Reism- Something Darker

Written by Steve Fearon

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Artist: Reism

CD title: Something Darker

Label: Self-Released

Genre: Industrial Metal

Website: https://www.reism.com/

Reviewer: Steve Fearon

Date: 23.01.11

You can buy this album here:https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/reism2

Reism is an Anglo-Norwegian alliance, merging a penchant for Epic melodic metal with a desire to include electronic programming.

Now lets get the obvious part out of the way...Reism are a female fronted band, but they do not sound like Evanescence or Lacuna Coil. In fact the only meaningful comparison i could find would be Lullacry, as 'Something Darker' is definitely a high energy affair, and carries an altogether different vibe from any of the lazy comparisons I could make.

"Something Darker" is a self contained entity, with all writing, recording, mixing and producing handled by the band themselves, which is certainly worthy of some brownie points, in an age where mainstream artists are in fact doing less and less towards their own releases.

For a self produced album, the production quality is high indeed, although there are a few moments where certain percussive and synthetic sounds seem to overpower the mix slightly, but in truth these are fleeting and do not detract from the tracks too much.

The vocals are powerful, and don't feel heavily processed unlike a lot of contemporary music, and the evocative nature of Kirsten Jorgensen's style helps to involve the listener and take you on a roller-coaster of emotion.

My main criticism is that the electronic side of Reism feels a little lick an afterthought. There are few pieces that seem integral to the song, instead the majority are bleeps and subtle pads that seem a little bit like they were tagged on to fill an emptiness in their sound perhaps, although they do not work against the track by any means.

In summary, Reism's "Something Darker" is a powerful album, with plenty of euphoric moments which are carried beautifully by Kirsten's vocals, and it gives the impression that this band would be a great live spectacle.

If you enjoy your rock music, big, emotional and melodic, Reism are definitely worth a listen.

7/10 - Recommended Listens - "Make Me Feel" & "Words"