SORCERER - War Sower (promo 2006)

[KelThuz]

Sorcerer is an epic technical progressive warrior metal band from Poland, and has just finished work on a promo CD of new kickass material.

WAR SOWER promo track for download". Have a nice listening!

Similar bands: Nevermore, Lost Horizon, Control Denied, Manilla Road and Manowar

www.sorcerer.metal.pl
sorcerer@wp.pl


I AM THE ARM OF WARRIORS AND GODS!...

 

[IOfTheStorm]

The link is not working. Im curious on how you mix all the bands you mentioned.
Btw are you aware of the swedish Sorcerer?

 

[KelThuz]

damn, it must work!
try again:
http://mp3.wp.pl/i/sciagnij?id=138645

We are aware of Swedish, German and Chilean (?) Sorcerer bands, but only the last one is active and doesn't play heavymetal

 

[IOfTheStorm]

I just thought that 1 epic Sorcerer band is enough, i mean..im sure you could be original with the band's name.
Downloading

 

[KelThuz]

latest Metal Archives' review of WAR SOWER, written by the famous Peregrin. A very accurate observation.

After the good "Metalowa Husarya" EP, a well-realized serving of folk-tinged epic Speed Metal, a slight lineup change and lots of gusto, Sorcerer rides again.

There has been a definite and clear change in direction from last time - the songs are way more varied and more complex, the riffs are heavier (the folk influence in them is still there, albeit in a much more understated manner) and more blunt and most notably - the compositions are forwardly progressive this time. At times there is quite the (perhaps unintentional?) similarity to Blind Guardian's "Imaginations from the Other Side" album. But, hey, there is nothing wrong in being like the greats of the genre - if they are great, why it is not great to emulate them?

And since the tracks are very different from each other, this mean it is time for... (drum roll) a music video? A car chase? No, ladies, gentlemen and androgynes - a TRACK-BY-TRACK REVIEW! As bemoaned as they are by some, they exist for a reason.

The fast-paced title track is the most conventional song here, following verse-chorus structure with a longer mid-paced interlude later on. Many would probably call this song "thrashy" - it is definitely heavy and very furious, especially during the chorus which must be one of the catchiest of the year. What makes this song work so well is how everything is played with spirit - the longing for a past golden age, the rage and bloodlust, all the turbulent emotions come across so directly on this song - it is impossible to this and not get the impression that he really means it when he sings out "I am the arm of warriors and gods! I am the heart of battle!".

Not wasting all their energy on one song, the slower "The Overcoming" continues as the best song on this demo. Though it still has a chorus (and a wonderfully catchy one at that), it progresses forwards with a distinct focus and evolves within its short playing from a ballad to a triumphant, mighty "power-thrash" song. Again, a lot of the beauty derives simultaneously from the strong, complex yet cohesive songwriting (aided in no small parts by perhaps the most overtly Nietzschean lyrics this side of Deströyer 666) AND just as much from how spirited the delivery is - in terms of sheer sincere gusto it is difficult to beat Sorcerer. This song is simply the epitome of what Power Metal should set out to do - it is dynamically epic, mighty and indomitably expressive of everything heroic.

The last song, "Discipline of Blood", is the ugly duckling... the heroic spirit and epic scope is still there, complete with a wide range of turbulent emotions on display. It is by far the most complex song on here and an obvious attempt by the band to one-up themselves in terms of epic scope. Yet, "Discipline of Blood" only succeeds partially here - there is a sense of forward movement through a great variety of emotions and all that, but at times it just does not hang together the right way and in a few places it comes across as a bit too chaotic and meandering for its own good. The fault may lie in how "Discipline of Blood" is at once the shortest yet the most compositionally complex song on this demo; perhaps the intertwining structures should have given more room to breathe. Not a bad song, though - just not as great as the one which preceded it. (If this had been as well-executed as "The Overcoming", this demo would score a 80%+)

A second, and more prominent, weak point is the production, which feels somewhat cramped and confining. As a whole, "War Sower" is also less accessible than the debut EP but not really worse, just a different beast.