Reproacher - Nothing to Save (2013)

   It wasn't surprising from old school crust punk bands to turn so intense that the difference between thrash metal and their music was negligible. Even the vocal style and the lyrical concept had strong analogy like if the two styles were step siblings. Meanwhile at newer bands this analogy switched from thrash to sludge metal or even to sludge/doom, like in case of Reproacher. 

   Reproacher from Wyoming was a quite short lived, underrated, but pretty stunning band. By their debut album "Nothing to Save" they showed such heaviness, that wasn't usual at crust punk bands. Even if noisy sound, heaviness, and extremely aggressive tone are kinda essential features of the style, Reproacher stepped a bit further in all of these. This was possible to make by involving more metal influences than usual. The simple, but devastating mosh pit-compatible punk basics stayed, but the common speed and theme switches they've operated with had another advantageous effect on the side of reaching hell deep heaviness: bigger diversity in themes. By this step, they've easily avoided the commonly occurring problem at crust punk bands to turn too monotonous. The obscure and strongly demoralizing feeling they've reached is comparable to most sludge metal bands, not to mention the rehearsal room-like noisy sound and effects. Also the slow downs increased the effectiveness of their intense themes. It seems more possible that the wider involvement of other styles wasn't made on purpose, but did just came by instinct, however the results turned out to be more than great. Thanks to the previously mentioned convergent analogy, the various influences worked out together fine by their natural compatibility.  In total "Nothing to Save" was a strong debut, potential favorite for the fans of crust / hardcore punk and sludge metal.