.jpg)
Ritual Reaper
Plague Ridden
Kingdom EP
Don´t get confused
with the visual concept in this release: You can see some pentagram,
the band logo seems to be made with some stems with thorns, and maybe
you can think about some extreme Metal Band…. ¡Wrong! Ritual
Reaper is a real Gothic Rock machinery which is perfectly well-tuned;
they have the high level of energy from the bands of the New
Millennium: This modern sound which have aplomb, force, and higher
bit rates (compared with some classics, which are denser, and they
were oriented to the creation of obscure soundscapes ,with
mesmerizing melodies) I can say that some tracks are more
Rock-Oriented with some traces of Metal (Because of the Hard and
Heavy guitars)But the final result is an awesome combination of both
of the traditional, and modern sounds of Gothic Rock. They are
carrying the torch, and they are giving a refreshing rendition of the
genre at the same time. This is the debut EP of this band from
Sweden, and it is hot stuff because their sound is pretty exciting.
“Cold Evil
(Megaton Aftermath)” begins with the sound of a nuclear blast, and
after this the room is flooded with guitar driven melody, bass lines
with density, and great rhythm. This is a pretty consistent alloy,
and it was made using the tradition of the Second Wave, and the
energetic and refreshing approach of the Third Wave. The musicality
is awesome and the sound is rich, we have some keyboards here, which
are giving this touch of elegance to the whole ensemble. Great start!. “Devil Ritual”
has very cadenced guitar riffs, and fine transitions. Definitely they
have pretty good level, because both of the song writing and the
execution are quite a fine work; and the voice has lots of
versatility. “Ancient Anunaki” is pretty rhythmic and it has
these catchy guitars, which are quite solid, like blocks of steel.
The assertive use of keyboards gives a great balance here. In “Golden
Goat”, this combination of Keyboards and guitars reaches a superior
level: It has a very fascinating combination of melodic passages, and
moments of powerful sound with those loud guitars; really fine
stuff.”Mirrors Of tavern Hell” has a very quiet start with that
delicate guitar sound, and it develops into a fine and well
constructed piece; which sound is close to the German 90’s school
of Gothic-Dark Wave music, with heavy guitars.
I’m very impressed with this first release by Ritual Reaper, it is High quality stuff. Every song is really good and remarkable. A must have for all of the Gothic Rock devotees out there. Don’t miss this release by this new and promising band. Can’t wait to listen a full length by them, hope that they can release an album in the near future
Daniel Olvera
