For Week Ending:
29 April 2023

Hellripper - Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags (2023)

[Speed Metal]

Speed metal with just a touch of black has been getting quite a following across Europe in the last few years. Hellripper is a one man unit out of Scotland that leans a little more on the black side than most, rasping away though these blazing songs like a demon on a motorcycle. The guitar tones are tasty, with a 80s feel (but a modern sounding production), and the whole album makes you want to throw your horns up in the air and shout the dark lord's name. There is plenty of vintage Slayer and Megadeth here, but it also drips with a dark swagger that only bands like Darkthrone can usually pull off. It isn't just old-school worship though as so many other more recent bands like Warbringer also come to mind. The solos shred and are reminiscent of the leads on faster Maiden, and if this doesn't get your metalhead ass out of the chair leaping around the room - nothing else will.