Eclipse

Xandria’s Eclipse is the German symphonic-metal band’s ninth studio album, released by Napalm Records in August 2026. Across 11 tracks, it treats the familiar Xandria palette—sweeping orchestration, choral passages, cinematic keyboards, soaring clean vocals, and metal guitar riffs—as a foundation rather than a limitation. Opening with the brief “Syzygy,” the album moves through the title track, “Colours,” “The Shannon’s Home,” and “Northstar” before concluding with the eight-and-a-half-minute “Lore,” giving the record the scale and pacing of a fantasy-tinged, dramatic journey.

What distinguishes Eclipse is its effort to modernize that symphonic-metal identity without abandoning it. The material combines classically styled melodies and grand arrangements with low-tuned contemporary guitars, occasional breakdown-like heaviness, dark electronic textures, ’80s-metal riffing, and more delicate folk-colored passages. Songs including “The Grand Delusion,” “Wave of Tanis,” “Masquerade,” “The Last Generation,” and “The Poetry of the Real World” emphasize contrast: bombast set against atmosphere, polished melody against weight, and fantasy imagery against more socially conscious themes. The result is an expansive, melodic album that aims to make each song distinct while preserving a unified, epic mood.