One of the many privileges I’m afforded as the founder of this here webzine is having access to new music months ahead of scheduled release dates. Some of these albums I’ll make note of to check out at a later date, sometimes waiting as soon as the week before release until finding the time to take a deep dive. Others, I will click on the moment I see the name pop up in my inbox, especially if it happens to be from one of my favorite acts. Hellripper falls into the latter category. Watching this band, or rather man, push the sonic boundaries of classic black metal with one ripping affair after another has been one of the greatest pleasures of the decade.
2020’s anything but a sophomore slump, The Affair of the Poisons, established our love affair with this incredible act, their diabolical, pissed off brand of blackened speed channeling the ferocity of Venom, Bathory, and so forth. 2023’s Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags saw Hellripper ascend further, incorporating elements of second wave black metal, fusing them with those now signature first wave tropes as well as flashes of traditional metal, punk, and so forth. On their latest album, Coronach, Hellripper have unleashed what is, hands down, their ultimate musical manifestation to date, setting a standard in writing, musicianship, and production that will be very hard to beat for other one-man acts that aren’t High Spirits.
In a soon to be released conversation with mastermind James McBain (yes, it’s in the can and should be out by the end of the week, work schedule pending), I told him that I almost hesitate to label this a “blackened speed” release, if only because the “trve” black metal elements are more prominent than ever. McBain doubles down on the influence of acts like Emperor, Dissection, and so forth with ambitious arrangements and grandiose production ideas straight out of ’90s black metal’s creative peak. These tropes can be heard on cuts like the opening “Hunderprest”, “Baobhan Sith (Waltz of the Damned)”, and “Mortercheyn” with their hellish tremolo riffs and dramatic atmosphere. With that said, the incorporation of high speed aggression and progressive ambitions set these moments apart from your textbook second wave worship fare.
For those worried that Mr. McBain has fallen too far off the ’90s Scandinavia deep end, fear not! There’s no shortage of bare-knuckle bruisers reminiscent of Hellripper’s early fare, albeit with greater execution and conviction than ever before. “Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite)” is an elevated spin on old school black ‘n’ roll, walloping the listener with nasty Venom riffs, Scottish folklore, and a swampy CCR-esque breakdown, all at the same time. Yes, you read that correctly. The aptly titled “Black Satanic Fvkkstorm” is a no nonsense blackened speedster reminiscent of the Coagulating Darkness days, while “Sculptor’s Cave” channels the devilish charm of eastern bloc heroes Kat, especially with those classy guitar passages. Come the closing title track McBain channels his inner Quorthon yet again, just as he did on the title track of the last album. Whether it’s melodic black metal, blackened speed, or even epic black metal as heard here, there’s nothing this band cannot do!
Coronach, like every Hellripper album before it, is a feat on its own: One whose impact becomes even more pronounced and impressive when you realize every last aspect of this album is the doing of one man, not a group of individuals. I mean it in the best way possible when I say Hellripper is one of the least “one-man band” sounding one-man bands in existence, and if for some godforsaken reason you didn’t know this already, or never got around to their back catalog, check out Coronach immediately. Kilt, bagpipes, and Loch Ness Monster not included!
10 out of 10
Label: Century Media Records
Genre: Black/Speed Metal
For fans of: Bathory, Emperor, Kat
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