I must admit that I’m not too familiar with Sorcerer, but this record knocked me flat on my ass and it didn’t even take a further listen into the record to hit me. They’re considered Epic Doom Metal, but I’m glad that the opener doesn’t showcase that at all. In fact, “Morning Star” sounds more like a cut from Symphony X and it doesn’t feature the familiar doom thumps that we have long expected from this kind of music. It’s good to see these guys changing it up a little to bring us something a little different and extremely grand. The song “Morning Star” alone is a 10/10 on It’s own and one of the best songs I’ve ever heard regarding the devil since Venom Inc’s “Ave.”
Sorcerer didn’t just make this whole record about the devil though, there’s a slew of topics here including “Curse Of Medusa” which is maybe a bit overused, but with playing like this, who cares? With yet another team of dueling guitars in Kristian Niemann and Peter Hallgreen, I’m once again dazzled. Though not only that, these guys have some riffs too! Yes, the songs actually start out with memorable riffs and not the same old chunks were used to hearing. Anders Engberg has an incredible voice fronting all of this, making for an enigmatic experience. Song after song is amazing – give “Thy Kingdom Will Come” a listen and tell me you’re not floored. If you aren’t, then you do not have ears.
Reign Of The Reaper is such an incredible album that it feels like lightning in a bottle. Yes, we all know the legendary bands that inspired this, but imagine putting out a record that would’ve even given Ronnie James Dio himself, a case of the shivers. Folks, you know how many albums go in and out of my ears on an almost daily basis and this one had me picking my jaw up off the floor. I’m not bullshitting, nor am I overselling this. If you’ve found a doom metal record that sounds better than this in 2023 then I want to hear it. I just don’t think any record released this year in the same genre is going to top this disc and I’m without question considering this epic achievement in the genre one of my top records of the whole year. Sorcerer have in my opinion, made the album of their career. It simply can’t get any better than this.
