Thursday, August 4, 2011

REINXEED: "1912"


Rating: 6/10

Label: Liljegren Records/doolittle Group 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

I've heard one Reinxeed album before this, the 2009 release "Higher", and kinda liked it. It was a fairly interesting mix of pomp and power metal, with some nice melodies. On this album, the emphasis seems to be on power rather than pomp. If you're a die-hard fan of Helloween, Stratovarius, Dragonforce and enjoy their fastest songs the most, this might just be the best album of the year for you, because Tommy ReinXeed doesn't stray from the path too often. It's ultra-fast drumming, hymn-like melodies and at times ridiculously high vocals. Take the aptly-titled "Reach For The Sky" for example...I dare you to blast this on your stereo system - the dogs of the neighbourhood might go crazy and all the glasses might end up shattered...

The album is a concept one, with a storyline about Titanic. I could write something about this album sinking like a stone, but it's not actually that bad, in small doses these songs work quite well. But three or four tracks with a breakneck speed in a row is a bit too much, let alone a whole album of bass drums being played at 15320 beats per minute. Okay, maybe not that fast but pretty damn fast anyway.

The album sounds good and I don't actually dislike any of the songs, but the highlights are difficult to find too. Maybe "We Must Go Faster" which is actually one of the more relaxed songs of the album would be my choice cut... The melodies remind me a bit of early Sonata Arctica, which isn't a bad thing. But anyway, I guess this one's for the Power Metal fans who think that the faster the better, ballads are for losers and midtempo tracks are for middle-aged people... and that a metal vocalist can not sing too high.

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