*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the State of the month.”
This month’s State is Wyoming!
Reproacher is a Wyoming based band that formed in 2010. They have been a hard working band and have amassed several releases in their youthful existence. In 5 years they have developed their signature sound and released material that is pure unfiltered and an undefinable style of music. In 2011 they released their debut self-titled album. That album was produced by Andy Patterson who also recorded another favorite band of mine, Gaza. Since releasing the debut they have also had 3 additional releases. Next chronologically was 2012’s ‘Tour Demo MMXII’ EP. The 6 track EP has this raw and rough sound to it. Sometimes these high quality pristine recordings take away the soul and energy of a band. This EP really captures the organic composition of the band. Pin pointing the exact genre the band fits into is rather difficult. A dash of this and a pinch of that from various styles of metal seems to sum up the accomplished sound of the band. Their two most recent releases are ‘Nothing To Save’ which came out in 2013 and a 7″ split with Of Feather and Bone that came out in 2014. The split is the first release from the band that wasn’t recorded by Andy Patterson.
The band is routinely putting out releases and all without the help of a label. The workmanship of the material is amazing, and I’m sure labels have been pitching them offers and if not they should be. They have truly honed their craft. The band knows their strengths and they use those to create a more superior sound. Vocalist Joel puts forth so much emotion into each lyric he screams, the strength of his voice can sometimes overwhelm listeners. You can feel the pain expelled through each song. His style changes at times from elements of hardcore to grind-core and then morphing into a creature all his own. Reproacher is a beast that will not be tamed or confined to a single genre. The guitarist T.J. brings forth these forceful riffs and the magical sound of feedback we sometimes don’t appreciate as much as we should.
It’s hard to pick one of their albums to speak about because they all equally kick ass. Years ago bands would commonly release an album every year. The music industry has changed and that doesn’t really happen anymore, and bands often take 3 years between releases. Reproacher however has pretty much had a release every year since their debut. The two tracks on the 7″ split are vastly different. The song “Shrouded Specter” has this tribal like drum beat by the resident skin slayer Jarret that really defines the song, and then added to it is this guitar riff that is really clean and proper in comparison to everything else. It just stands out and gives the song that extra little beat that keeps the melody in your head all day. The song ‘Ballast’ on the album “Nothing To Save” is one of my favorites because of the doom like feel to the song and it has this guitar riff that just hits you in the gut and sticks with you. People have been saying for the past couple years that great music is becoming an endangered species. Well, let me tell you now that these guys are keeping metal alive, and proving all you negative assholes wrong. So sit back and get a big damn drink of what this band is offering, and you will be drunk on their sound, it’s some damn good shit.
Make sure to follow these guys on Facebook, and listen to their entire discography on Bandcamp.
