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PÖWER A.D.
Reclaim The Might EP

Crypt Of The Wizard (2022)
Rating: 6.5/10

Sounding like it was recorded in the damp cellar of a fortress, Reclaim The Might wafts into the room like some mid-80s Euro Goth metal stench. It’s the work of aa American duo – Lord Of Swords and King Of Hammers – who sound like they’ve just left school, rented out a garage and rather haphazardly decided to record a demo off the cuff.

There’s a fine line here between 80s nostalgia and downright amateurish rambling that just might be intentional. Even so, Reclaim The Might is the sort of EP you tape off a friend in 1985, only to find out his copy has been dubbed several times previously resulting in a very stuffy recording.

A few people I played this to remarked on the poorly mixed vocals, but I responded that it’s probably intentional in order to give the whole offering a demo-cum-ancient quality. A buddy of mine replied that in today’s climate bands shouldn’t be seeking such lo-fi production, to which I strongly disagreed with. Either way, the vocals here are somewhat remote and separate, and at times decipherable in their warbles. However, it’s still an engaging if somewhat standard metal EP that wouldn’t have gotten a look in decades ago, but there is an element of the unorthodox about how it unravels.

Riddled with a dungeons n’ dragons atmosphere, Reclaim The Might lacks a punch in spite of its ethereal quality. Tracks like ‘Hellbound Hellhound’ rattle along in timely manner, evoking a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal-style of air and there’s plenty of melody echoing around those castle walls, and maybe some of this remains overlooked because of the production.

Opener ‘War’s Desire’ has a rusty charm to its amble where the tone of every instrument feels misty and murky, almost to the extent that damp has affected its vision, but again there’s that rich, doomy feel to proceedings.

This is metal to play when you want to paint your Warhammer figures. However, if a full-length is to emerge then Pöwer A.D. may have to be open to a few tweaks here and there, otherwise they may rather rapidly disappear into the darkness they have tried so desperately to conjure on what is an archaic yet at times lo-fi release.

Neil Arnold

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