High Reeper - Higher Reeper

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Gotta love a band with a sense of humor…the band is called HIGH REAPER (which is the same name as their debut album) and their second album is called ‘’Higher Reaper’’! They have released two albums in two years. The stoner Metal band from Philly seem to be always hard at work on releasing new material and I am sure as hell not complaining. I have developed an appreciation for Stoner Rock and Stoner Metal in the last few years and these guys deliver enjoyable songs that are trippy yet fun.

The band seems to be tighter than on the previous release as I believe the confidence in each other is at its highest point. Unfortunately the sophomore release is a bit more subdued and uneven. You got some really great tracks but when you get to the second part of the album, great songs are few and far between. There is nothing bad on the back end of the album but they delivered so many good songs are the beginning of the album, you kinda feel disappointed because the quality drops a bit.

I have to give huge props on the vocal track and the piano work on ‘’Apocalypse Hymn’’. They went out of their comfort zone and delivered a strong track. It really showed the diversity of the band and what the band can do outside of their usually musical stylings. It’s a smooth song but it really has a lot of depth and might actually be my favorite song of the whole album.

They dive more and more into Blues Rock, which I completely dig. Some songs were really reminiscent of now defunct band GYPSYHAWK. An underappreciated band that just blew me away live a number of years ago in Montreal. You got that Blues Rock jive but with a touch of Stoner Rock (very reminiscent of KYUSS and their Desert Rock shenanigans). The vocalist does another fine job, sounds a bit nasally at times but the pitch goes really well with the flow of the music and I really want to rehear that first album. There is some progression and the band is really tighter. The album does go by really fast and maybe I would have enjoyed longer songs but that’s my humble opinion!

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