White Reaper shake the Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia

Louisville Kentucky’s homegrown punk band White Reaper took over the Masquerade last weekend in Atlanta, Georgia.  White Reaper has been running around the US promoting and playing their latest release, The World’s Best American Band. Band members include guitarist/vocalist Tony Esposito, keyboardist Ryan Hater, guitar Hunter Thompson, bassist Sam Wilkerson, and drummer Nick Wilkerson. This is the cinque's second full length album since their first single release in 2013. Shouting angst filled melodies of garage-punk and grunge-rock, this band promises a kickass show with plenty of shouting, plenty of moshing, and plenty of bass.

The band already has plenty of touring under their belt - they’ve supported band such as Twin Peaks, Deerhoof, and together PANGEA. Now headlining their own shows and playing at nationally celebrated festivals, this band is showing that the only way to go is up.

The night started out with the Cold Fronts, a cheeky, poppy, energetic punk band hailing from Philly. They started a fire in the crowd, with lead singer Craig Almquist running through the crowd, jumping from the stage, and hopping up on the bar without a moment of hesitation. Cold Fronts have mastered the art of “whatever”, with their debut album in fact bearing the name “Forever Whatever”.

White Reaper took the stage to an uproar from the sweaty moshers below. Dozens of headbanging lyric screaming fans came out for the weeknight show, showing that a light hangover and a few new bruises would be worth it the next morning. The energy from the crowd was nothing compared to that of the band. Between Tony screaming his lyrics, Sam thrusting his bass back and forth from the stage, and Ryan somehow managing to coordinate headbanging and slamming the keyboard, White Reaper made it clear they were there drinking up every moment on the stage. The band played selects from their new album, but didn’t forget fan favorites such as “Make Me Wanna Die” from their first album, “White Reaper Does It Again”.

Photography and Coverage by Jenny Alice Watts.

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