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Reptalien

    
       
       
       
     
             
Reptalien are an internationally based heavy metal band formed in 2021 by members from America, Italy and Poland. The band released their self titled debut album in 2023...    
             
...featuring ten songs across a fifty minute run time! And while the bands sound is primarily a blend of heavy metal and thrash, Reptalien do take a wander into a few other genres as the album progresses - 'Reptalien' coming to life with the eight minute long 'Scamdemic', and a thunderous crescendo that builds to a peak, taking off at high velocity with all the pace and power of thrash! The deafening roar is balanced out with a much more melodic chorus break, highly sing a long-able and infectious - although overall, the band do set a mean and moody atmosphere! None more so than from four minutes in, when Reptalien lowers the tone of 'Scamdemic' to a menacing crawl, only for blistering speed to reign supreme as the song plays out!    
             
With so much variety on show during the albums opening salvo, it does make you wonder how varied the rest of the album is gonna be! And you don't have to wait too long to find out, 'Tyranny' adopting the doom heavy style of metal legends Black Sabbath - the mean and moody atmosphere matched by a very dark vibe. And as it turns out, 'Tyranny' is an instrumental, projecting an air of fear and fright! I dare you to listen in the dark - I bet you'll be reaching for the light in no time at all. So with a musical theme developing, the band pound the ground hard with the thunderous foot stomper 'Coming Storm', and a level of aggression higher than heard on either of the two previous songs. The gruffer and more raspy vocal delivery is loaded with venomous spit, the band hitting hard and kicking harder. Taking on the mantle of the hustle and bustle nature of heavy metal, 'Offended' maintains the recent aggressive turn, with the level of menace taking a steep upwards trajectory. Make no mistake, 'Reptalien' is not for the faint hearted, with fear and fright constantly at the forefront of everything the band do! So if you need to build a fort for security, you better do it now!    
             
For 'Patience: 0' is the scariest offering heard so far, a slow tension fuelled build-up making the hairs on the backs of necks and forearms stand up tall! Not to mention the size of the fucking goosebumps appearing all over the body - the band serving up another menacing instrumental to give every listener, fan and follower a severe case of the heebie-jeebies! And if it doesn't, then 'Mary Had A Dream' most definitely will - the band delivering a macabre sounding nursery rhyme! Just imagine a sick and twisted re-worked and re-worded version of the nineteenth century poem Mary Had A Little Lamb by Sarah Josepha Hale. Shiver me fucking timbers me hearties - it's so chilling I think I'm getting frostbite! 'Hypocrites' sees - or rather hears - the return of blistering speed and the in your face attitude of thrash. The band are in devastating form here, 'Hypocrites' clearly a mosh pit favourite, with every single metalhead furiously head banging! The mood is lighter too, the menace and fright taking a backseat - for now!    
             
'Cause it's never too far away - 'Despite How I Feel' a skull crushing foot stomp of utter heaviness! The bone snapping barrage of brutality is as scary as anything heard so far, the band keeping fear and fright very much in the ascendancy! And it's the third instrumental too - Reptalien proving that you don't need vocals to sound aggressive. Or menacing. Or even scary. In fact, the band are a unique mix of all three! And just a little piece of advice here, if you're of a nervous disposition, suffer from panic attacks, or are a bit of a scaredy-cat - then do listen to 'Reptalien' with the lights on, and your phone primed and ready to ring for the emergency services! Pace and power resurfaces in the mighty shape of 'Let's Make A Lie', blending thrash with traditional heavy metal and bouts of clean vocals too! And while the vocals haven't been too harsh and definitely nowhere near a death metal growl, they have been gruff, rough and tough up to this point.    
             
And with the final song appearing over the horizon, 'Reptalien' has been a scary ride, frightening the shit out of many listeners with it's overly menacing demeanour - 'Kingdom Of The Fallen' bringing the scare-fest to a close with as much menace as heard all album. And (yes, I can hear all you literary and language aficionados shouting at me for starting the last three sentences with the word "and". And so what? (there's number four). It's my review and I'll write it how I bloody well want thank you very much) 'Kingdom Of The Fallen', an incredible fourth instrumental - containing just as much tension, menace and fear as every other song on offer.    
             
Overall, a thunderous thrash come heavy metal rampage with high levels of aggression and menace.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Vlad Promotion    
             
             
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