I had never heard of them before, but REAPER'S REVENGE is quite a good Bavarian Heavy Metal band. What I do conclude after listening to "Versus" is that I suspect that they would much rather be a Thrash band. On this, their third full length album, they have a guitar sound that goes towards more Melodic Metal bands (think DOKKEN). Not only are they a lot heavier than expected, you keep on hearing stuff that could (or is it should) evolve into proper Thrash Metal riffs, plus, the fact that drummer Thomas Seiferlein has that definite Thrash kind of drumming down to a T. Singer Christian Bösl has quite a high voice, which makes him mostly sound as pure as a Melodic Metal singer, but who, when he lets loose, is sometimes reminiscent of a lighter version of Joey Belladonna (ANTHRAX). Put all these influences together and you'll understand that I feel they should be bold and go faster.

On the other hand, I've got to hand it to them; they bloody well know how to write good songs and then execute them accordingly. The good production of "Versus" enhances the experience even further, as it highlights the good points in the kind of Heavy Metal that is played. Songs like "Changing World", "Image Untagled" and the semi ballad "My Fading Silence" only confirm this, as they are quite well written songs, My belief is confirmed as the parts where they use faster riffs make REAPER'S REVENGE sound even better.  "Warheads" has a bit of an ANNIHILATOR vibe, which is due to the way the guitars sound in the staccato parts of the song. I love it. The opening riff of "Suicidal Genocide" even reminds me of ARCH ENEMY's "My Apocalypse". Another comparison that isn't exactly shabby.

The best songs on the album for me are "Phlegmatrix", "Scary Neighbourhood" and "Arctic Winter Green", as those are the ones where the band is who they would like to be. This is high quality Thrash Metal: great riffs, fast and furious and very much in your face. And yet it has that kind of subtlety that refrains the songs from becoming repetitive and/or boring. This is also where the voice and the music blend together in the most compelling way. If only they would have made the whole album in this vein, "Versus" would have been a killer album. Now it's a solid REAPER'S REVENGE album with good songs and a fine sound.