Reiz - Snow-Covered Sun

I really don't know how to start off a review without first introducing the band at hand, or, solo project in this case. I mean, I could go on about how my fucking day is going, but no one really wants to hear that, do they? Personal thoughts aside, I have actually come across a relatively new act called Reiz. And I am damn fucking glad I found them on BandCamp.

Reiz is the solo project of A. Verzicht, who had previous dabbles in the dark scene in bands such as Witchcraft and Cutoff:Sky, the latter of which is no longer living. I looked up both bands that he used to take part in, and was none too impressed. So, with a slight bit of trepidation, I took in his newest release, 'Snow-Covered Sun'.

And, I was wrong to go into this album with trepidation. Don't you just love it when you're wrong? Because I definitely was. And still am. There are twenty four tracks on the album, each one coming in with something different. The first thirteen tracks are that of Reiz's work, and the rest are remixes.

The songs done by Reiz are absolutely grandiose. They each bring something new to the table. Most of the songs keep me moving all throughout the song. However, as I'm typing this, I find myself questioning what I just said.

As I came across the song, "Both Sides of Me," I found myself wincing. It's a decent song, but it's just been thrown way off the track of the rest of the album. I don't really know how to describe the vocals in it, but it sounds like they're trying to rap. Maybe it's just the Russian accent or what not, but in the past, when I've encountered something like this, it made me die on the inside. And I was really thinking about giving this album a perfect score for a moment.

Yes, I hate that song, but it's not enough to let my opinion of the rest of the album be faltered. Maybe if the rest of the tracks were mediocre, then I'd be shouting, "Fuck this!", but that's not the case. The rest of the album is still amazing.

"Oxygene" is the masterpiece on the album. It's a wonderful fucking instrumental, with a higher pitched synth taking the main stage, with bass drops every so often accompanying it. Other harder noises and electronic sound waves join in the fray, and what we're left with is an amalgamation of sounds and, even drums later on that are extraordinarily beautiful.

There are other songs to note, too, but I don't want to completely ruin the album for you and spoil all the ins and outs of it. The remixes will speak for themselves, as the flavor of the artist remixing it adds their own unique twist to the songs in question. And, again, I repeat, I came really close to giving this album a perfect score. If "Both Sides of Me" wouldn't have ever existed, I can guarantee this album would have gotten a ten. But it does exist. And what a bane on this album it shall remain. Mar 22 2013