From Sludgy doom and weird, stunningly beautiful ambient metal to my own favourite kind, melodic. This comes from a band called ReinXeed (not sure how that’s pronounced) who hail from Sweden, and this is their fourth of so far six albums. It’s a concept one, concerned with the tragic sinking of RMS
Titanic in April 1912. Sounds like it could be right up my particular boulevard of broken dreams…
1912 --- ReinXeed --- 2011 (Rival Records)
Recommended by Ki
The title track gets us going with a suitably dramatic and cinematic introduction, lots of synths, guitars and choral vocals, slowing down to perhaps symbolise the launching of the great ship, or perhaps, as guitars mimic hammers it’s more the construction of the vessel we’re hearing. Either way, it’s a powerful, stirring opening and bodes well for the rest of the album. I thought for a while it might be an instrumental but now the vocal comes in, courtesy of Tommy Johansson, and I’m glad to hear clear, clean vocals for once. The lyric concerns the disaster itself, and is perhaps setting the scene and will look back for the rest of the album? Either way, lines like
”Hear the children cry/ One more time before they'll die/ In the Atlantic sea” are harrowing as we move past the 100th anniversary of the greatest tragedy the sea has ever known.
“The final hour” shows I was mistaken, as the narrative does not look back but continues as the survivors struggle in the sea, desperate to be rescued but seeing no hope on the horizon as the cold waves sap the strength from their limbs and suck some of them under. Another fast, rollicking tune with great backing vocals --- a choir? --- helps to convey the sense of terror and despair that must have gripped all on board that terrible night. Johansson is certainly a powerful singer, and well able to keep up with the galloping drums of Viktor Oloffson and the chugging, racing guitars of I assume his brother Mattias, and Calle Sundberg, who now rack off some fine solos between them. “Terror has begun” keeps the tempo high, though with a more almost military drumbeat from Olofsson, and a little less emphasis on the choral backing vocals.
The amazing dexterity and virtuosity of the two guitarists is shown to great effect on “Spirit lives on”, although I must admit, glancing at the lyric sheet beforehand I thought this would be a slow ballad, a prayer to those lost in the ocean. But the beat goes on, hammering drums and screaming guitars as the song races along in true Power Metal tradition. I might argue that the keyboards, which are also played by Tommy Johansson, could be used to greater effect; the album seems to lean very heavily on the power of the axe attack, which is fine, as it’s a Metal album. But a Power Metal album often rides just as well on its keyboard passages, and I just haven’t heard any really great ones so far. They come in here a bit but they could be more to the forefront. A small complaint, as I’m really enjoying this album.
“Through the fire” details the panic aboard ship as people try to get to the lifeboats, and the heroic if somewhat pointless efforts of the band to continue playing as
Titanic begins its slow descent below the waves. It’s another fast, energetic song, shorter than any of the others that have gone before, at only just under four minutes, then Johansson’s expert orchestrations with the synth come through with the opening of “The fall of Man”, recounting the launch and maiden voyage of the ship, and the terrible hubris that claimed it was unsinkable. Johansson sees the sinking of the
Titanic as symbolic of Man’s impotence in the face of the often brutal and unforgiving forces of nature, proving that he is not the master of his own destiny.
I’m definitely enjoying this but it is becoming a little exhausting, and I could do with a ballad, a slow song, an instrumental, anything to arrest the blistering pace of this album. Nice little progressive touches in the keys and guitars and some radio signal sounds sprinkled over the tune, capped off with a searing solo from Johansson, with a Queen-style vocal harmony, as we power into “The Voyage”, which again turns the clock back to the start of the great liner’s journey. With a blast on the foghorn and soft keyboards could we be at last taking a breather? It’s somewhat reminiscent of the opener, with the choral vocals coming back in for a moment, but my hopes of a slower song are dashed as Mattias Johansson and Calle Sundberg wind up their guitars, Olofsson blasts out the drumbeats and we’re off and running again.
And with a title like “We must go faster”, I doubt this is going to slow things down at all. Of course it does not. As Captain Smith and his crew face the possible ignominy of arriving late at their destination on their maiden voyage, more speed is ordered and the huge cruise ship powers towards its date with destiny and death, icy teeth yawning in the darkness in the distance, waiting to bite into
Titanic’s hull and bring her down, like some unimaginable massive hunter of the ocean stalking its prey. Some good keyboard work here from Tommy Johansson, and a fine vocal performance that never really dips below excellent.
As befits its title, “Challenge the storm” has a defiant, almost arrogant punch to it, as the story of the previous song is continued, the ship piling on the power as the captain ignores the danger and orders more speed, unaware of what awaits them in the inky darkness ahead. Man’s hubris and arrogance reveals itself in the chorus:
”Rise to the sky, in heaven we belong /We know what's been told/ Together we are strong/ We are on the biggest ship of history!” But the bigger they are, as we know to our cost, the harder they fall. Bit of a mixed bag on the metaphors at the end:
"Atlantis, give me a second chance/ To show my paradise/ Here in neverland the majestic lightning/ Strikes again when the sword in stone.” Um. huh?
They can’t resist referencing the movie when Johansson sings
”Standing before the head of the ship /Feels like I'm the king of the world!” in “Reach for the sky”, and yes, it’s another fast rocker with an almost falsetto vocal from Tommy. Another Queen-like choral vocal and some nice moments on the keys, which also herald the opening of the final track proper, the appropriately-titled “Farewell”, but again, though you might expect ReinXeed to slow down for this last song, they keep it fast and powerful, although the music is tinged with a certain amount of gravitas, respect and regret as the tragedy is recalled:
”Ancient stories tell of curse /And damnation on the ship/ The voyage of their dreams /Turned into the nightmares.”
The album closes on an instrumental, again with an apt title, as “Lost at sea” basically reprises the main melody of “Farewell” on keys with big orchestral finish, closing the album as dramatically and grandly as it opened it.
TRACKLISTING
1. 1912
2. The final hour
3. Terror has begun
4. Spirit lives on
5. Through the fire
6. The fall of Man
7. The Voyage
8. We must go faster
9. Challenge the storm
10. Reach for the sky
11. Farewell
12. Lost at sea
I really enjoyed this album. It has all the qualities I like --- power, speed, melody, great lyrics, a concept --- but I do feel a little let down by the fact that there was no ballad. When handling a story as tragic as this, surely there could have been room for at least one lament, whether it was the plaintive cry of one of those in the water, the anguished recollections of someone who survived but lost a partner, or even --- and I’m obviously stretching it here --- the wounded roar of pain from the ship itself as it settled into the water like some gigantic building falling? But the tempo never slackened, not until the very end with the short closing instrumental.
This niggle aside though, this was a great album and shows once again that Scandinavia has a whole lot to offer to the world of Heavy Metal, be it Black, Doom, Death or even Power. Not that surprising really: it is the land where the mightiest of legends originated, and the home of the feared Vikings, as we have seen in my exploration of Viking Metal. I feel I may have to look into this band a little more, if all of their output is this good.