ALBUM REVIEW: Reign Of The Reaper – Sorcerer

Swedish epic doom veterans SORCERER first formed way back in 1988 before disbanding in the 90s. Their rebirth in 2010, however, has seen the band sign to Metal Blade Records and release three albums that have shown them perfecting their huge sound and going from strength to strength, with 2022 finally seeing their excellent UK live debut at Bloodstock.

Reign Of The Reaper, their fourth album, opens in suitably powerful style with first single Morning Star. A triumphant, march-like intro builds into a charging wall of sound, immediately highlighting the powerful production that continues throughout the whole album and is reminiscent of Brave New World-era IRON MAIDEN. A chugging verse – bound to challenge the neck muscles of even the most reserved metal fan – follows, before opening out into a harmony-filled chorus, showcasing Anders Engberg’s astonishing vocals. “You know my name, I am the Serpent”, he belts out, channelling the best bits of Ronnie James Dio with every line. The song’s coda offers something to really blow the socks off, the clean vocals giving way to something far darker and heavier courtesy of bassist Justin Biggs’ harsh growls.

The title track follows and slows things down, taking a more classic doom metal approach, adding a sense of dread courtesy of the synths filling out the already massive sound. Again, Engberg’s vocals soar into the epic chorus, which lyrically touches on themes of death and the afterlife, and carry all the emotional heft required of this sort of thing. As the song progresses, the occasional gothic piano breaks add further to the brooding atmosphere. It’s a strange decision to fade this one out at the end, though, and without a powerful conclusion in the same vein as what’s come before, it feels like a bit of an anti-climax. 

Thy Kingdom Will Come puts the album firmly back on track in classic metal style, again referencing Dio-era SABBATH and RAINBOW at their most full-on, the driving rhythm section complementing the urgent riffing of guitarists Kristian Niemann and Peter Hallgren. The twin lead solo attack on this song, like many of the others here, further highlights the technical ability of this duo. 

Curse Of Medusa is a real highlight, recalling MAIDEN’s masterful Powerslave album, and it creates a similar atmosphere, its lyrics telling a disturbing tale of myth and legend before another soaring chorus rises from the darkness. Some synth-heavy sections really lend to the clean, epic sound of the whole production again here. Aurally, this record sounds like stadium filling stuff and a big shout-out should go to Ronnie Bjornstrom at the mixing desk for the stellar job he’s done with the band.

The combination of classic metal and epic doom is one that works well throughout the record, although on occasion means the songs become a tad repetitive. Some of these tracks – like the title song and Eternal Sleep – start off powerfully, only to settle into a mid-paced chug, sometimes veering off into power ballad territory or overlong middle-eights (middle-thirty-twos?), and nothing that follows ever quite matches the intensity and magic of the colossal opener. 

However, this slight sense of deja-vu aside, Reign Of The Reaper is, without doubt, a great album. Heavy, impassioned, full of powerful riffs, mind-boggling solos and an incredible vocal performance, it should be loved by fans of classic metal and epic-sounding doom alike.

Rating: 8/10

Reign Of The Reaper is set for release on October 27th via Metal Blade Records.

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