Rein were (I use ‘were’ instead of ‘are’, for the band disbanded after the release of their sole full length album, which this review will deal with) – so, they were a five-piece from the Auvergne-region in France, focusing on the heritage of Pan-European tradition(s) and the glory once floating over European soil. It’s another piece in a package of ‘pagan beauty’-albums I did receive from devoted and dedicated colleague Hass, who runs the mighty Hass Weg Productions-label, and once again I will spend my (worthy) time to an older recording, simply because both band and label are worth it!
Anyway, La Cocaïne Des Seigneurs (‘the cocaine of the gods’) was Rein’s first and last studio album, created in early 2013 (it was still Winter, you’ll notice soon…), released in an edition of 1,000 copies, and coming in an 8-paged booklet with sober yet perfectly fitting picture artwork. The eight compositions, FYI, have a total running time of forty five minutes.
La Cocaïne Des Seigneurs opens with quite a remarkable intro, like a late-medieval chanson, based on female voices and something like a lute (I guess) – short but quite attractive, as well as extremely unusual. But then the real story begins by means of the title track, and that means sonic mercilessness!
Actually, what Rein bring is a rather traditional form of melodic and epic Black Metal, strongly rooted in the glory of the Nineties, yet this time and in this band’s case it is not just ‘another’ interpretation of the Norwegian, Swedish, Polish or whatever scene. As a matter of fact, Rein’s Black Metal corresponds to all known clichés – I know that this sounds inferior, but I promise that I tend to the opposite! But somehow they redefine all these ideas into an own definition. Quite appreciable is the unique equilibrium in between traditional song structures and a post-modern execution; with the latter I am referring to the dissonant guitar trems in the first place. The whole comes with an unstoppable energetic performance, which gets strengthened by the great mix; do not forget to listen carefully to the cool bass lines and ingenious drum patterns… And even with the integrity of the Procession-outro (haunting Ambient synth lines with spoken voices, in French like all lyrics) there is a certain intriguing element…
But it’s the whole picture that counts, like a mathematically precise puzzle that results in an intelligent masterpiece. Take the punky shouts, for example, revealing a certain haine against superficiality and ignorance. Also the repetitive riffs create that specific thing that differs from boring monotony. Rein succeed to go further than the average.
At the other hand, I have to admit that I have constantly been waiting for something mind-blowing. There’s that certain tease, that initiation of arousal, but I do not experience that orgiastic highlight I was permanently hoping for. As a result I sometimes come close to a fictive level of disappointment, but my appreciation goes deeper and higher, because of the primary intentions.
The saddest thing is: there is so much potential, but since the band stopped its activities, we’ll never know what would / could be next. I do not know about the band’s demo debut, so I cannot refer to a comparison, but I think this album deserves the magical ‘benefit of doubt’! Some missed chances, but still attractive in most aspects (once again I will refer to the bass parts especially)!