my taste. It's a tight track, showing what direction XII are taking the listener in, that being the kind of ROCK that ensures some air-guitar and frenetic drumming. It's followed by 'Tales of the Rope', amping things up a notch, and likely to be a bit of a grower. There's much to appreciate already and still more to come.

'Solitary Sanity', available only on iTunes for the passed eighteen months, is a most welcome inclusion, but the next track, 'Love It Never Fades' is truly a surprise, revealing a side of the band that I had not expected - sounding to me very much like a Love & Rockets inspired ballad, with it's acoustic guitar and synths.

'Virtue' is a firm favourite of mine, and is still my go-to number. The promo clip is included as a bonus track, offering some visual perspective. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RYTqmz0FvE Available for some time already, it is an excellent introduction for an initiate.

'Ode to Mother', another acoustic ballad, has some unexpected delicacy to it, and proves that XII have more than just a few good ideas kicking around, they can be deep too. 'More' takes things in the opposite direction, a stormer to be sure, it's impact is immediate after the preceding quiet.

The closing track, 'The Ever Unfolding', a gem from earlier days, sounds ominous and is quite the epic at nearly eleven minutes. A fan-shot video of this track, performed live, is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjNnENN_e8c

XII show wide range in their material, and have a signature sound which continues to grow on me. 'Moving in the Shadows' has elements of GOTH, DOOM, and METAL, while being delivered with some finesse. There's almost no electronics present, which I take as a sign of confidence in the material.

Dare I say there is something for everyone to like amongst the nine songs presented? It may have taken a while to come together in the end, but I feel that 'Moving in the Shadows' was worth the wait.

Personally, I can't wait for more.

5/5

Via Bandcamp, the album is available in a variety of user friendly formats and, pleasant surprise, isn't mastered too hot either, so the lossless formats will permit some rigorous speaker testing.

Go here: http://xiiofficial.bandcamp.com/ or you'll regret it!
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Re: XII - Album review V2

Post by Enoch » Thu Jan 08, 2015 10:51 pm

So I gave this thing a go, because I thought Virtue sounded pretty cool. Bought it on Bandcamp, got the "download link" a day later, but when using there was no possibility to download anything, just a few "Like"/"G+" buttons and a link back to the album. Wrote to bandcamp for assistance in downloading - [edit] got no help from bandcamp, but from XII themselves - thank you guys :)

I look forward to listening to it :)
Last edited by Enoch on Sat Jan 10, 2015 2:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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NorthernNephilim
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Re: XII - Album review V2

Post by NorthernNephilim » Sat Jan 10, 2015 10:42 am

Maybe he deleted the bandcamp account due to the new VAT regulations of digital downloads in the UK?

its still availiable on itunes / amazon.
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Re: XII - Album review V2

Post by Enoch » Sat Jan 10, 2015 2:16 pm

Hm yes, that VAT issue might very well be the case here. Thank you for the heads up regarding iTunes and Amazon!
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ElsabEPH
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Re: XII - Album review V2

Post by ElsabEPH » Sun Feb 15, 2015 1:45 am

Moving In The Shadows

XII


Gothic Rock - Review

[80/100]

14/01/2015, Wim GUILLEMYN

http://www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be/en/re ... e-shadows/
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Re: XII - Album review V2

Post by mindcleener » Mon Feb 16, 2015 7:09 am

You can also listen to it on Spotify.
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nomad
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Re: XII - Album review V2

Post by nomad » Sun Feb 22, 2015 10:22 pm

And Deezer... :D
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