Review: “Sword & Sorcery Vol. I” by The Cimmerian

There seems to be a lot of nostalgia for those days spent in front of the TV watching tales of Swords and Sorcery on VHS, from Conan The Barbarian to Highlander and Red Sonia even Masters of the Universe floating around in Metal at the moment – and not just Power Metal. Hailing from Los Angeles California, Doom Thrash trio The Cimmerian have taken that inspiration and have lined up a series of EPs for our listening pleasure, the bands name coming from creatures gifted to craft Swords by the War God Crom. Seasoned veterans inspired by bands like Motorhead, Venom and Gates Of Slumber, guitarist David Gein (ex-Black Pyramid, The Scimitar), bassist Nicolas Rocha (ex-Deathkings, Pendulous) and drummer David Morales released their debut EP “Thrice Majestic” last June. For this new work they returned to Minor Chord Studio to once again record with Robert Frank, who also mixed…

Written from the perspective of the wrathful  War God Crom “Suffer No Guilt” is a brutal introduction to the bands fantasy world, laden with pummelling rhythmic battery and Thrash edged guitar work. Harsh, gravelly unclean vocals from Rocha built on the urgency of the abrasive riffs adding a real sense of power to the high energy performance which not doubt captures the trios live energy like lightening in a bottle. The mix is perfectly weighted with the bass groove allowed to pop out in the mix, the old school sound the band create sounding raw enough to have been recorded at any point in the past forty years and yet being all the more charming for it. A false ending is well executed, the soloing in both that an earlier in the track having the freedom of a live performance. Taking a more Doom Metal inspired approach “Inanna Rising” starts with the kind of riff you worship and maintains the flow but with a harder, heavier edge before a solo that is classic Black Sabbath. Rocha then breaks out a verse that has him sounding like Max Cavalera, which is a surprise on the first spin but when you think that Sepultura famously covered “Orgasmatron” by Motorhead, who in turn are an inspiration for The Cimmerian, it makes perfect sense. Rocha is a storyteller at his peak and it’s clear that a lot of effort has gone into the lyrics and balancing them off against Gein’s riffs on the scales of justice so as to maintain the energy levels while giving the listener something with a bit more depth. All in all, this whets the appetite for the second chapter perfectly as it leaves you wanting more [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Suffer No Guilt
2. Inanna Rising

“Sword & Sorcery Vol. I” by The Cimmerian is out 12th May 2023 with the potential to appear over at bandcamp.