Reaper/The Atonality Of Flesh/Iron Bonehead Productions/2021 CD Review

 

  Reaper  are  a  duo  from  Australia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  blackened  mixture  of  thrash  and  speed  metal  with  touches  of  punk  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "The  Atonality  of  Flesh"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Iron  Bonehead  Productions.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  before  going  into  a  heavier  thrash  metal  influenced  direction.  The  songs  also  capture  the  raw  aggression  of  punk  rock  and  d  beat  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  grim  black  metal  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  the  first  wave  style.

  Dark  sounding  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  remain  true  to  an  old  school  style  of  extreme  metal  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also b e  heard.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  elements  of  speed  metal.  Most  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  80's  and  90's  but  still  maintains  a  more  modern  era  aggression,  clean  playing  also  makes  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  instrumentals.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Death,  Darkness  and  Violence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Reaper  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  thrash  and  speed  metal  with  touches  of  punk  and  d  beat,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dogs  Of  The  Crumbled  Firmament"  "Raid,  the  Heavens"  "Me,  You  And  The  Juices  Of  Death"  and "Rise  Epimetheus".  8 out  of  10.

http://soundcloud.com/iron-bonehead-productions/reaper-raid-the-heavens      

Reaper Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?


Well… We’re a two-piece entity. Me, Flaggelator, and Impaler. Formed in the end of 2018, just before the recording of the demo. We’re from the outskirts of Sweden. Bergslagen. Nothing much here really at all. Besides hollowness, hardship and slime. It’s a piece of land with colliding interests. A shipwrecked soul with an undying philosophy to expand into the heavens. A lot to be said really, but that’s evidently always besides the point. Reaper is a lust for metal. A knuckle in your face, a sweet embrace of putrid death. It’s something to do. A little something between the oceans of emptiness.


2.You have your first full length coming out in 2020, musically how does it differ from the demo you had released in 2019?


Nothing much really. Reaper is and has always been about creating something that rings true to our idea of what metal should sound like. Something raw, barbaric and unadulterated. Nifelheim said something about their sound in an old interview that resonates; ”a tsunami of slurry manure”. Guess we’ve got something of a better soundscape this time on, production-wise… I mean… there’s one or two things considered compared to the demo, which pretty much just happened. A thicker sound? Well… Maybe. I guess. Some songs now are more fleshed out… more in the vein that we intended at first, but never had the patience to accomplish in the beginning.


3.Your music is very heavily rooted in the 80's style, do you feel extreme metal has been watered down over the years and has a less extreme outlook compared to past bands?


Sure… most bands and sounds that we like originates from the 80’s and 90’s. If you like to have a narrow-minded look at things, that’s when it all congealed and got a proper form. THE form if you like… We like that era. Where thrash was just about to go off into the obscurity of death and black. Fast, violent and raw. But it would be ignorant to dismiss the attempts that’s being made now to take it all some steps further, although that’s not our mission or interest. There’s a lot of great things being done out there still.


4.Some of your lyrics touch on the occult, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?


There’s always been an attraction to those things I guess. In a more shallow or, if you like, real sense. But nothing in Reaper is oriented around those things. It’s not a wessel for religious worship. Sure… we call upon the occult, but more in the sense of using those things as symbols for what’s real; the things that stabs you with a knife in the back or the metastasis in your ass. We can dabble on about luciferianism and to ”do thy will”, but that’s besides the point. Reaper is beyond reverence… beneath and against the servility of laws. We just don’t care. We read, observe. And learn. At best.


5.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects you have explored with your music?


Pessimism I guess. That’s the overall theme… Yes. Pessimism. To gaze into the real. The void.


6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ’Reaper'?


Pure and simple; it’s lifted from the track ”Reaper” by Bathory. From the self-titled debut. Genius stuff. Important. Mandatory. And sure... we like the connotations of death that it brings. And the fact that you always reap what you sow. Everything is up to you. There's nothing out there that can respond to your cries, not the real ones anyways. The ones that matter.


7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?


Sure. no problem… It’s a collage of images. Made/compiled by me. Technically, a collection of etchings and woodcuts by artists from the 15th, 16th and 17th century. It’s supposed to symbolise the gospel of nothingness; the roaring silence of the void. The church where everything collides and turns to dust. The inversion of of belief, the anti-human need.


8.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you open to expanding the line up or do you prefer to remain a duo?


It’s pretty crowded as it is. But there’s been some discussions about taking this thing live if the right opportunity rears its ugly head. If that’s the case we’ll be a force to be reckoned with. A lot of old-school fire power. Whatever happens we’re going to be at most two doing the songwriting. As I said; two is pretty crowded as it is. Pure and simple is the game…


9.The album is coming out on 'Iron Bonehead Productions', are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?


Very happy. The service is awesome and the word exchange is sparse but efficient. Looks like they’re doing a good job promoting the stuff also, considering we’ve got no social media platforms, homepages, e-mails etc… Come to think about it; how did you get this e-mail adress? Our usual motto is FOAD when it comes to the social aspects of things.


10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, thrash and speed metal?


Good question… We don’t care really. That being said; haven’t heard anything negative. Think they like it…. Understand it, that it have to have a place. Don’t mean to be assholes about it; just wanna emphasise that we know how we like it and abide to that fact. We do this in a way that it comes out in a fashion that we can stand for. We do this because it makes hell bearable. We know what’s called for and we do it. Pure…Simple…


11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?


We’re not about either future or progress… That in mind I guess we’re only in it for the worse. We’re gonna continue… In some form or another. That much we know. Some kind of continuation. An extension of existing form.


12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?


Sure… We mostly dig in the past. Sometimes in the underbelly, but mostly in th more classical stuff. The usual grind; Necrodeath, Kreator, Sodom, Vilolent Force, Slayer, Autopsy, Urban Waste, Dismember, Shizo, Exodus, Sadus, Deep Wound, Mayhem, Wehrmacht… But. There’s a lot of contemporary stuff that’s happening that’s really great too. You’ve got Nekrofilth, Töxic Death and the whole of that ”scene”, Obnoxious Youth, Warthog, Funeral Mist… And then there’s gangs like Marduk. True troopers… Seems like they’ve been here since the dawn of times and they’re still ripping spines thorough assholes. Tremendous. I know there’s been a whole lot about their ideological leanings, but that always have to be besides the point. They rip. Period. Pure Armageddon. But… There it is again. The voice in the fog of the mind… Anti Cimex, Cortex, Deep Wound, Blood Feast… FUNERAL MIST! Fucking bliss!


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? 


We’ve compiled a new EP. It’s already mastered and ready to be employed. ”The Atonality of Flesh”. But guess it’s a bit early considering the LP isn’t out yet. We’ll see. Other than that; Play fast. Keep the double bass drum to a minimum. Keep the riffs based on single string knock-outs. Make the riffs congeal with one another. Bow to the goat of Medes, crawl into the crevice that’s Christ, read a book, draw conclusions, behold, await, transcend, be still… Build a war.


/Flaggelator

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Reaper/3540450325

Reaper/Unholy Nordic Noise/Iron Bonehead Productions/2020 CD Review

  Reaper  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  and  speed  metal  with  some  elements  of  d  beat  and  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  album  "Unholy  Nordic  Noise"  which  will  be  released  in  2020  by  Iron  Bonehead  Productions.

   A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  while  also  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars  and  spoken  word  samples  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  modern  feeling.

  A  great  amount  of  of  80's  thrash,  speed  and  first  wave  black  metal  elements  can  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  old  school  style  as  well  as  some  tracks  also  adding  in  some  d  beat  and  punk  rock  influences  and  the  sticks  stick  to  mostly  a  mid  tempo  or  fast  style.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Demonology,  Darkness  and  War  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  Reaper  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  and  speed  metal  with  elements  elements  of  punk  and  d  beat  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hero  Of  the  Graveyard  Files"  "Order  Of  Beelzebub"  "The  Birth  Of  War"  and  "This  Crystal  Hell".  8  out  of  10.

https://soundcloud.com/iron-bonehead-productions/reaper-horn-of-hades