ReinXeed: Welcome to the Theater

Fancy some modern power metal that has the cheek to be oh-so-pompous on one track and ultra-silly on the next? Why, it seems that Swedish band ReinXeed concocted something just for you with their new album Welcome to the Theater!

It opens in a rather serious manner with the short intro called "Welcome", but right afterwards we are greeted with one of the album's finest moments: the springy "Life Will Find A Way" which truly allows singer Tommy ReinXeed's voice to shine and sports some nice guitar-playing to boot. The next two tracks, "Follow Me" and "Save Us", lack the necessary bite and their only memorable parts are the cinematic beginnings – as all tracks composed for the album are somehow inspired by movies (interestingly, while the lyrics for "Save Us" are clearly inspired by superhero flicks, the song starts with the unnerving melody taken straight out of… Requiem for a Dream). Much better is the atmospheric Pirates of the Caribbean-homage called "Stranger Tides" or the heavier track "No Fate". Also "Freedom", in which Steel Attack's Ronny Hemlin competes vocally with Tommy, definitely belongs to the album's finest moments. The Indiana Jones anthem "Temple of the Crystal Skulls", on the other hand, sounds suspiciously like a lost Rhapsody of Fire track and is a love-it-or-loathe-it affair, but then the album closes off with a catchy and unpretentious title track – and when it ends you may actually feel like spinning the CD once again.

Despite that, let me be painfully honest with y'all: there's not much originality to be found on Welcome to the Theater, and overall the album is rather "decent" than "great". I mean, Tommy ReinXeed is a fine vocalist, he really is, but it's not like I'm actually POSSESSED by his way of singing like I used to be by, say, Michael Kiske's performances on Helloween's early records or Tobias Sammet's best vocal efforts with Avantasia or Edguy.

But since Helloween, Avantasia and Edguy don't exactly release new albums every other week, I guess some of you may find ReinXeed's Welcome to the Theater a good enough substitute for these.

I know I'll be listening to "Life Will Find A Way" once again as soon as I finish typing this review. Which is right about NOW.

Line-up:
Tommy ReinXeed - vocals, guitars, keys
Calle Sundberg - guitars
Matt Machine - guitars
Victor Olofsson - drums
Nic Steel – bass

Tracklisting:
01. Welcome (Intro)
02. Life Will Find A Way
03. Follow Me
04. Save Us
05. Stranger Tides
06. Somewhere In Time
07. Freedom
08. No Fate
09. Temple Of The Crystal Skulls
10. Welcome To The Theater

Added: May 5th 2012
Reviewer: Bartek Paszylk
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 2823
Language: english

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