Posts Tagged ‘Hellripper’

Listen: ‘If You Found This It’s Probably Too Late’ by Hellripper

Posted: 20 October 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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Scotland’s ibex-obsessed blackened thrash bastards of Hades otherwise known as Hellripper continue to globally promote their fourth studio album Coronach which was released via Century Media Records earlier this year.

Next up, Hellripper are embarking on a first complete North American tour in October/November and in order to whet the appetite for the upcoming activities, Hellripper have already released a digital double-single with the cover versions of Seattle’s legendary speed-metal-punks Zeke of the tracks ‘Let’s Get Drugs’ and ‘Mainline’. Hellripper have now also unleashed a blackened metal reimagining of an Arctic Monkeys B-side track ‘If You Found This It’s Probably Too Late’.

Hellripper’s mastermind, guitarist/vocalist and songwriter James McBain comments on the Arctic Monkeys cover song as follows: “I wanted to record something that would perhaps be a little unexpected, and this Arctic Monkeys B-side was screaming for the Hellripper treatment. It may be kind of surprising to some, but they’re one of my all time favourite bands, and though it may not be immediately evident in my music, they have always greatly influenced how I approach songwriting and production. Enjoy!”

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Hellripper – Live:

MO 26.10.2026 Roseville, CA (USA) – Goldfield Trading Post ^

TU 27.10.2026 Berkeley, CA (USA) – Cornerstone Berkeley ^

WE 28.10.2026 Los Angeles, CA (USA) – The Regent Theater ^

TH 29.10.2026 Fresno, CA (USA) – Strummer’s ^

FR 30.10.2026 Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Backstage Bar Billiards ^

SA 31.10.2026 Mesa. AZ (USA) – Nile Theater ^

MO 02.11.2026 Dallas, TX (USA) – AM/FM ^

TU 03.11.2026 Austin, TX (USA) – Come and Take it Live ^

WE 04.11.2026 Houston, TX (USA) – Warehouse Live Midtown ^

FR 06.11.2026 Atlanta, GA (USA) – Masquerade (Hell) ^

SA 07.11.2026 Nashville, TN (USA) – Basement East ^

SU 08.11.2026 Asheville, NC (USA) – Eulogy ^

MO 09.11.2026 Richmond, VA (USA) – Canal Club ^

WE 11.11.2026 Baltimore, MD (USA) – Baltimore Soundstage ^

TH 12.11.2026 Harrisburg, PA (USA) – Capital City Music Hall ^

FR 13.11.2026 Boston, MA (USA) – Brighton Music Hall ^

SA 14.11.2026 New York, NY (USA) – Racket ^

SU 15.11.2026 Lakewood, OH (USA) – Mercury Music Lounge ^

TU 17.11.2026 Detroit, MI (USA) – Catacombs at the Sanctuary ^

WE 18.11.2026 Chicago, IL (USA) – Reggies ^

TH 19.11.2026 Kansas City, MO (USA) – Recordbar ^

FR 20.11.2026 Denver, CO (USA) – Gothic Theatre ^

——————

WE 25.11.2026 Montreal, QC (Canada) – Piranha Bar

TH 26.11.2026 Quebec, QC (Canada) – La Source De La Martinière

FR 27.11.2026 Ottawa, ON (Canada) – Dominion Tavern

SA 28.11.2026 Toronto, ON (Canada) – Supermarket Bar & Variety

——————

SA 09.01.2027 Mangualde (Portugal) – Mangualde Hardmetalfest

TH 14.01.2027 Rio De Janeiro (Brazil) – Experience Music

FR 15.01 2027 Curitiba (Brazil) – Basement Cultural

SA 16.01.2027 Sao Paulo (Brazil) – Burning House

SU 17.01.2027 Belo Horizonte (Brazil) – Caverna

TU 19.01.2027 Buenos Aires (Argentina) – Uniclub

WE 20.01.2027 Santiago (Chile) – Sala RBX

TH 21.01.2027 Lima (Peru) – Vichama Conciertos

SA 23.01.2027 Bogota (Colombia) – Ace of Spades

SU 24.01.2027 Quito (Ecuador) – Necronik

TU 26.01.2027 San Jose (Costa Rica) – Amon Solar

TH 28.01.2027 Monterrey (Mexico) – Cafe Iguana

FR 29.01.2027 Hermosillo (Mexico) – London Pub

SA 30.01.2027 Tijuana (Mexico) – Dragón Rojo

SU 31.01.2027 Mexico City (Mexico) – Circo Volador

——————

SA 13.03.2027 Eindhoven (The Netherlands) – Dynamo / Welcome To Hell Festival

TH-SU 25-28.03.2027 Oslo (Norway) – Inferno Festival

FR-SA 28-29.05.2027 Kirchdorf bei Haag (Germany) – Bavarian Battle Open Air

FR-SA 28-29.05.2027 Buchenbach (Germany) – Boarstream Open Air Festival

TH-SA 03-05.06.2027 Stykkisholmur (Iceland) – Satan Festival

FR-SU 11-13.06.2027 Leeuwarden (The Netherlands) – Into the Grave Festival

FR-SA 23-24.07.2027 Freißenbüttel (Germany) – Burning Q Festival

TH-SA 26-28.08.2027 Næstved (Denmark) – Næstved Metalfest

^ w/ Havok

And many more shows to be announced soon!

AA

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Hellripper – Coronach

Posted: 3 May 2026 in Albums, Reviews
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Century Media – 27th March 2026

Christopher Nosnibor

Pentagram-shaped goat heads adorn Hellripper’s website and Bandcamp. “All hail the goat” is a band slogan of sorts, and is emblazoned on the body of the compact disc, which depicts a goat in an approximation of a lion rampant stance, thus combining James McBain’s strongly Scottish identity (the album comes in ‘Wild Thistle’ pink, ‘Saltaire’ blue, ;’Highland Mist’ grey and ‘Black Cuillin’ vinyl editions’ and Baphomet, adopted as something of a mascot within the black metal community since the dawn of the genre with Venom’s Black Metal in 1982, and Bathory’s genre-defining eponymous debut in ’84. there’s a giant goat forged from mist and cloud on the moody, mountainous cover art, too.

The ‘one-man black/speed metal band formed by Scottish musician James McBain in 2014’ has been crowned ‘Scotland’s King of the arcane mosh’ by Metal Hammer magazine, with a style which is very much rooted in 80s black metal, and, as the Hellripper website states, ‘heavily inspired by witchcraft and the supernatural, Hellripper is also deeply rooted in its Scottish origins, using the landscape and historical events as a backdrop for its lyrics and imagery’.

Coronach is Hellripper’s fourth full-length album, and features eight riff-ripping songs with a total run time of forty-four solo-centric minutes. The instant ‘Hunderprest’ powers in at a hundred miles an hour, McBain is straight in with the flamboyant fretwork, and some of it is just wildly excessive. ‘Less is more’ is not a motto Hellripper abide by. But the riffs themselves are killer, and she snarling, rasping vocals may be of the genre, but add to the gnarliness of the dark whirlwinds which blast through each and every song. The pace is relentlessly fast and furious and the style cohesive throughout.

That said, as much as I say that this is ‘of the genre’, Coronach does show ambition and awareness when it comes to composition and arrangement: ‘The Art of Resurrection’ starts with a delicate, atmospheric piano passage, while the title track includes Sir Walter Scott’s poem of the same title (Scott was Scottish) and bagpipes (of course).

‘Baobhan Sith (Waltz of the Damned)’, the first of the album’s two bona fide epics, with a span of six and a half minutes, rounds of the first half, and with the fancy fretwork reined in (a bit, at least) in favour of driving riffery, it’s a powerful, pounding beast of a tune, while the title track, which draws the curtain on the album, is a towering, monumental nine-minute monster which goes all-out anthemic and which flies the flag of tartan black metal with pride.

AA

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Watch: ‘Coronach’ by Hellripper

Posted: 10 February 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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Scotland’s ibex-obsessed blackened thrash bastards of Hades otherwise known as Hellripper are pleased to share another new song off their upcoming, fourth studio album Coronach, to be released worldwide on March 27th, 2026 via Century Media Records.

Check out the epic album’s title track ‘Coronach’ in a lyric video created by Irvan Dionisi / Theblackvisual.id here:

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Hellripper’s mastermind, guitarist/vocalist and songwriter James McBain checked in with the following comment about the upcoming album’s title track ‘Coronach’, which also closes the album:

“A coronach is a vocal lament traditionally performed at funerals in the Scottish highlands. Intertwined with my own words is the poem of the same name by Sir Walter Scott, which served as an inspiration for this story: the funeral of an ambivalent and mysterious figure, revered by his community for his heroic deeds but whose life hid many dark secrets. As well as lyrically, the track is also a musical experiment for me; it was primarily influenced by late 80’s thrash metal along with bands like Bathory, Gallowbraid and Atlantean Kodex. A dash of post-punk, a fair amount of Iron Maiden-style guitar harmonies, some classical references and the haunting wail of the bagpipes fading in the distance: this song feels like the perfect farewell to the album”.

Hellripper

Hellripper – Live:

SA 21.03.2026 Aalst (Belgium) – Oilsjt Omploft Festival

FR 27.03.2026 Glasgow (Scotland) – Garage *

SA 28.03.2026 Bern (Switzerland) – EmMetal Festival

FR 03.04.2026 Nottingham (England) – Saltbox **

SA 04.04.2026 London (England) – The Dome **

MO 06.04.2026 Utrecht (Netherlands) – De Helling ***

TU 07.04.2026 Dortmund (Germany) – Junkyard  ***

WE 08.04.2026 Hamburg (Germany) – Logo ***

TH 09.04.2026 Copenhagen (Denmark) – Pumpehuset ***

FR 10.04.2026 Berlin (Germany) – Lido ***

SA 11.04.2026 Warsaw (Poland) – Voodoo ***

SU 12.04.2026 Kraków (Poland) – Zascianek ***

MO 13.04.2026 Vienna (Austria) – Arena ***

TU 14.04.2026 Budapest (Hungary) – Dürer Kert ***

WE 15.04.2026 Munich (Germany) – Backstage ***

TH 16.04.2026 Prague (Czechia) – Subzero ***

FR 17.04.2026 Mannheim (Germany) – 7er Club ***

SA 18.04.2026 Paris (France) – Glazart ***

TH 14.05.2026 Mexico City (Mexico) – Foro La Piedad

FR 15.05.2026 Guadalajara (Mexico) – Anexa Independencia

SA-SU 16.-17.05.2026 San Luis Potosi (Mexico) – San Luis Metal Fest

TU 02.06.2026 Athens (Greece) – Kyttaro ^

WE 03.06.2026 Thessaloniki (Greece) – Eightball Club ^

FR 05.06.2026 Emmen (Netherlands) – Pitfest

SA 06.06.2026 Maastricht (Netherlands) – South of Heaven Open Air

SA 13.06.2026 Hauptmannsgrün (Germany) – Chronical Moshers Open Air

TH-SA 25.-27.06.2026 Ukmergė (Lithuania) – Kilkim Žaibu

SA 27.06.2026 Campania (Italy) – Southammer Metal Festival

FR 03.07.2026 Villava (Spain) – Sala Totem Aretoa +

TU 07.07.2026 Zaragoza (Spain) – Teatro de las Esquinas +

WE 08.07.2026 Toulouse (France) – Le Bikini +

TH 13.08.2026 Carhaix-plouguer (France) – Motocultor Festival

TH 03.09.2026 Košice (Slovakia) – Collosseum Club

FR 04.09.2026 Ostrava (Czechia) – Metal!!! Festival

SA 12.09.26 Verona (Italy) – Arcanum Fest

SA 26.09.26 Hinte (Germany) – Coast Rock Festival

SA 09.01.2027 Mangualde (Portugal) – Mangualde Hardmetalfest

* w/ Sarcator

** w/ Schizophrenia

*** w/ Schizophrenia & Sarcator

^ w/ Midnight

+ w/ Testament

Watch: ‘The Nuckelavee’ by Hellripper

Posted: 9 December 2022 in Recommended Streams and Videos
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When it comes to high octane melodic black/speed metal, there’s no doing it by halves: commit to this shit or go home. James McBain’s blackened thrash outfit are all in, and ‘The Nuckelavee’ , the lead track from forthcoming third album, Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags tells you everything you need to know in just shy of six minutes. Get your lugs round it here:

Hellripper – Live

Hellripper will be supporting the release of their new album with live shows & festivals throughout 2023 – so far they have confirmed the following with more to be announced

11 February – The Flying Duck – Glasgow, Scotland (UK)

11 March – Welcome to Hell Fest – Eindhoven, Netherlands (EU)

30 June – Pitfest 2023 – Emmen, Netherlands (EU)

5 July – Obscene Extreme Festival 2023 – Trutnov, Czech Republic (EU

27 July – Goldgrube – Kassel, Germany (EU)

28 – 29 July- Burning Q Festival 2023 – Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Germany (EU)

21 October – Derby Alt Fest 2023 – Derby, England (UK)

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Pic: MM Photography

Listen: ‘The Affair Of The Poisons’ by Hellripper

Posted: 27 September 2020 in Recommended Streams and Videos
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Hellripper have released a new single and the title track from their forthcoming album entitled “The Affair Of The Poisons”.

Having revealed the theme of the album through the release of “Spectres of the Blood Moon Sabbath” and their last single “Vampire’s Grave”, based on true life events from Glasgow in 1954,  Hellripper continues to explore the historical dark & insidious underworld of witchcraft and the occult.

James MacBain explains the inspiration for ‘The Affair Of The Poisons’ “the song takes inspiration from a series of events that occurred in 17th Century France. Possession, witchcraft, child sacrifice & poisonings were at the heart of a large-scale investigation conducted during the reign of the Sun King (Louis XIV) after an extensive plot was unearthed within the court of Versailles, targeting members of the aristocracy and the King himself in order to gain power and influence; the scandal exploded when it was revealed that the royal favourite herself was partaking in black masses and had allegedly poisoned a younger rival to win back the King’s favour.

Listen to ‘The Affair of the Poisons’ here:

AA

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Hellripper – Vampire’s Grave

Posted: 16 August 2020 in Singles and EPs
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14th August 2014 – Peaceville

James Wells

The second single from forthcoming album The Affair Of The Poisons, ‘Vampire’s Grave’ follows ‘Spectres of the Blood Moon Sabbath’ and, as the press release points out, ‘continues to explore the themes within the new album – the dark & insidious underworld witchcraft and the occult’ (just in case the cover art didn’t give enough of a clue).

Blending real-life crime with occultism, (the track is based on a real-life event that took place in Glasgow, Scotland in 1954, specifically the tale of the ‘Gorbals Vampire’, where over the course of a few nights in 1954, hundreds of young children descended upon the Glasgow Necropolis armed with stakes and crosses in search of a large, vampiric creature with blood red eyes that they believed was responsible for killing and devouring kids with its iron fangs), it’s pitched as being for fans of Venom, Kreator, Sabbat [JPN] and Metallica.

With its high-octane guitar and speed riffage propelled by thunderous drumming, it sounds more like Mötörhead fronted by Quorthorn, a pounding speed-punk riffery topped by a demonic, rasping snarl. It’s full-throttle, it’s dense, and it’s pretty bloody brutal – just as you’d want.

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The Affair Of The Poisons will be released on CD, LP, cassette and digital through Peaceville on 9th October and is available to pre-order now HERE

Sadly, their autumn European tour with Midnight has been cancelled due to the on-going covid-19 issues but they are still looking forward to three headline shows in the UK.

Headline UK shows

22.10.20 – London, The Black Heart

23.10.20 – Leeds, Boom

24.10.20 – Glasgow, Nice ‘N’ Sleazy

Watch: ‘Spectres of the Blood Moon Sabbath’ lyric video by Hellripper

Posted: 22 June 2020 in Recommended Streams and Videos
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There’s something inherently naff, and often vaguely comical, about the current vogue for lyric videos, although right now, they do actually make sense, and this effort from lords of gnarly thrash Hellripper is a belter.

“Spectres of the Blood Moon Sabbath” sets the scene for the new album as its themes primarily revolve around the dark & insidious underworld witchcraft and the occult, with some tracks being based on historical events. The single unfurls in an infernal storm of heavy blackened thrash. James McBain, Hellripper mainman comments “this was one of the first tracks written for the album and has a definite “rock ‘n’ roll” feel to it with its bouncy rhythm & a Motörhead or TANK vibe, and it is one of two songs on the album where Joseph (live guitarist) performed lead guitar”.

Watch the video here: