Review: Drifter - The Demos: 1985 & 1986 | |||||||
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The Demos: 1985 & 1986 | |||||||
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Label: Stormspell Records Year released: 2006 Duration: 53:42 Tracks: 10 Genre: Heavy/Thrash Rating: Review online: September 6, 2021 Reviewed by: Mjölnir |
Readers' Rating How do you rate this release? Rated 4.6/5 (92%) (5 Votes)
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Review | |||||||
Drifter were a cult act from Sweden who got a lot of positive press from their first couple of demos, leading to them signing on to a big label, releasing a couple of acclaimed full-lengths, and heading some highly successful tours before simply vanishing without a trace and being forgotten. They reformed some time in the mid 2000s with the intent of making a comeback album, but after their singer quit a few years later, the band dissolved once again and nothing outside a brief demo beforehand has come from them since. As part of their comeback, Stormspell Records released this compilation of their first two demos back in 2006 to promote what was supposed to be the release of their third album, giving the larger Metal community a chance to catch up on what these guys were doing before they broke really big. As it turns out, at least to my ears, they actually started out much better than they'd end up becoming. The first half of this compilation consists of their first demo Tales of Dragonia, which shows a very different band from what the one who released Reality Turns to Dust. Rather than the Thrash sound of their debut full-length, here the band had a rocking, energetic style that was something akin to Brocas Helm violently swaying between Thrash and Hard Rock while on a bender, only Drifter were tighter players than that would imply. This led to songs ranging from pummeling epics like the massive opener "(Intro) Dark Kingdom" and the blistering "Inquisition" and more laid-back rockers like "Fire of Dragonia" and "Drifter," which, on the one hand, causes a bit of whiplash to the pacing, but on the other the band had a great ear for catchy riffs, an unwavering dedication to cheesy fantasy lyrics, and energetic, almost theatrical vocals that fits perfectly in either style they work in, which all ends up holding this demo together despite the disparity in style. The one place I'd argue they had issue with that is "Land of Fantasy", which is more or less a Led Zeppelin song, only it lacks enormous benefit of Robert Plant's wails and doubles down on the overreliance on repetition to make the song about a minute or two longer than it needs to be. Outside of a weak ending, though, their first demo was a killer bit of old-school Metal in a style that they unfortunately started drifting away from. This leads us to the second half of this compilation, which is mostly made up of their second demo, Beyond the Burning Circles. Here, the band started leaning much harder on the Thrash and largely ditched the Hard Rock leanings from the previous demo, but they still kept some of the more Traditional flair to the riffs that they'd abandon shortly after. "Elder" kicks this half off with a darker, meaner sound than the band previously had while still retaining some of the epic feel from before, making for what's technically a more accomplished sound, but one that's not as fun. That's not to say that this half is entirely lacking, as it happens to contain the best song they ever wrote in "Banners on the Battlefield," a blazing Thrash epic that was so good it's the only song that made it to their debut full-length, though I think the rougher quality on the demo suits it better. "Burning Circles" sounds like it would be right at home on the first demo and is just as strong, and the demo ends with a short, silly tavern song that fits their aesthetic perfectly. The compilation also includes a live version of "Banners on the Battlefield" from 2006, and it might actually be the best version of the song you can find, with a top-notch performance from the band that shines through the rough quality. It's certainly enough to make me feel the band failing to get its shit together was a tragedy. Drifter's style would go on to become a perfectly solid Thrash act, but I don't think they ever recaptured the magic that their demos had. It's still a shame they never got around to their planned full-length, but I don't think it would have been as good as this, so at least they returned long enough to show off the killer band they used to be. |
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