Slugging it out in the scene for five years, Perth, Australia's REAPERS RIDDLE has weathered a few lineup changes, done some regional touring, and put out demo/ EP product prior to this new 6 track release "Game Over". Being my first exposure to this quintet, their sound has a multitude of Heavy Rock and Metal influences, both domestic and abroad - the songwriting very compact and hook oriented, either on a guitar or vocal basis.

I sense a little bit of ROB ZOMBIE and PANTERA running through just as much as AC/DC and DISTURBED on songs like "The Clock (Part 1)" and militantly aggressive, slightly off kilter "Fade to Grey" - the latter featuring a soulful, from the gut melodic to blood vessel bursting performance out of singer Clayton Mitchell. Bassist Jason Edwards and drummer Wayne Frodyma keep the hook and groove factor at the forefront of their interplay, laying back in terms of the sultry riff outlay on the title cut and final hypnotic number "Labyrinth".

REAPERS RIDDLE have the chops to perform and write decent material, but I wonder how much further they will go up the ranks as I believe the style has been done to death from other musicians for so long. You wonder how much new ground can be mined when AVENGED SEVENFOLD and FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH are the leaders of this Heavy Rock / Groove Metal scene in 2014?

Buyer beware, if you like the aforementioned artists than I'm sure "Game Over" will slot into your playlist just fine- but otherwise, it's probably best to seek out another alternative.