Although I had heard of Xystus, I never took the opportunity to listen to the bands music. Now I’m holding in my hands the bands second album called “Surreal”. Xystus has delivered a mature and professional sounding product. The biggest selling points are the strong melodies, the distinctive use of keyboard (I even noticed one or two 2Unlimited references well combined with metal riffing) and the pleasant vocals, maybe slightly top theatrical giving the album an unintended classic feel, but that’s probably a personal preference. The band surprises with the inevitable balled that has chart potential, even in these times of ring-tone pop songs. Another minor point of criticism is that the riffing seems to be too heavy in times, compared with the rest of the music, especially the keyboards.

The structure of the album is very well thought of. The album starts of with a couple of varied tracks including the balled and ends with a twenty minute epic, a well known formula that seems to suit Xystus. On a national scale I would probably increase my rating with a point at least. I my opinion “Surreal” is one of the best Dutch metal releases of 2007, yet, looking at the European market I fear that the distinctive slightly pitched vocals might prevent Xystus of breaking through. “Surreal” is definitely good enough to conquer the Dutch market and proves that the band has got the potential to look beyond the borders. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this band touring Europe independently within a couple of years.