REINDEL

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Ohio, USA

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"Ohio's Reindel are a two piece made up of the brothers Reindel - Jim on guitars, bass, vocals, and percussion programming, and Tim on drums and percussion. Their sound is an amalgam of Rush, Dream Theater, and Alice In Chains. These latter two are very much true on "Ancient Mysteries," as I kept thinking of Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box" where the vocal arrangement is concerned and of Dream Theater with the chugging and churning guitars, swirling keys, heartpounding drums. The Rush inspiration is evident in quite a few places.

The Dominant Theme is mostly song oriented; though they do breakout into instrumental pieces, some in a near frenzy. None of the tracks exceeds much over four minutes, the majority in the three-minute range. But, as this is a concept album, perhaps it's better to look at them as small pieces of a larger whole. What is that concept? What is "the dominant theme"? Science fiction, they say, is that theme. In part, this is a "aliens have taken over" story, from the opening track "Extinction Level Event" to the closer "Timewarp Finale." In between we get "The Machine" which you'll either hate or like, or at least hate then like. Here Jim's vocals are quite digitized - hence the titular "machine."

You are drawn in with the first track "Extinction Level Event," which sets the theme and the style. Here you get a dash of Rush, some neo-proggy keys, churning guitar and bass, driving drums - and catchy chorus that seems right out of late 80's/early 90's American rock, even if that American rock comes via a Canadian source. (I'd be more general and say North American, but this is strictly a sound that generally comes from north of the Rio Grande).

I like the dreamy vocals on the metal cruncher "The Experiment," though the seemly digital drums that are used to supplement the analog drums leave me a little cold - which might mean they're working. Percolating keys underscore the very Rush-like "Vanity & Ego." Again here, we have a very nice vocal melody, which is very un-Rush like - meaning that Jim Reindel doesn't sound one bit like Geddy Lee.

"Back In The Day" contains a catchy, bouncy bass beat that'll take you back to the late 70s, early 80s, as well as some tasty guitar licks from Jim - sure we've heard it before, in some form or another. Dream Theater comparisons aside, their sound is firmly rooted in the 70s rock sound - they could have toured with Boston or Foreigner or - if seasoned with a bit of 90s grunge-metal. Here and there you'll hear a bit of a Queensryche influence, too. For a change of pace we get "Dreams To Nightmares" which is a brief (40 seconds) atmospheric keyboard piece (piano, it sounds like), followed up with the intro to the dramatic "Samplescore" which lasts a far too short 1-minute.

You can throw a little Blue Öyster Cült in there, too, around track 7, "Zebulon." "Timewarp Finale" is the sound of musicians out of control, where it is one minute Marillion-esque (keyboard intro), one minute guitar rock, one minute a heavily percussive piece, to 80s Rush-like for the conclusion, in between stuff I didn't describe, all in a mere 3 minutes.

Overall, I really am enjoying listening to this, and recommend you check them out for yourself." - Stephanie Sollow, ProgressiveWorld.net

"One of Reindel's latest releases is Mere Mortals. The Rush quotient is upped on this release, but instead of rehashing past Rush material, the brothers Jim and Tim take the hard driving sound into different realms. It's as if instead of going more commercial Rush stayed progressive. And that aside, Reindel have something of their own to say. 'Tis is quite an exciting album. "Afterthoughts" is a tour de force instrumental that closes the album ... an album that is open by the briefest of fanfares, a fanfare that sounds more like the end of something rather than the beginning. In between we get a mix of vocal tracks and instrumentals, including "Bytor's Revenge." Rush fans, or at least those that own Fly By Night, will recognize the name Bytor from that album's epic "By-Tor And The Snow Dog." Because Reindel's sound is so Rush influenced, you expect that "Bytor's Revenge" will recall the earlier track, and some ways it does. But mostly the era of Rush that is Reindel's launching point is 80s Rush, roughly from Moving Pictures through Hold Your Fire. Incidentally, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Jim doesn't sound like Geddy Lee at all, all the Rushisms being in the music and composition alone.

As with their debut The Dominant Theme, science-fiction forms the backdrop to Jim Reindel's lyrical landscape, though Douglas Swick pens "Beware The Predator." It's Jim on guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals and percussion programming, brother Tim on drums and percussion. Mere Mortals is a strong and tight release. Their sound is big and powerful, arena-size rock in an age when arena rock is making a comeback. As you know Journey, Styx, Kansas, and Blue Oyster Cult have all released albums in the last year or so, and whisperings had a new Rush album out this year (that to my knowledge has yet to materialize), so this release seems timely and current. And, in fact it does seem timely and current, even if it harks back to a style of music that is not ruling the airwaves anymore.

I like each and every track on this album. It may not set the music world on it's ear for originality - that is, the progressive rock/hard rock world; that I mention that Reindel sound a lot like Rush is evidence of that - but song subject matter aside, it's a fun album to listen to. Jim plays some terrific guitar leads, keys are used to great effect, his bass work solid. Fortunately, Tim is one of those drummers who uses the whole kit, including bits of percussive accents that one may not notice upon first hearing, but after repeated plays suddenly emerge. When they don't remind one of Rush, their textures come in different forms. I won't go so far as to say influences, as I'm not sure that's the case. "Taku He" is a dark, grinding track that actually reminded more of something by early Threshold -- mainly the marching percussion. Jim plays some searing guitar leads here as well. "Ezekiel," which follows, begins with a playful, upbeat rhythm and evolves into a one of the many guitar workouts from Jim. Those who are into instrumental guitar rock will find plenty o' such pleasures in the four instrumentals that close the album (as elsewhere). That this release comes to use via Fossil Records should come as no surprise, as they've released more than a few tasty morsels of guitar rock. Ironically, this might mean that Reindel will reach a wider audience than via MP3.com (through whom they originally distributed their first release).

I like the upbeat message of "Winds Of Change." While Jim isn't the same sort of lyricist as Peart, his sentiments are equally heartfelt, and often astute. "When the winds of change / Seem to blow you off course / Trust your heart and mind to be / Your compass and support..." he writes.

There are certain musical phrases and devices that will be immediately identifiable to Rush fans -- not the casual listener perhaps, as they aren't necessarily phrases from the radio hits, but... Well, for example the deep rumbling under-voice on "Mere Mortals" and "When the Kingdom Crumbles" will no doubt make you think of "Roll The Bones" (Roll The Bones, though it doesn't rap). Interestingly, the intro to "Mere Mortals" opens with a guitar phrase that, instead of Rush, seems to come from Boston ("Rock And Roll Band" specifically), then a bit of keyboard a la Styx ("Grand Illusion" is the track I think I'm thinking of), though the particular phrase is also very close to Rush (understandably)... but all these are merely accents, starting points,...homages if you will, as there isn't really an entire track where you can say, "Oh it's just rehashed..." whatever. And this is a very good thing.

And this is very good album. Cool stuff. Recommended." - Stephanie Sollow, ProgressiveWorld.net

"Mind Probe is the second album from Reindel this year (their third overall), the duo of brothers Jim and Tim Reindel. This band is heavily influenced by Rush, but you will also find elements of other bands in their music. The title track occupies about a third of the disk, being a multi-part suite. As with other Reindel releases, the themes used are futuristic, and here Jim posits a future where "[m]ankind has accomplished great technological breakthroughs in medicine. All diseases, viruses and genetic imperfections have been eliminated. This is possible because of super-intelligent cyber doctors known as the Great Ones..." In other words, a utopia. Well, you just know that this perfect world isn't quite so perfect; that this utopia is, instead, a dystopia. While you might think the tale leads to out-of-work cyber docs running amuck, it doesn't, and instead leads to an ending that is recursive.

The "Overture" and the conclusion of "The Black Hole" (first and last of the suite) are the two points that have the strongest Rush influence, as I immediately thought of "Force Ten" from Hold Your Fire - rapid-fire drum spurts and sparse but big guitar strums. In between, we get the story of a young man plagued by visions. The only cure is the Mind Probe...the use of which leads to some rather fantastic (as in fantasy) results. Digitized voices speak-sing on two of the tracks of the suite, "In The Hall Of The Great One" and "Analysis." The latter is sparse musically, as only a single keyboard provides slowly undulating atmospherics. As percussion joins toward the end, this begins to pulse, and leads into "Prognosis: A Universe." One will find they think a bit of "Chemistry" with the lyrics to "Examination," and Jim sounds a bit like a highly processed Phil Collins on "Recovery." "The Black Hole," is a tour-de-force guitar workout, the arrangement twisting and changing so fast, you verily feel that you are being pulled through the black hole, as are the characters of the piece. "Mind Probe (Epilogue)" is a dark, churning instrumental piece, with an underlying sense of tension. At times the percussion comes to the fore, allowing Tim to show what a dynamic drummer he is.

The album itself begins with the cartoon homage "LoOnEy gOOns," the title of which should tell you quite a bit -- imagine all the classic chases: Sylvester and Tweety, Tom and Gerry, Elmer and Bugs, etc. "Groove Tube" is an instrumental guitar workout that does groove. Given the seriousness of the rest of the album (overall), I would have tended to put this track last. It's a cute track and something very uncharacteristic of Reindel. "Rockslide" grooves as well, being a fun, rollicking roller coaster ride of the classic sort -- Satriani comes to mind, as do many other guitars who just let their fingers run free. Another track that is uncharacteristic is "Across The Waves." This is a light, mellow, mid-tempo track - acoustic guitar and flute with minimal percussion. Hearing this you wouldn't immediately think of Reindel at all... "The Other Side" also contains flute and has a more Asian and Middle Eastern feel to it. It is, at first, light, but also contains some heavy passages, where thundering percussion and booming bass add more than a touch of darkness. Jim lets loose with another monstrous guitar solo, before things settle down again. In light of current events -- the arc this song takes is along the lines of peacefulness, war, and then peacefulness...but I don't want to project to much of what is going onto the music, as this was originally released earlier this year. It has been recently reissued via Fossil Records.

This is another strong release from Reindel, showing different sides to the band, different influences. Some might find that their references to Rush are a little much, but I think the homages are just about right... here, they are in perfect balance." - Stephanie Sollow, ProgressiveWorld.net

Reviews coming soon...