David Carruthers brings us up to speed on perth metal demons REAPERS RIDDLE.
DC: Hey guys how’s it goin’?
Lorro: Good man
DC: First up just want to thank you guys for giving me the time to have a chat.
How’d you guys come up with the name Reapers Riddle?
Lorro: We all wrote a list of names originally in our own time, then we brought them to rehearsals. We narrowed it down to 6 then checked them for availability. They were all used. Two weeks later Reapers Riddle came up in conversation and everyone agreed to go with it!
DC: Cool, in this day in age it’s hard to find an original name that hasn’t been taken. Especially with MySpace, anyone with a couple of people and the internet can snap up a name making it hard for the real bands.
How long has the band been together now?
Lorro: Reapers Riddle has been together for about two and a half years, with our new addition Scotty having joined the band in April, due to the last guitarist Dan leaving for personal reasons.
DC: Where do you think the band gets most of its musical influence from? From what I can see there’s a bit of Metallica, Disturbed, AC/DC mix going on there?
Clay: Not far off, but every member of our band comes from different musical backgrounds and influences which to me seems to create a modern yet familiar sound. There’s way too many to name, but we appreciate any band going out there and doing what they love!
DC: Who writes the lyrics for the songs? There’s some pretty dark lyrical themes in songs such as ‘Suicide’, anyone wanna give us a rundown on that one?
Clay: I write a majority of the lyrics, but every member has an influence and opinion. ‘Suicide’ / ‘Selfish’ isn’t really a dark song, more a take on not giving up and not forgetting how your actions affect those around you. In the situation of suicide you may be fixing your problems but leaving behind so many more.
DC: What was it like supporting local Perth legends Blackened?
Jason: Heaps of fun and a great honour! Reapers are fans of Allegiance so it was great to share a stage and have a beer with the boys on a personal level. Hopefully see them again soon!
DC: Cool, from what I can see those guys don’t muck around, they got proper advertising and are a very professional bunch of guys. They sure got a great turnout at the Charles Hotel show. You guys would have had a great chance to play to a lot of people that had never seen or heard of you guys before. Do you think you made at least a few new fans out of it?
Jason: For sure! It was a great chance to play in front of a new crowd, and we believe that our sound was well suited for these shows. We had an excellent response to the shows, and did our best to light up the stage before handing it over. Then we got the chance to sink some piss ourselves and go off to see the set.
DC: You guys are currently recording your debut EP? How’s it all going and what stage are you guys at with it?
Scotty: We have just finished the tracking process, and were in the early stages of mixing. For me it was a first and an awesome experience to be in a professional studio. Rob Agostini is a great producer and definitely got the best out of us. We are looking forward to hearing the final product ourselves and getting it out to the public. We have a diverse range of tracks on the EP that we believe will appeal to the Australian Metal/Rock scene. We are looking at a release date by the end of 2010!!
.jpg)
DC: Cool have you got a distribution deal yet or have you got other plans?
Lorro: We are not currently signed to a distribution deal, although we were offered distribution with our demo LP. We believe it was better wait until we had a great sounding CD that properly reflected Reapers Riddle. We will be organising distribution in the near future and are looking forward to it.
DC: Speaking of the demo you guys put out last year, how has the reception been to that?
Clayton: The response has been good, we didn’t push it extremely because everyone had little issues with different aspects of the recording and sound. We always knew it was our debut release and hoped it would be a great quality CD but unfortunately great music and a rocking/crunchy sound don’t come cheap. At that time we were just beginning and wanted to have a product to give to fans. It had Great reviews from local press and fans so we are very grateful cause the people who loved the demo are going to be blown away when they hear ‘A Touch of Death’
DC: You guys got any plans to tour Australia or even regional WA?
Clay: DEFINATELY! It is the next stage in our minds. We are planning on doing a regional tour to coincide with the release of ‘A Touch of Death’ and then will continue to spread the word of the Reaper to the eastern states.
DC: Wicked sounds good.
Are there any local Perth bands you guys have been checkin’ out lately that we should know about?
Lorro: Yeah for sure we love to get out and see the thriving Perth Metal Scene. Kingdom of Ruin, Ill Vision, Sins of the Father, The Devil Rides Out and Pale as Ashes are some of the Local Acts we have been really diggin’ lately. Definitely worth checkin’ out!… Plus us….
DC: I’m sure you guys are aware of the local Perth venue the Castle closing down recently, you guys played your first gig there, and played there many times after that, must suck to lose another local music venue, especially one that from what I can see was so good to new bands?
Lorro: This is true. It was the place that gave every starting band the opportunity to play gigs and build confidence. The gigs were easy to organise and a great place to improve stage confidence. Some good memories there( like our first gig when the bar sold out of booze!) and it would be great to see another venue open up which had the live recording facilities for up and coming bands.
DC: Ok guys were unfortunately were running out of time for today, I got one last question for ya. If you guys could support any band that is still alive and active who would it be?
Lorro: Metallica
Baker: Britney Spears… haha narr Metallica
Jason: Alice Cooper/ Wasp
Clay: Disturbed
Scotty: Down
DC: Thanks so much for your time today guys, it’s been great catching up, can’t wait to hear the new material make sure you get us a copy when it’s out!
Reapers: Cheers dude!
Keep your eyes open for the Reapers Riddle EP ‘A Touch of Death’ due out late 2010! In the meantime check the band out at www.myspace.com/reapersriddle
Quick Shots with Reapers Riddle Guitarist Lorro!
Ozzy or DIO –DIO
Slash or Axl – Slash
Megadeth or Metallica – Megalicca!
Bon or Brian – Bon
Beer or Spirits – Alcohol
Load or Reload – Load
Cowboys or Vulgar – Cowboys
Beast or Powerslave – Beast
Ozzy with Sabbath, or Ozzy Solo – Sabbath
Lightning or Puppets – Puppets
