Artist: Rapid
Country: Finland
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2026
After a handful of short players, Finnish band Rapid have finally released their debut album after being around for over ten years. Anyone who has followed the band even a little will immediately notice that, visually speaking, ‘Enter The Realm Of Fire’ appears to break with the band’s past. Not only does the album feature a dark and demonic cover, but the logo has also been replaced. This usually signifies a shift in a band’s musical direction, and this certainly seems to be the case with Rapid. Their previous release, the ‘Blackstar Oppression Regime’ EP (2022/2023), with its solid Punk-infused NWOBHM/Speed Metal mix, gave no hint of this…
In the past, the band was frequently described as a ‘Blackened Speed Metal’ band, and whilst that is still reasonably accurate, it is hard to deny that we are dealing here with a band that has a more refined vision. The ingredients are largely the same, but the balance has shifted. Vincent Revenge’s distinctive and recognisable vocals, which lie somewhere between Paul di’Anno and the Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra, are still just as recognisable and make this effort unmistakably a Rapid album. But whilst the previous releases, with their catchy nature, made an immediate impact, ‘Enter The Realm Of Fire’ really does need a few listens. The new material seems to bring together even more diverse influences, meaning the listener simply needs more time to let it all sink in properly. Alongside the NWOBHM and Dead Kennedys sounds already familiar from Rapid, you can also hear echoes of Metalucifer, early Sodom, Living Death, Nasty Savage, Running Wild, Attic, Darkthrone and even Viking-era Bathory.
At first listen, ‘Enter The Realm Of Fire’ seems a bit of a let-down, mainly because there aren’t really any tracks on it that immediately stick in your mind. But after a few listens, the pieces of the puzzle do start to fall into place and the album unfolds as a really good record. The darker side of the music is given a bit more attention, without it actually becoming Black Metal or veering too much towards Venom, and the production has also been updated, giving it a much less 80s feel. The latter is practically blasphemy in Heavy Metal circles, but in this case it’s mainly meant to point out that the band isn’t focused on forcefully chasing a nostalgic sound. The record has enough rough edges to scare off the average Nuclear Blast and Wacken-oriented Heavy Metal listener, so fear not.
Admittedly, it took a few listens, but ‘Enter The Realm Of Fire’ has turned out to be an excellent album, and it hardly matters whether this is the result of a deliberate strategy or a natural evolution of something that will ultimately result in a very distinctive sound of their own – but that is certainly the direction Rapid are heading in.
