Sorcerer – Reign Of The Reaper
Reviewed by: Mostowski
Review Score: 8.0
Reign Of The Reaper is the latest release from the multi-faceted Sorcerer that is bound to please those who like the classic heavy metal sound with a splash of doom. Hailing from beautiful Sweden, the band have been together since 2010, but if you read Wikipedia the Sorcerer concept has actually been around since 1988 and seems that there have been many line up changes since then. That being said, like any business, you need to find the right people for the job and this present line up may be it. Anders Engberg, being the only original member, only pushes me to admire this band even more. I like a person who doesn’t give up. See if you can find any early demos.
In 2010 there was a new incarnation of the band and, ever since, they have been smashing it. In 2010, Sorcerer was offered a slot at the German Hammer Of Doom Festival. They also played and handful of other festivals in Europe, which obviously got them some new fans and were well received by fans both old and new.
They have quite an extensive back catalogue. Their first release In the Shadow Of The Inverted Cross was released in 2015, showcasing an epic doom feel (and I think “epic” is a good adjective for this band), the sound is big. The Crowning Of The Fire King released back in 2017 is the period which laid the foundation for the latest incarnation of Sorcerer and was chosen as the album of the month by German magazine Rock Hard.
Lamenting Of The Innocent was another new incarnation with more intricate writing, longer songs and has been highly praised. The band has also played the likes of Bloodstock and Hellfest, amongst others.
For Reign Of The Reaper, Sorcerer spent a lot of time In their home studio working with a small team which included Mike Head (King Diamond). They have also been working with the Swedish artist Joakim Ericsson for the album covers and Conny Welen who covers post-production and plays all keyboards and also helps with some vocal stuff. Always good to have a reliable team to help keep things tighter than the Bee Gee‘s trousers.
The opening track ‘Morning Star’ is apparently about the downfall of Lucifer and could not start in a more epic way, making you want to charge at an army dressed as a Viking somewhere in the Fjords of Scandinavia. The song has an extremely catchy sing along chorus (I’m already singing it to myself) and some great riffs and clear lyrics (which I personally like, as I like to have a good sing along). This was a great choice for an opening track, with just enough “twiddly” (twiddly guitar solos to make you want to pick up that guitar that you’ve been looking at for months). Additionally, I can actually hear the bass! Sometimes the bass can be overpowered by guitars in production (and I won’t mention Jason here… oops!). There are also some doom elements at the end of the track, which maybe hail back to former years, making it an epic finale to the track.
“Reign Of The Reaper ‘ is a slower, deeper track with great melody and brings to mind so many other bands, which I am going to refrain from mentioning as I prefer to not compare bands too much, but I’m sure you can all here what I mean. It meanders pleasantly along at a slower pace and although not as in your face as ‘The Morning Star‘ I think this is one of those growers that maybe doesn’t grab at first listen but becomes an ear-bug (or whatever they call it). The middle section is where it gets really interesting and transitions into a monastery-sounding chant. The song has some great guitar work and some death metal vocals thrown in for good measure (not sure about the fade out, but ending a track is not as easy as we might think).
When the vocals of ‘Eternal Sleep’ start, I can only think of one singer (I will let you decide who that might be). Its a more acoustic track with some nice keyboards that add depth. Maybe this track is about death but is done is a non scary, mellow way, it mentions ‘ passing gates, souls and angels and as someone, much wiser than me once said “ Death is but an incident of life, and not the most important one “ A slightly thought provoking track and good choice for track four.
‘Curse Of Medusa’ has a slightly Arabic vibe and you can’t beat a bit of a history lesson in music. We all know about the snake-headed Medusa and her stare (this song might be a metaphor for life about who you can or can’t trust). It’s another catchy track that I can see being a crowd pleaser. The band say they are trying more story telling on this album and maybe veering away from the whole Viking/sword thing. This is not a bad thing, in my book. Maybe they’ll do a double-album concept record next time.
The last track ‘Break Of Dawn’ is definitely a closing track. It has some nice acoustic guitar and a slightly softer sound with great guitars solos and vocals and brings the album to a nice close.
Generally speaking, Sorcerer can be escribed as melodic doom. Yes, I can hear elements but, personally speaking, it has more of a progressive power metal sound with some doom elements thrown in (but what’s in a name anyway?). I’m just happy that I managed NOT to name all the great bands that this band remind me of, as that would not do justice to all the hard work that Anders Engberg and his team have put into this band. It deserves to be viewed on its own merits. I find that too many bands like to promote themselves as sounding or being like so and so band… gotta stand out, not fit in! Epic album, great production.
Sorcerer‘s Reign Of The Reaper drops on October 27th via Metal Blade Records.