The resurgence of Sorcerer continues with Lamenting of the Innocent, their third long form album.
Sorcerer has its beginnings back in 1988 in Stockholm, Sweden. They recorded a couple of demos that were well received, and they played several shows, but ultimately they disbanded in the mid nineties. The stirrings of a resurrection began about fifteen years later. One thing led to another and, in 2015, Sorcerer’s first full-length album, In The Shadow Of The Inverted Cross, was released by Metal Blade Records. Two and a half years later The Crowning Of The Fire King came out, and now we have the new one. The current lineup is Anders Engberg (vocals), Kristian Niemann (guitars), Peter Hallgren (guitars), Justin Biggs (bass), and Richard Evensand (drums).
The epic metal sound of Sorcerer is presaged by the introductory piece, “Persecution.” A dramatic and foreboding minute to say the least, leading into “Hammer of the Witches.” The music is a little bit like King Diamond, except without the falsetto and with more complex percussion. Or maybe Rainbow’s “Gates of Babylon” if it had been produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. [OK, before I get angry DMs, that’s a joke] What does stand out in this song is the fullness of the sound owing to very well arranged guitars, the excellent drumming, and the mad guitar breaks – clever lead breaks like I haven’t heard before. Most of the songs on the album are quite long, with four of them being eight minutes or longer, and the shortest full song running nearly five minutes. Like latter-day Iron Maiden, you might say, except again with a fuller sound, fresher lead work, and Engberg’s unmatched voice. There are some slower pieces, like “Deliverance” which is essentially a ballad, and those with a modest tempo like “Age of the Damned” and “Condemned” – Indeed I suspect it is songs like this that gave the “epic doom” moniker to Sorcerer. I usually mean something different when I call a band a doom metal band. Whatever label we might use, the music is in a classic metal style, it is well executed, and it will appeal to fans of the aforementioned bands. They have found a lane and they are driving it well.
Lamenting of the Innocent is available now on all streaming platforms. You can buy a download at Bandcamp, and you can get LPs, CDs, t-shirts, and whatnot at the band’s shop (links below).
Band photo by Marieke Verschuren.
Links.
Flying Fiddlesticks Music Blog 