The very first time I encountered HELLRIPPER is when I saw them play live at Dynamo Metal Fest in 2025. They were by far the most energetic band of the whole weekend and made a lasting impression during that show. Yes, you may scold me for not having heard anything of them before then. Well, that ail has been remedied since then, and I have had a chance to listen to the albums that have been released before now. What I like as an OCD man is that bandleader James McBain has a certain preference of time when it comes to recording and releasing records. As in everything happens with three year intervals. HELLRIPPER started life in 2014, the debut album "Coagulating Darkness" was available in 2017 whilst the sophomore album "The Affair Of The Poison" came to us in 2020. Another three years later it was time for "Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags", and now again three years down the line , we are served with "Coronach".

The combination of Speed Metal with Black Metal works for HELLRIPPER, but I have to say that none of the albums as a whole have made the same impression on me as the band did when I saw them live. That doesn't tell you that the albums are bad. On the contrary, they are all quite good, but they just can't live up to the live experience. What I also find is that for me the faster songs and bits work better musically than the slower parts do. That's when it feels like "Coronach" really comes alive, when you are being sucked into whatever the band is trying to tell you. And again, the slower songs are just as strong, but just don't have the same kind of impact as the faster ones have. But it's good that HELLRIPPER is combining all of the elements and speeds they are playing at and with, as it does add variety and spice to what might have become a one-sided album.

To me "Coronach" is an album that is exactly right for HELLRIPPER. The band needs to be able to vary more in their intensity and expand their musical horizon, in order to prevent the band being one of those who keeps repeating themselves. I think that bandleader James McBain has made the right decisions in order make it possible for the band to keep progressing. And by writing and recording very good songs he has made the best possible next step with "Coronach". I know that I am very interested in finding out what happens next with HELLRIPPER. Live as well as in the studio. About the latter, we'll speak again in three years (if he keeps his schedule up).