Buckle up and strap yourselves in for an incredible, full on, hi-tempo’d musical journey. This release leaves you little time to catch your breath inbetween songs.
Reaper in Sicily’s (four years in the making) much anticipated debut album has been in my ears for a few weeks now and right from the off I was blown away by the sheer intensity of this offering.
Recorded by Romesh Dodangoda (Funeral for a Friend, Kids in Glass Houses, Earthtone 9, amongst others) you just know that this is the perfect musical match and it doesn’t fail to disappoint.
Strong, unique vocals are evident on this album, which has a individual sound yet with subtle hints of a Billy Talent inspired feel to it.
Opening track ’50’ gives you a great introduction into what’s to come from this album, wasting no time in launching into a full on musical assault on your senses.
The interestingly titled ‘Chuck Norris Got A Chainsaw’ is a cracker of a song, with melodic vocals mixed with screamo style backing vocals and crunching guitar riffs.
The single ‘Horizons’, backed by the Kerrang TV played video is another strong song and I’d recommend watching the video at the bottom of this review.
Album title track ‘Islands’ takes the tempo down just a notch and shows that as well as full on, all-out rocking these boys can deliver at the other end of the scale. A quality tune and a favourite of mine amongst a choice of ten strong contenders on the album.
‘Old Dogs’ continues the mostly upbeat hi-tempo feel to this album with drums being pounded to within a inch of their lives and gang backing vocals finishing this song off perfectly.
All good things unfortunately need to come to an end and finishing up with ‘The Prisoner’ this debut album is a must for any fan of hi-tempo rock and fans of the South Wales scene that is so, so strong right now.
I have written this review not as a long standing fan but as a music fan who picked up this album for review for Soundscape Magazine. I am however a fan now and am looking to catch a live show as soon as I can.
The band are holding an album release show at Clwb Ifor Bach on June 9th which promises to be a hell of a party.
9/10
