High Reeper - High Reeper

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Bassist Shane Trimble had the idea in 2016 to start HIGH REEPER and live out dreams of covering their home town of Philadelphia (and later the world) in a thin haze of fuzz and down tuned riffs. They cite BLACK SABBATH as a huge influence, and you can definitely hear Zach Thomas try and channel Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne. HIGH REEPER keeps the magic of Doom alive in their self-titled debut by sticking to the classic style of 70s Rock and sticking true to their roots. Mixed and recorded by Trimble in his home studio, the album is furiously alive with tons of tributes to the bands of old that inspired them. HIGH REEPER has only been around for a few years, but they’ve carved out a place for themselves in their local music scene.

“Die Slow” says hello to the world with cavernous riffs and Zach Thomas’ crooning. Shane Trimble’s bass is ever present, keeping its head above water despite the fuzz trying to bury it. “Soul Taker” is groovy, starting off slow then breaks into a run by the end. The title track “High Reeper” has the strings tuned to the lowest possible setting while Thomas swims in a sea of crashing cymbals and gentle percussions then quickly gets caught in a rip tide of heavy chords that swallow him whole.

In “Reeper Deadly Reeper” Thomas sings far away and creepy like a killer stalking their prey, laughing just like one at times. The song has a few breaks in it that make it slightly confusing trying to figure out if the song has ended and other has started. However, that just makes the song have an interesting triptych quality. “Weed and Speed” certainly has elements of the former and nothing of the latter judging from the opening. “Black Leather” reminisces about classic metalhead attire of days past. “Friend of Death” finishes off the album with an infectious, headbanging tune, Thomas’ vocals giving the final song his all, and Andrew Price’s guitar starts going rogue, spitting out rapid fire solos.

Molasses slow riffs and bass lines that try to escape from the ever-present quicksand it’s trapped in, HIGH REEPER comes in and fills the room with their flair for nostalgic riffs of the day before Metal is what it is today. A little MOTORHEAD, a little MOTHERSLUG maybe even throw in some YOUNGBLOOD SUPER CULT in there. Every part of them is outstanding, HIGH REEPER has come to claim your souls!

Songwriting: 9
Originality: 8
Memorability: 9
Production: 9