FLIGHT OF FANCY

Young Progressive Metal band from Tartu,Estonia, formed in 2009.The original line-up consisted of Risto Virkhausen (guitars), Kaarel Tamra (keyboards), Karl-Juhan Laanesaar (drums) and Liis Ring (bass),soon Ring was replaced by Tamar Nugis.X-Panda debuted in 2011 with the album ''Flight of Fancy''.

Grounded is some sort of Progressive Fusion/Metal field,X-Panda deliver edgy but also elaborate musicianship on this album,far from the noisy,cliche and abstract presentation of some mediocre bands of the style.Filled with quite long and diverse tracks,this work shows a band switching from smooth passages to heavier parts with tons of professional interplays,always deeped in refined melodies but also catchy bombastic grooves.Their style contains elements from Jazz,Classical Music and even Electronic soundscapes with rather limited vocals and plenty of space for their numerous shifting moods and sudden breaks.The best comparison would be the high class work of LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT.

This is definitely a band to keep an eye on.Not very original,this mix of styles has been played a lot lately in the Prog Metal field,but everything I hear is played with talent and passion.A more original approach should lift the band into a legend.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.