X-Panda is a

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

and fusion band from

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Their music is mainly

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

but a few of their songs also include vocals. The band is known for energetic and powerful live shows.

Biography

The band was founded as a project for a local song competition in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

in April 2009. The newly formed group won the competition with their song “Dickybirds”. The group went on to participate in the Estonian ''Noortebänd 2010'' competition, an annual national competition for musical groups consisting of members that are younger than 26 years old. They won the competition, with their cover of the song Siren by

Malcolm Lincoln Malcolm Lincoln was an Estonian band that formed in October 2009. The members are Robin Juhkental, Jakob Juhkam, Siim Raidma, Ott Adamson, Johan Alexander Petti and Hans Kurvits. The original lineup consisted of Robin Juhkental (vocals/electronics ...

, the Estonian representative in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2010 The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Oslo, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "Fairytale (Alexander Rybak song), Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak. Organise ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Their critically acclaimed debut album Flight of Fancy (2011) was nominated album of the year in metal category of Estonian Music Awards. X-Panda has been performing at music festivals in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. The band has played several times in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

: Progmotion festival in 2014 followed by concerts at Cultuurpodium Boerderij in Zoetermeer and W2 Poppodium in Den Bosch in 2015. X-Panda has released music videos for the songs „Revelation“ and „Slaves of Lies“. The band has collaborated with ESTuudio mixed choir, Tartu Youth Choir, Tallinn International Youth Orchestra.

Concept

The style of X-Panda can be described as energetic and theatrical, it is both progressive while simultaneously accessible and catchy. Their music has a powerful melodic edge as well as a great metallic basis as well as jazz fusion hooks and enhancements - it is a mixture of progressive metal, fusion, industrial and motion picture soundtracks. Fusing different genres and using live visuals enables the band to create shows with wide spectrum of emotions and dynamics. The band is influenced by

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). Dream Theat ...

Planet X Following the discovery of the planet Neptune in 1846, there was considerable speculation that another planet might exist beyond its orbit. The search began in the mid-19th century and continued at the start of the 20th with Percival Lowell's ...

Virgil Donati Virgil Donati (born 22 October 1958) is an Australian drummer, composer and producer. He holds the drum sticks in the traditional style and is also proficient at the keyboard. Donati formed Planet X with Derek Sherinian and was the band's pri ...

, Simon Phillips,

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American rock music, rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. Early in hi ...

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

and

Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neval ...

Debut Album

X-Panda's debut album ''Flight of Fancy'' was released in September 2011 and it has been well received internationally by the critics in progressive music and metal genres.. ''Metal Storm''. ''Sea of Tranquility'' The album was nominated for the best metal album of the year at the Estonian Music Awards 2012. ''Sea of Tranquility'' X-Panda performed at the Progmotion Festival in 2013 in Uden."X-Panda, Synaesthesia"
''Background Magazine'', January 16, 2015 In 2016 the second album was released, titled ''Reflections''.

References

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Estonian musical groups