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I was very taken by ReinXeed's sophomore effort Higher last year; it even made it into my top ten list, and that was no mean feat, considering its somewhat home-recorded production. Still, it stood up against albums by bands like Crystallion and Mob Rules, and as far as the Power Metal underground went, there wasn't much to rival it. To say I was looking forward to its follow up is an understatement, so I was chuffed when Majestic fell into my lap. But does it deliver on its amazing forerunner? Well, sort of.

First hurdle: Majestic has made no leap in terms of production whatsoever, and sounds in every way identical to Higher. From the guitar tone to the synth patches band leader Tommy Johansson (who probably plays everything on here, despite the band picture) decides to use, are one and the same with the sounds found on the predecessor. In conjunction with this, the songs are also very similar, being much the same double-kicked candy-apple Power Metal in the Dragonland/Stratovarius mould, with sprinklings of Rhapsody and Sonata Arctica thrown in there as well. The only real difference is Johansson has made this a litter sweeter than Higher and longer, too, with a run time of just over an hour. There's good stuff here, with songs such as "Invincible", "Atlantis" and catchy opener "Deep Under The Sea", but it mostly pales compared to what came before. Everything is well recorded, well played, and even well sung (Johansson's clean croon has improved significantly), but there isn't the same spark that made Higher such a great listen.

Compared to a lot of music out there, ReinXeed are a real breath of fresh air. Melodic, soaring, and very RPG-esque (especially in the orchestral sections), Majestic is one all Power Metal fans should get into, but Tommy is going to have to step it up for album number four (which he is currently recording), if he's going to prove he hasn't peaked too soon.