Review: High Reeper ‘Renewed By Death’

Philadelphia’s High Reeper are another band that seem to have been sitting in my never-ending to-listen-to queue, so as has happened before, seeing their new album, Renewed By Death in The Sleeping Shaman promo vessel, I figured the planets were aligned for me to finally dig into this band. Being as I’m unfamiliar with their former works, I went into it with fresh ears, un-jaded from knowing their previous records.

I was pleasantly surprised by the band’s take on a more traditional metal sound, albeit with massive, crunchy riffs, and colossal rhythms, as I incorrectly surmised, mostly based on their name, that they would present a more standard take on the tried-and-true doom metal sound.

The opener, and title track, Renewed By Death, pretty much lays out their mission statement as it’s a big, rumbling, riffy monster with epic, soaring, yet gritty rock vocals from Zach Thomas, which are even burlier on the second single Alluring Violence, wherein he sounds a bit more menacing, reminding me a bit of, and I’m not entirely sure why, Death Angel’s Mark Osegueda. In addition, the crunchy-ass Corrosion of Conformity-esque riffage is especially killer from guitarists Shane Trimble and Pat Daly, to say nothing of Daly adding some lead color over the top to maximum metal effect.

I’m still getting COC riff vibes, if not a bit darker, on Lamentations Of The Pale, as the band churn through a dynamic, mid-tempo chugger, complete with the obligatory, epic, crushing outro breakdown. The last single, Broken Upon The Wheel, boasts a wicked, walking mega-riff as its musical backbone along with plenty of nasty shred and huge rock vocals.

American, doom-tinged, traditional metal served with conviction…

Jaws Of Darkness, disguises itself initially as a slow tempo doom fest but unfolds into a menacing, epic, riffing beast that also features a few melodic flourishes, adding some balance to High Reeper’s assault. The band stay in this crushing, sonic wheelhouse with Smoldering Remains, another massive, mid-tempo, stomper featuring some soaring highs, all sorts of riffage and bone rattling rhythmic pounding. Torn Within follows which proffers perhaps my favorite riff on the album, a walloping Crowbar-style monster that is anchored by more excellent, behind the beat, punishment from drummer Justin Di Pinto.

The album wraps up with the enormous Echoes Of Mortality, an epic, doomy and layered album closer that one would expect on a record of this towering, riff-centric, traditional-style doom metal. The guitar tones and delivery again remind me of COC and Crowbar, and I mean that in a complimentary way, while Thomas’ roaring, rock vocals, and the nuanced, but heavy rhythm section provide both the backbone and the color across the top.

While not necessarily breaking any new sonic ground, I found Renewed By Death to be a good-to-great platter of meat and potatoes, American, doom-tinged, traditional metal served with conviction by musicians who obviously know their craft and what they’re trying to achieve with their music. A fun record.

Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Martin Williams