Hellripper is the one-man retro Blackened Thrash metal project from Scotland’s James McBain, who has been purveying his retro sounds since 2014, releasing a number of EPs including debut The Manifestation Of Evil (2015) and Complete And Total Fucking Mayhem (2016) before dropping the full-length Coagulating Darkness in 2017.
Hellripper built a solid cult following before signing with Peaceville Records, a perfect label for the music who released The Affair Of The Poisons in 2020, propelling the growing profile and buzz around the band which has seen them play at prestigious events including Damnation Festival (UK) and Amplifest (Portugal) whilst touring with the likes of Spectral Wound and Gama Bomb.
And Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags picks right up where Hellripper left off, a real throw-back to the heyday of eighties thrash metal, but with the twist of pure black metal vocals throughout. The album’s eight tracks also signify a time when a release would provide four tracks on each side of the record or tape cassette.
Opener ‘The Nuckalavee’ opens in a Speed Metal style in the vein of early Megadeth, before James’s vocals drop in sounding something like Dani from Cradle Of Filth. The riff is catchy as hell and the track eventually drops into an Iron Maiden-style gallop with one hell of a guitar solo … and this guy can shred!
There are melodic moments that eloquently blend with the perfectly mixed blackened vocals and really it is this tried and tested formula that continues throughout the release. ‘I, The Deceiver’ adds a middle-eastern flavour to the intro guitar and then a distinct Motörhead influence to the verse riff.
‘Warlocks Grim … Withered Hags’ provides fist-pumping vocals and is enchanting in nature with some thoroughly intricate guitar playing, while the absurdly titled ‘Goat Vomit Nightmare’ is three minutes of pure unadulterated old-school punky-thrash fun.
Elsewhere you’ll hear hints of early Metallica on ‘The Cursed Crown’, a hell of a lot more Maiden with duel guitars trading licks on ‘The Hissing Marches’ and darkly mystical and fantastical lyrics that Cathedral would have been proud of on ‘Poison Womb (The Curse Of The Witch)’. Finally, there are hints of Mastodon in the music of the doomier closer ‘Mester Storr Worm’, which showcases Hellripper’s full bag of tracks in one stunning outing, with the record’s fiercest moment of black metal and more of the full-on galloping style peak eighties Maiden.
This is a real step up in class from a musician who at this stage has perfected his passion for writing old-school music where you know full well what is coming … but it’s still a great ride! And it’s mightily impressive the way Hellripper flows from influence to influence, throwing the likes of Megadeth, Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Motorhead, Cathedral, Mastodon and Cradle Of Filth all into one bubbling cauldron before brewing their sounds together with a spellbinding charm of pure sorcery!
Buy the album here:
https://hellripper.lnk.to/WarlocksGrim
8 / 10
ABSTRAKT_SOUL_