Artist: LANCER
Album: MASTERY VINYL (2LP BLACK)

Year: 2017
EAN/UPS: 727361384814
Media type: LP

LANCER met at the Music Academy Of Ingesund in Arvika, Sweden, the common passion for heavy metal forged them together and LANCER was born. They invaded the metal scene in the spring of 2012 with their debut EP »Purple Sky« and received a warm welcome from music labels and fans all around the world.

In early 2013 LANCER released their self-titled debut album, which was produced by Tommy Reinxeed and Ronny Milianowicz (previous collaborations with HAMMERFALL, Michael Kiske and Timo Tolkki to name a few!), worldwide. It received amazing reviews from the metal press all around the world. Sweden Rock Magazine named the band “a new hope for European power metal” - and this hope grew day for day.

The follow up of the first EP, their second album »Second Storm«, concentrated on melodic metal and followed a long tradition of outstanding Swedish metal bands like HAMMERFALL, SABATON and many more! Classical acts like IRON MAIDEN, HELLOWEEN or GAMMA RAY inspired LANCER’s sound, but the Swedish melodic metal band adds a personal and modern touch to the sound to land a new modern heavy metal sound that was strongly needed.

“It's hard to categorise our sound,” comments Isak Stenvall, “because even though you might not hear too much of it in the music we also draw inspiration from the 70’s hard rock scene as well as thrash and death metal and tons of other music that isn’t even related to metal at all. That's the LANCER sound!”

This year they signed a new record deal with the renowned German metal label Nuclear Blast Records and in May 2016, LANCER started the recording process of their third album. The band entered Leon Music Studios once more with producer Gustav Ydenius. This time the band chose to let the world famous mastering engineer Miro (AVANTASIA, RHAPSODY, KAMELOT) of Gate Studio, Wolfsburg, master the album. Consequently, it has a different sound again.

“We wanted to make this album sound as close as possible to how we sound live, and with that I mean no over-dubs, no keyboards and of course no cutting out every single note we play and putting it in “perfect” order. You can write bombastic and varied metal songs with just four instruments, it's all in the arrangements. That’s why our album has such a great organic feeling!” explains Isak.

Thematically, the new record focus on fantasy topics, inspired by old tales, myths, as well as religion, for example from the ancient Egypt, the Hebrew and the Christian bible to Greek and Northern mythology. Furthermore, also science fiction and history play a major role - and in these stories everything always goes wrong. You can’t hold back the strife that ends up in catastrophe. But that’s just why this new creation is that exciting.

»Mastery« is scheduled to be released on January 13th via Nuclear Blast.

Side A:

01. Dead Raising Towers
02. Future Millennia
03. Mastery

Side B:

01. Victims Of The Nile
02. Iscariot

Side C:

01. Follow Azrael
02. Freedom Eaters
03. World Unknown

Side D:

01. Widowmaker
02. Envy Of The Gods
03. The Wolf And The Kraken (bonus)

LINE-UP:

Isak Stenvall | vocals
Ewo Solvelius | guitars
Frederik Kelemen | guitars
Emil Öberg | bass
Sebastian Pedernera | drums