As the biography on their website states, “Don’t think of The Reaper as a novelty kids band. Appreciate them for what they are – an awesome metal band!” That’s not an unfair thing to say, as they’re a pretty inspirational and talented bunch. The Reaper are made up of 11-14 year olds, who are a product of the music-making initiative Witchwood School Of Rock. They’ve been building up a hefty amount of experience with no end of gigs throughout the past year or so, and have confirmed appearances at a number of festivals, both large and small, later this year.

They’ll be appearing at Witney Music Festival at Fat Lil’s, Witney, on 21 April, and then through June, July and August will make appearances at Chipping Norton Festival, Wychwood Festival, Cornbury Festival and Wilderness festival. Scattered amongst these dates they’ll also be playing regularly in Oxfordshire – check out their website for the full list of dates. The masochists amongst you might want to check them out as they support Tragedy at O2 Academy, Oxford, on 1 June. (Who are Tragedy, you ask? Why, only the ‘all-metal tribute to the Bee Gees’…)

They’re spending time at Oxford’s SAE Institute this month to record an EP which should, all being well, be released in May. For a taste of their sound, here’s their recently-completed video for ‘Cry Me A Place To Be’. Were you doing this kind of thing at their age…?