Band:	Reap
Album:	The World's Destructive Rulers
Style:	Metalcore
Release date:	May 11, 2007
A review by:	Baz Anderson

01. Intro
02. Stalingrad
03. The Beast Within
04. My Perfect Skin
05. Slavery
06. Revenge
07. Welcome Home
08. The World's Destructive Rulers

Reap are an Austrian band that have just unleashed unto us their second full length album "The World's Destructive Rulers". The band present their music in the form of some kind of hybrid of a few genres of metal that all contribute towards their sound. The basis of the sound is a modern kind of thrash metal sound but there are quite a number of death metal traces in here as well, but the thing that perhaps jumps out most is the pure accessibility of the music. The music is very easy to listen to and is most importantly enjoyable as well, although inevitably because of this the music lacks some depth.

The album kicks off with a very heavy, almost droning guitar that may even bring some metalcore bands to mind, but also bring to mind acts such a Soulfly and possibly Fear Factory that also use a very heavy guitar sound. This stays constant throughout the album as well, very low and heavy guitar accompanied by growls similar to Shadows Fall and such bands and, at times good solid drums that average a pretty decent enjoyable speed throughout also.

"The Beast Within" is the first track on the album that really draws your attention in with its introduction leading up to the first explosion of the song with the ever chunky guitars and a flurry of double bass drumming. Again we hear some more modern and metalcore elements to the music as well though, it seems to be a common trend for metalcore band's songs to droop and wither towards the middle and end as they fail to keep a constant intensity. The next song along "Slavery" really shows the band getting into the swing of things and that the band can clearly keep a good solid performance.

Production accompanies the main focus of the sound here greatly, the guitar and drums, bass drums especially sound very chunky and very heavy. Last two tracks "Welcome Home" and title tack "The World's Destructive Rulers" both open really promising and get you all excited, but intensity in the tracks dip as we approach the middle of the songs which is a bit of a shame, as the good parts of the songs, usually the openings of the songs, do make your ears tune in and pay attention.

This album brings nothing new to the table of metal at all, but then hardly anyone does these days, these guys do however do their thing in an entertaining manner and will hopefully give us an album of higher intensity and musicianship in the future. This band may be worth keeping your eye on if you enjoy modern thrash, some metalcore and a little touch of death metal, and so if that sounds good to you then of course this album will entertain you for its duration.