If you like Scandinavian Melodic Rock / AOR, what do you get when pairing Swedish and Norwegian musicians from the genre? – The best from both countries.
XORIGIN is a band with a history dating back to 1999. Norway-born Vocalist / Keyboardist Johannes Støle (ex Slaves To Fashion) and Swedish guitarist Daniel Palmqvist (The Murder Of My Sweet, Violet Janine) first met being students at Musicians Institute in Los Angeles where they formed the band Orange Crush. The project disbanded and both musicians continued their careers in their home countries.
However, Daniel Palmqvist (songwriter for Sunstorm, First Signal, Rated X) teamed up with monster drummer / producer Daniel Flores (XsavioR, Frozen Rain, Deacon Street Project) with the idea to form a new band, and asked his old friend Johannes Støle to join. After some productive songwriting time, XORIGIN born.
As requested, here’s their debut album “State Of The Art“, a full-blooded Melodic Rock / AOR CD in the Scandi style, with terrific vocals, big hooks, lots of keyboards and melodic guitars.
Appeared on Frontiers Music, XORIGIN’s ”State Of The Art” was released by the label at the same time of Work Of Art and Toby Hitchcock discs which got more promotion, and unfortunately ”State Of The Art” resulted overlooked for many. A shame, as this is a fantastic record with stupendous songs and performances.
Opener “Can’t Keep Running” is an infectious track, very Eighties in outlook and sound with its synth bass and big chorus hook which sees well layered vocal melodies. A highlight.”Crying For You” shows off the great vocal range of Johannes. The midtempo AOR ballad “In The Blink Of An Eye” has a hit potential, sounding like the perfect companion to the likes of Winger’s ‘Miles Away’ or Damn Yankees ‘High Enough’. Nothing wrong with nostalgia when it’s well crafted like this!
“Too Late” is a catchy summer-day type of tune with an outstanding keyboard line and the chorus grabs a hold of you.
“Gina” (not a Michael Bolton cover) is another winner. Great, big sound and a catchy vibe. It brings back flashes of an inspiration leaning towards the mighty ’80s Winger. This wonderful track possesses a sweet middle section hitting you when you least expect it.
“This Is It” is an ode to living and taking care of one’s business in life. With its catchy chorus, great lyrics and sound, this cracking uptempo tune is one of our favorites on the album, with just a hint of a Survivor thing going down.
The AORish “The One For Me” has a bright happy vibe. The influences shine through yet again with a Whitesnake-lite style circa 89-90, but still retains an original XorigiN sound throughout and has an infectious singalong chorus.
The racy “Said And Done” is a classy AOR track with swirling keys, a potent guitar riff and a marvelous, harmonic chorus. Then the dynamic “Matters To The Heart” is very pleasant modern euro-AOR, it rolls along steadily and competently and has a nice guitar outro.
“What Love Is All About” has plenty of charm with a sweet vocal delivery and as with all the previous tracks has it’s memorable moments in one section or another. A wonderful AOR-rocker with a huge chorus in the same style as Radioactive, great stuff.
“Mend My Heart” as well as being the final track, is also as close to a ballad as we are going to get with a bit of WestCoast AOR feel and a perfect way to end this fine debut album.
“State Of The Art” is a brilliant Melodic Rock / AOR album very Scandinavian in sound, and the best part of it is the impressive songwriting – its and variation and arrangements lifts up this album to a higher level. Performances are great, with special commendation going to the vocals, the soaring harmonies. These are clearly guys who know what they are doing.
Everything on “State Of The Art” is made bright by lively but never oppressive or overwhelming unnecessary guitar flourishes or keyboard additions. All is placed and arranged utterly brilliant. Produced by Daniel Flores with a crisp and stunning sound, the only little flaw I can find here is the mix on a couple of tracks, not perfect as the rest.
XorigiN is a band full of talent, playing classy AOR / Melodic Rock in grand style, and their debut “State Of The Art” sits definitely among the best Scandinavian releases from the last two decades.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
01. Can’t Keep Running
02. Crying For You
03. In The Blink Of An Eye
04. Too Late
05. Gina
06. This Is It
07. The One For Me
08. Said And Done
09. Matters Of The Heart
10. What Love Is All About
11. Mend My Heart
Line-Up:
Johannes Stole – vocals, keyboards
Daniel Palmqvist – guitar, keyboards
Daniel Flores – drums