Second Reign – Gravity

Second Reign
Gravity
Massacre Records
September 24^th, 2021
Playing time: 59:57

Switzerland is a guarantee for quality. Not only with the famous Swiss watches. There are also a lot of good bands in the Rock and Metal scene. Here, another one introduces itself. Second Reign were founded in the middle of 2017. The debut album “Gravity” was not actually planned this way. The band actually just wanted to record some songs and release them as singles. The goal was to play some gigs in their home country. But you know, things usually turn out differently than you think. After an extensive songwriting process, Second Reign suddenly had a choice of 30 (!) songs. Thirteen of them made it onto the album. It took sixteen months to record. The musicians were alone in the studio. But now it is done. The album will be released in September.

Without an intro, it goes straight into the full swing. “Uninvited” is a good introduction to the album. Fine Melodic Rock. It’s a mixture of well-known Swiss bands. Crisp riffs underpinned by keyboard passages. And Alain Schneble also impresses with a good guitar solo. Live, however, it might be a bit difficult to play rhythm and lead guitar at the same time. “The Truth” was probably the first song that was created in the studio. Here, too, the keys are almost omnipresent. Nevertheless, guitar and drums dominate. Deeply rooted in the Melodic Rock of the 80s. And it goes on like this. Good mood Rock non-stop. Skilfully played but with not too much variety. In “Fire” the tempo is increased a little. But I find the keyboards a bit too intrusive. The beautiful ballad “Borderline” is a bit out of the ordinary. A highlight of the album. At the latest with “Another Night”, the synths at the beginning of the songs start to become annoying. But I have already said something about variety. It could certainly be better. One of the best songs of the album is at the very end. This midtempo hymn provides a conciliatory ending. The use of the saxophone is impressive and adds that certain something. There you go!

I don’t really know what to think of “Gravity”. There are many good approaches to be heard. Every single song in itself is fine Melodic Rock. But as already mentioned, there is too little variety, apart from two three very good songs. And the synths are overused in my opinion. A solid debut, with a lot of room for improvement. 

Second Reign – Uninvited: https://youtu.be/RtFSJFX-sSg

Lineup:

Stephan Lipp – Vocales, Bass
Alain Schneble – Guitars
Bo Rebsamen – Keyboards
Dan Hammer – Drums

Guest:

Beda Felber: Saxophone (at “Home”) 

Track list:

• Uninvited
• The Truth
• Let Me Breathe
• Fire
• Falling
• Borderline
• Wrong
• Another Night
• You’ll Never Catch Me (When I’m Gone)
• Dark Matter
• Uncover
• The Big Lie
• Home