J-Man
Just a little over a year since the release of Majestic, and Swedish symphonic power metal act Reinxeed has returned with 1912. Still sporting their brand of symphonic power metal, the band has crafted another solid (albeit flawed) effort that should please their fans. 1912 is not as strong as Majestic, largely due to the surprisingly dull compositions and lack of variation. Of course, this album is also overflowing with "power metal cheese" - which is not a good thing when it's coming from me. This isn't at all a worthless album, though, seeing that the musicianship is remarkable and the release is highly professional. Unfortunately, those two assets alone cannot make up for the huge detriments created by the overall lack of inspiration throughout the album. 1912 isn't a bad album by any stretch, but I also wouldn't call it a great one.
Reinxeed plays a style of bombastic symphonic power metal with influences from acts like Rhapsody (of Fire), Golden Resurrection, and Narnia. 1912 is heavily layered with symphonic keyboards, fast double-bass rhythms, and lightning-fast neo-classical guitar solos. As such, this isn't the most original album around, but Reinxeed delivers the style professionally. The super-polished production does sound very professional (even though I don't enjoy it) and the musicianship is unquestionably top-notch, but 1912 comes across as far too "cheesy" for me to enjoy. I like quite a bit of power metal, but this album just pushes the level of pompousness that I can handle. 1912 really is the type of power metal album that all of the genre's critics love to pick on - the catchy choruses, intrusive and cheap-sounding keyboards, and "happy" atmosphere will undoubtedly test some people's patience. This album is very much like Majestic in that regard; the arrangements are too bombastic and would greatly benefit from being stripped down a bit. However, 1912 does lack the quality compositions that made Majestic more enjoyable for me. Maybe it's the lack of progression between the two albums, but 1912 does feel much more dull and uninspired than its predecessor. Many of the songs sound almost identical, featuring very similar song structures, arrangements, and in some cases, chord progressions. Reinxeed surely has potential, but it isn't fully lived up to on 1912.
1912 is a decent album overall, but I find it to be a difficult recommendation to most metal fans. Unless you value bombastic arrangements overall quality compositions, you can definitely find better releases out there. Majestic is indeed a better entrance into the music of Reinxeed, and this one is (for the most part) passable. This band has yet to really impress me, but with more variation and less bombast I could see these guys creating a really great power metal album. For now, 1912 is worth 2.5 stars.