REAPER - 'Unholy Nordic Noise' (Iron Bonehead Productions)

REAPER - 'Unholy Nordic Noise' (Iron Bonehead Productions):

https://youtu.be/ZdPzEV3PNNM
Having heard Reaper's 3-track demo 'Ravenous Storm Of Piss' last year, it was clear that their debut album was going to be something special, and it is.
If any band other than Darkthrone exemplify the way old school black metal should be played these days, it's these reclusive Swedes.
It's black metal Punk simplified and pared down to the bone, with vocals of the kind Quorthon might have vomited out in 1984, or sometimes like the cynical growling of Attila on last year's 'Daemon'.
Unlike many debuts, this one manages to retain exactly the same brutally primitive feel as the demo. There's a strong flavour of punk to the sound, with echoes of the Syphillitic Vaginas, Sabbat (Jap) and the sneering rawness of GISM. There are no blast beats to be heard, and the solos aren't fancy. This is strictly first wave - driven by dbeat and (mostly) basic single-kick drum parts. 'Order Of The Beelzebub' is pure metal punk, whereas 'Birth Of War', (with its lyrics that read like a tribute to the violence inherent in human nature), and 'Horn Of Hades' (which describes something like Ragnarok) sometimes channel early Nifelheim.
The songs that stand out are, of course, the familiar tracks from the demo, but there is not a single weak moment on the album from intro to outro. At just over 28 minutes, the album is just the right length for simplicity, and any black metal album that comes out this year will struggle to equal it.
I've just ordered a copy of 'Unholy Nordic Noise' from the Iron Bonehead shop. I suggest you do the same.
J.