Wanderer: Way of the Blade (2017)

Let's do something really quick here.  Way of the Blade is a 7" limited to 200 copies from fairly new Portuguese metallers Wanderer.  The sound is the exact type of dirty heavy/speed metal that I have been obsessed with over the last few months.  There is absolutely nothing polished here, it is just fun old-fashioned tried and true metal.

There are just two songs on this release.  Side One features the title cut, a ripping seven minute full throttle speed metal attack.  Wanderer fits in well with the retro traditional metal bands like Cauldron, Enforcer, and Wolf.  The vocals are gruff and the hooks are infectious.  "Freedom's Call" is the sole track on Side Two and it is incrementally slower than the title cut, but still features the break-neck intensity.  The only thing I would have liked to have seen from this band would be shorter songs.  These songs are a little on the long side for the ideas presented and can be a little repetitive.

Wanderer has been for a few years now, but this two-song EP and a five-track demo tape are all that they have released to date.  If this is a sign of what they are capable of, count me in for a full-length.