Review by JD on November 7, 2012.

I have been handed a rather odd little act from Sweden that puzzles me. They are tagged as Power/Speed Metal and i can see a little of that, but I think that they are a wee bit closer to Thrash than anything. That was the first little bit of head scratching but there is more - much, much more.

Lancer came to existence in 2009, and that are the good points that the band has. This three song EP seems to be a work of pure cheesy fluff - and not the good sort of cheesiness either. This is the powdered kind of cheese found in the pack in bargain basement Macaroni and Cheese that goes for a quarter because it is six years past its expiration date and the health department is threatening to order its destruction. This explains it perfectly what I am hearing!

Having only three songs, I will not bore you with any of it to dissect such drivel. Playing what I can explain as being some the worst Power tinged Thrash Metal I have heard, that is the only way I can describe it. Lancer’s riffs seem to have been stolen from all over the 80's ‘A’ and ‘B’ class thrashers like Grave Digger, Exciter and Omen in some way - there is no real originality to the music or anything that comes close to it as they offer up regurgitated shit.

Lancer might be garnering a decent following - but most Headbangers out there will not join up or even give them a second look. Metalheads don’t mind bands that sound like someone else, as long as they also put a bit of originality in it to set it apart. This band does not try to even have an original thought and tries to pass it off as their own.

Do yourself all a huge favour and buy an old Grave Digger album or check out some other act that has some originality with the willingness to be that way. Leave Lancer out of your metallic vocabulary. This album could very well half your present IQ in a heartbeat. Sweden’s Metal Scene has gotten a black eye.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:5
Atmosphere: 4
Production: 6
Originality: 2
Overall: 4

Rating: 4.2 out of 10