Reinforcer – Prince Of The Tribes
Reinforcer – Prince Of The Tribes
Scarlet Records
Release Date: 18/06/2021
Running Time: 40:46
Review by Simon Black
9/10
Reinforcer have been going since 2015, with 2018’s ‘The Wanderer’ EP being all the world has had to judge them on so far. Whether the world needs another traditional Euro Power Metal band is always a matter of debate, as let’s face it it’s an incredibly crowded marketplace. For me the answer will always be if the music is interesting, well-delivered and makes me want to listen to more, then yes. These boys from darkest Germany have wisely equally balanced the more Traditional Heavy Metal with the Power Metal, which makes the appeal of this all-important debut record that little bit broader. How this works in practice is that although lyrically it’s classic Power pseudo-historical fare, musically the tone is moodier and darker than the usual major chord stuff you get from that genre camp.
First off, for a young bunch of musicians, this record shows maturity and polish well beyond their years, all wrapped up in a really well produced package. So often debut’s bring great songs with many years of work having gone into their writing and then squeeze them through a low budget production process that really lets the band’s work down, but this is not the case here. The sound mix is clear, crisp, fat and allows the instruments clearly and distinctively to stand out whilst keeping the organic cohesive feel of a band that know each other’s musical chemistry well. The song-writing also demonstrates richness and maturity, although I think we could have done without the verbal cheesiness of the intro to ‘Black Sails’. What stands out from the get go are Logan Lexi’s charismatic vocals. His voice has a deep power and richness that sounds like it, simply, should not be emanating from someone in their early 20’s. The downside of that youth is a tendency for his vocal melody lines to follow the music a little too closely, but that’s something that comes with experience and confidence and fuck loads of touring, so it’s a minor niggle as far as I am concerned and one that does not detract from the overall cohesive sound that they achieve.
Musically the tone is pretty consistent throughout, driven by harmonised guitar work and a pile-driving rhythm section – moody and mid to high tempo is the trend, until we get to the album closer ‘Z32’. This one is much slower, moodier and almost Gothic in its feel and ethos. Lexi completely changes his vocal approach being both softer and way more aggressive in his delivery and instantly turns what might have been just a run of the mill track into a haunting and heavily epic piece of work. It’s heads and shoulders better than anything else on the album, being heavy as the proverbial brick and brilliantly well-written, with that vocal performance absolutely stealing the show. If this is the direction of travel, then bring it on boys. This is an incredibly well-delivered album from a promising new band who have pulled off that most challenging achievement – making Power Metal sound new and fresh again.
‘Allegiance And Steel’ (Official Video)
TRACKLISTING:
01. Prince Of The Tribes
02. Allegiance And Steel
03. Black Sails
04. Shieldmaiden
05. Coupe de Grâce
06. Thou Shall Burn
07. Hand On Heart
08. Another Night
09. Z32
LINE-UP:
Logan Lexi – Vocals
Tobias Schwarzer – Guitar
Niclas Stappert – Guitar
Marvin Fretter – Bass
Lasse Schmiedel – Drums
LINKS:
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