Within a relatively short time period the amount of Metal bands that have emerged from Italy has been quite staggering, ranging from so called Gothic Metal like LACUNA COIL all the way through to more classically influenced True Metal such as RHAPSODY OF FIRE, the Italians seem to have opened some sort of floodgate of musical talent. Not wanting to be left behind RAINVEIL soon followed suit, releasing first an EP in 2014 entitled "Verse Zero" before following it up with this their first full length called "Verses" which was released earlier this year. Describing themselves as Melodic Metal and hailing from the town of Lodi in the northern part of Italy, this, their 2^nd release sees them carrying on where they left off with their previous effort. While the band describes themselves as Melodic Metal there is also a strong keyboard element to their sound with the instrument being used on almost every song and while the musicianship on offer here is top notch as expected their brand of Metal is also rather predictable and dare I say boring. I am at loathe to say anything negative about any artist that has put in time and effort into creating music but although "Verses" is professionally done it is also rather bland.

Starting of this nine track affair, the first song is a melodic intro aptly titled "Prologue: Into the Void" which perfectly sets the mood of what is to follow with its melodic sensibilities heavily accentuated by a strong keyboard melody. Second song is "Macabre Ecstasy" and is a track that does not burst out of the gate with any type of conviction instead coming across as lazy and uninspired. The song is mid-tempo throughout and stays that way without ever really going anywhere. Third song "Breakout" is as its name suggests is a more upbeat track starting with an aggressive riff that marks the track throughout, the vocals are also sung with more conviction and the song is much better than the 2^nd song in that it offers up something to get excited about. "Mirror" which is the 5^th song on offer here is another number that sticks out positively with some interesting riff structures that range from the rather slow and acoustic beginning to the effectively used main guitar line that reminds me slightly of Anthrax. What is also noticeable here is that the interaction of guitars, drums, bass and keyboard is combined into a seamless and homogeneous whole.

My favourite song on the album though has got to be "Fire Opal" with its operatic but never overbearing structure with some rather brilliant guitar work on offer, the build-up of the track is also exciting in that it dares to go places that perhaps some of the other songs feared to tread, the combination of well-placed female vocals only adding to the positive vibe. Overall, "Verses" is a competent album, professionally produced, arranged and delivered from a band that clearly has a lot of potential but that is nonetheless nothing special. With a more adventurous and less safe approach on subsequent albums RAINVEIL could go far.