ReinXeed are still a force to be reckoned with.

A fairly prolific (the release of ‘1912’ marks their fourth studio album in as many years) symphonic/power metal band based out of Boden in the far north of Sweden, the rather oddly named ReinXeed is the brainchild of vocalist Tommy Johansson. Originally pieced together about seven years ago, the band claim influences from both the power metal scene and from fantasy movies – imagine Helloween and Rhapsody battling it out over some Tolkienesque epic score and you’ll begin get a picture of the kind of audience they’re pitching at.

Operating almost exclusively at the higher octane end of the bombastic power metal market, their sound draws some comparisons to the likes of HammerFall and Sonata Arctica (with a goodly dollop of Rhapsody and Helloween/Gamma Ray thrown in to the mix for good measure) – all strafing guitars, sky skimming vocals, helter-skelter drums and overblown orchestration battling it out in an at times too heavily speed obsessed race for the finishing line.

‘1912’ (as the historically inclined amongst you might have already deduced) is in fact a conceptual piece which recants the tale of the ill-fated White Star Line flagship RMS Titanic. And whilst having quite a surprisingly strong sense of melody throughout, the lack of pace leads to a first impression of the band being somewhat one dimensional. Granted there’s the odd little reflective interlude here and there, but these seem to be placed as much for dramatic effect as anything else – c’mon guys, after four albums you should have learned that galloping riffs are far more effective when their use is properly tempered! Having said that there is a solid and growing market for this kind of stuff, so if exceptionally well performed and produced punchy power metal with lashings of exhilarating guitar work (Calle Sundberg and Mattias Johansson certainly seem to know their way around a fretboard!) and a self assured swagger is your thing, tracks such as ‘Through The Fire’, ‘Reach For The Sky’ and ‘Terror Has Begun’ will certainly slake your thirst until something more challenging shimmy’s your way.

Not quite in the same league as last year’s ‘Majestic’ opus, ‘1912’ nevertheless proves that ReinXeed are still a force to be reckoned with. Now if only they’d mix it up a little more, this lot could be something really special!

Dave Cockett