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REINFORCER
The Wanderer EP

Self-released (2018)
Rating: 6.5/10

Just like Scrollkeeper’s Path To Glory, the cover art of Reinforcer’s debut EP suggests a band ready for battle. However, the sound on this one, while very much anthemic, is a tad more mechanised in its sound but still embedded in that power metal ethos as The Wanderer comes riddled with effective clan chants and high energy, fist-pumping melodies.

Five tracks are offered from the German band which consists of Logan Lexi (lead vocals), Niclas Stappert (guitar), Tobias Schwarzer (guitar), Marvin Fretter (bass) and Lasse Schmiedel (drums).

The opening title track is a cheery power metal stomper beginning in subtle fashion with a trickling, solitary guitar, but soon the band embarks on a steely chug delivered with some pace. Admittedly there is something rather cold and clinical about the production, but Logan Lexi’s vocals, while nothing fancy, do provide a bit of fire to keep out the ice. However, the track bounds with polished dignity and the guitars are effective as is the drum, but the chanted chorus, although a bit cheesy, does embed itself into the memory.

It’s by this point already that you know what you’re in for, and so vast tankards of ale are purchased sharply from the innkeeper to prepare us for combat and numerous chilly nights in the home of wolves!

‘Shipwrecked’ begins in steady, simmering fashion – the guitars again glint brightly as the track unravels as a tidy heap of feisty metal, prompting one to take to the mountains and bark orders to an audience of men clad in animal skins. It’s racy stuff as the guitars again create big dollops of squeaky clean melody.

‘Snatching Hands’ brings solid bass qualities to its lumber. It’s a mid-tempo chugger again that’s tight and concise where Lexi’s vocals shift up a gear, his hearty bellows and cries evoking sounds from a mid-to-late 80s European power metal design. For me this is the best, most epic tune on offer – the band more nostalgic and less polished in its structure as the night fires are lit to keep away the dangers. The guitar sound on this one has more swaggers too; the chug strikes the bones harder and I’d love to hear the guys concentrate more on this darker aspect of their sound to create steady, stormy rumbles.

‘The Legions Align’, meanwhile, resorts back to Teutonic power metal type where again we have those hearty chants of unison as the combo gallops in rather glossy fashion. Finally, namesake track ‘Reinforcer’, even with its gang chants, does provide a darker feel and a steely solo which melts the ice and is a solid track to round of the EP.

Going forward, my advice to the guys would be to dirty things up a little and not always opt for those formulaic power metal designs, because there’s certainly potential here to suggest that Reinforcer could exist as a sonic force within the field. It’s just that The Wanderer does feel a tad restrained and typical at times.

Neil Arnold

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