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"Armed with Mechanical rhythms, precision riffing and beds of electronics, XES_1 are spawned from the same school
of industrial metal that gave us Ministry and Static X"
Kerrang July 2009

"Weirdly, XES_1 successfully mix rancid metal refrains with somewhat juxtaposed, slightly twee, electro samples somewhat a la early Hawkwind I guess. It shouldn't really work - but it really does!!
 
'Insane Voice' by XES_1 is rammed with gruesome, at times disturbing, dark metal riffs and fills.
The album is full of generally mid to low tempo songs that chug along at an accessible pace rather than being a full-on, frantic assault.
The slightly held-back tempo and restrained electric assault means that the vocals get a real chance to be heard and understood.
And I, for one, am thankful for that as it makes a pleasant change within the metal world for lyrics to be given as much of an airing as all the rest of the instruments. XES_1 are a powerful bunch of hard-hitting rocksters; their music is undeniably pretty hefty but they do tend to err on the right side of full metal mayhem. The lead voice of Stitch reminds me very much of Peter Hammill; Stitch's phrasing and at times his intonation is very similar to that of Hammill's - hey, that's cool! XES_1 initially sound like they've got a two guitar attack when there's actually just the one but, that one sure makes a big 'noise'. Bass and drums lay down a massive but beautifully proportioned backdrop onto which guitar and voice work their individual and combined magic. XES_1 pull up well short of some of the manic nonsense that many metal bands churn out; XES_1 prove that it's possible to deliver hard core metal rock without selling out to complete audio destruction - nice work guys! I have to admit to being more than just a little impressed by XES_1; I really thought they'd just be another metal monster intent on blowing musical sensibility right out of the water. But, no - XES_1 get the balance just about right and make metal accessible to the masses.
'Insane Voice' offers the listener twelve pretty impressive tracks of the XES_1 heavy form; eleven XES_1 originals plus one tasty and unexpected cover of Duran Duran's 'Wild Boys' which is quite an interesting inclusion and very well handled I have to say. XES_1 manage to successfully balance heavy metal aggression with mature rock sensibility; they just hold back enough to satisfy the more principled heavy rock head's attention whilst offering a tantalising carrot out to the more severely challenged metal-ite thereby potentially pulling in a bigger audience to share in the XES_1 electric thunder. 'Insane Voice' by XES_1 is well conceived and superbly executed - XES_1 certainly get my vote and I'm sure their hard-edged metal-esque music will appeal to rock heads of many sub-genre persuasions".
TOXIC PETE April 2009

Excellent 80's electro metal
TOTAL ROCK

Initiation ceremonies be damned! Brian, Lynke, Stitch, Kelvis AKA XES_1 have endured the fiercest of storms, worked in the darkest times and exhibited a determination to be proud of in order to see their joint collaborative vision through thus far. Musical style coming into question as each member of the band brought something different and expressed themselves through their influences and past experiences.

The core band was the brainchild of Brian as he began fusing samples and rock, metal as a project. Lynke was escaping from yet another band whose genre was, again, just not quite right. Both were coming from an extensive touring background with a need to produce something powerful and more passionate with an emphasis on live performance. Lynke knew immediately that he could bring something to the project and the excitement began. Finding a charismatic and powerful frontman in Stitch was really the defining birth of the "band". He had a calling, leaving behind the guitar in previous bands, to concentrate on vocals here. It became more than a project, it grew a soul.

Bringing Kelvis on board only a short 2 years ago has had a magical rejuvenating effect on the other members making the band even more alive and hungry. The search for band members and not just passing ships is never an easy one and to find the right person who has the same determined outlook on life, loves the music and can play is rare. And on this rare occasion Kelvis was looking for a challenge. This line up was creative from the first rehearsal together, an instant rapport, allowing the songs which are now InSaneVoice to be carefully crafted and moulded until every member of the band thought they could do no better.

XES_1 are never more at home than when playing live. Stitchs' powerful melodic vocals hold court on stage, never letting the moment slip. He fronts as 'show' personified, faithful, unswerving, devoted, whilst Brian, Lynke and Kelvis provide the coiling, twisted atmosphere which paints each scene. They are a thunderous force, having cut their teeth at some of the more intimate cult scene venues such as 'The Monarch', 'Gossips', 'the Ocean', 'the Garage', 'Metros', 'Cargo', 'Devonshire Arms' as well as venturing further around the country from Farnborough to Leicester, Leeds to Margate. A high point so far has been the opportunity to gig in Germany which has paved the way for the next European stint. They have played with such bands as 'Panic Cell' and 'sPout' on their travels.

Life, Pain, Transformation, Jealousy, Unity, Change, Destruction, Hope

All themes expressed through songs culminating in the new album InSaneVoice, recorded and produced at BonaFideStudios in London. InSaneVoice, a journey oscillating through darkness and light, positive and negative, a character, a psychological profile, the effect of circumstance on inner state of being. Its manifest content certainly reveals itself more and more following each listen. It is XES_1's first album, of which they are immensly proud and which they seek to bring to as many new places and to as many new people as possible in the guise of an intense live experience.