Reptilian
Demon Wings – EP

March 2005
Released: 2004, Regain Records
Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewer: Anders Sandvall

Reptilian is a band from Malmö Sweden, and they have released two studio albums prior this EP, named CASTLE OF YESTERDAY, from '01, and THUNDERBLAZE from '02. They have gone through some member changes as well; the guitar player Orvar Wennström being replaced by Peter Espinosa is one. Practically all of the guys in the line-up are old members of the band Majestic. Peter on guitar, Joel on drums, and Jonas on vocals, were all a part of the debut album with Richard Andersson; lead band Majestic. By now, Majestic has changed their name to ‘Time Requiem’. The main purpose of this EP must be to keep the band alive, because I really can’t think of any other reason.



Whoever the producer is, he has created an OK production. I haven’t got a clue if they have added some newer songs on the EP, I only recognize “Saber Dance” and “Demon Wings”. This is mainly because both songs are bonus tracks on the Japanese version of the second album, “THUNDERBLAZE”. Another song taken from the same album is “Raging Storms”, so in other words they have included three songs that I know of.



The entire EP consists of five tracks total, and two of them, “Saber Dance” and “Sleepwalkers”, are instrumental. The debut album with Reptilian leaned into a progressive neo-classical metal genre, just like Majestic. On the follow up they did a change of course into more 80’s sounding heavy metal, adding a glam feeling with just hints of neo-classical metal. Something that I’ve been very displeased with, is Jonas’ poor vocals, especially on the debut. With the follow up he went through a remarkable change, and he is very impressive vocal wise.



“Sleepwalkers” is an acoustic song that only contains keyboard and guitar, and it is a short track with only about 1 minute, so it can be taken for an intro. This song transcends straight into “Demon Wings”, which is a more 80’s heavy metal track with many tempo changes in it. A lot of double bass pedals are used in this track, which also have a scent of neo-classical in it. “Raging Storms” is taken from the album THUNDERBLAZE, and is a definite up tempo ballad. In this song it’s pretty obvious that Jonas has a slightly weak and thin vocal status, with little depth, even though he sounds much better compared to the debut. Also, this song is a guitar/lead vocals based up-tempo ballad. Then comes the other instrumental song, “Saber Dance”, which is the famous ‘circus song’, where Joel has the biggest part with his amazing drum playing talent. Joel shows up all his ability on drums and is only joined by keyboard. The last track is called “Behold Nemesis”; here, neo-classical influences shine through a great deal and keyboard is the dominant instrument in this song. This track also contains some very complex tempo changes and Jonas has help by a proper choir in the chorus. This is a neo-classical metal track combined with ordinary heavy metal.



I wouldn’t recommend on buying this EP unless you are a fan of this band, and want to hear two Japanese bonus tracks. Otherwise, I don’t think you should buy it, and instead I advise you to buy “THUNDERBLAZE”. That is, if you want to hear very well played heavy metal, influenced by glam rock’n’roll. The cover artwork also looks real ugly and the booklet contains no info at all about the songs, or the band.



Killer tracks “Raging Storms” and “Saber Dance”.