XANDRIA Announces New Singer

German goth metallers XANDRIA have announced the addition of 29-year-old female singer Manuela Kraller to the group's ranks.

Kraller will make her live debut with XANDRIA at the "Classic Meets Pop" event on January 7, 2011 at the Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld, Germany. The band states, "As the main act of the show, XANDRIA will play one of their songs with the Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra (XANDRIA will represent the metal genre there!)."

Commented Manuela: "My musical life started very late, at the age of 23. In a choir in Finland I discovered singing for me and since then it became my passion. I began to take classical singing lessons, sang in church and gospel choirs and soon I was asked to be a solo singer in choirs, at churchly and also at private occasions. But as I have grown up with metal and rock music I soon wanted to combine it with my classical background. So I started singing rock and metal songs with a friend and also wrote own songs for the first time. Soon after that I joined a metal band called NAGOR MAR (Switzerland) and I also became a singer in the German band HAGGARD, where I had great experiences on stage and on tour. And now a 'new age' has begun for me and I am very pleased to be the new singer of XANDRIA!"

XANDRIA performed several concerts this past spring with the band's former frontwoman, Lisa Middelhauve, filling in.

XANDRIA in February parted ways with its singer of one year, Kerstin Bischof. The group stated at the time, "Due to occupational and private reasons, [Kerstin] wants to concentrate on her non-musical career in the future and cannot support XANDRIA the way it would be necessary."

Bischof joined XANDRIA in February 2009 as the replacement for Middelhauve, who left the band in May 2008 for "personal reasons." Lisa stated at the time, "My exit has nothing to do with dispute or controversy within the band. It was just time to split."

XANDRIA's "Now & Forever - The Best Of" collection was released in June 2008. The CD contains 20 tracks, including a few rarities like the ballad "Lullaby" from the "India" era and the songs "One Word" and "Drown In Me" (previously unavailable on a XANDRIA album). "Now & Forever - The Best Of Xandria" was also released as a double digipack containing a DVD of the complete XANDRIA show from 2007's Summer Breeze festival, all of the band's promotional video clips and a brand new interview.

XANDRIA's fourth album, "Salomé - The Seventh Veil", was released on May 25, 2007.