Hellripper announce new album ‘Coronach’

January 16, 2026 James Weaver

HELLRIPPER have announced a brand new album!

The Scottish blackened thrash project led by James McBain will release Coronach on March 27th, 2026 via Century Media Records. The record is the follow-up to 2023’s Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags and continues McBain’s personal exploration of Scottish history, music, literature and folklore.

Written, recorded and mixed by McBain at Coronach Studios in Scotland and mastered by Damien Herring at Subterranean Watchtower Studios, the album features artwork by Adam Burke (Nightjar Illustration).

Speaking about the upcoming album, band mastermind James McBain shares, “Coronach is a personal exploration of Scottish Culture – its music, literature, history & folklore. From Pictish mysteries to Victorian Gothic literature, sinister lore, classic Scottish poetry and modern urban tales, the album tells stories of the country throughout the ages. Inspired by anything and everything from VENOM and MERCYFUL FATE, to WATAIN and OPETH, to MANIC STREET PREACHERS, film scores and traditional Scottish music, the album is a good representation of myself all wrapped up in a nice speed metal package!

Quite a bit of experimentation went into this album, and I wanted each track to contain something that I had never done previously. Whether it be the inclusion of a different instrument, or how a song begins, I aimed to offer some element of surprise in each track. The album, named after the vocal lament traditionally sung at funerals in the Scottish Highlands, encompasses everything the band is about: mixing modern and old-school influences, past and present storytelling, the dark side of Scottish history and my personal interpretation of it. As always, the writing and recording took place in my home studio, with various other people putting their stamp on a few of the tracks. The album was mixed by myself, and was mastered by Damian Herring at Subterranean Watchtower Studios, and the artwork was done by Adam Burke (Nightjar Illustration). Fàilte gu Alba – Welcome to Scotland!”

Alongside the announcement, HELLRIPPER have released the album’s opening track Hunderprest, accompanied by a video filmed at Damnation Festival 2025 by Sethpicturesmusic and edited by Jake Ten. The new song is the second single to be released from the upcoming album, following on from Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite).

Speaking about the new single, McBain comments on Hunderprest, “Hunderprest, hits immediately with a chaotic deluge of dissonance, and is what I felt to be the perfect way to open the album — leaving the listener with no time to prepare. Based on the legend of Hunderprest, or “dog priest” – the vampire of Melrose Abbey. The sinful chaplain inherited his nickname because of his habit of hunting on horseback with his pack of hounds.

After his death, legend says he was buried in the graveyard of Melrose Abbey; and because his spirit could not find peace, he would rise from his grave when night fell to harass the villagers and his former mistress to satisfy his bloodthirst. He was eventually defeated when a group of monks from Melrose Abbey exhumed Hunderprest’s blood-soaked body in broad daylight and set it on fire, throwing the ashes into the wind to be sure that the vampire would no longer be able to torment the town. Musically, the track primarily takes influence from a mixture of thrash (KREATOR, MERCILESS, METALLICA) and black (WATAIN, ROTTING CHRIST, TRIBULATION) metal, with a healthy dose of some more “atmospheric” d-beat elements from the likes of OATHBREAKER and FALL OF EFRAFA.”

Watch the official music video for Hunderprest here: