LIVE REVIEW: Hellripper @ The Garage, Glasgow
Goat kvlt, unite! Scotland’s own black thrash attack HELLRIPPER are back in Glasgow. Tonight’s show at The Garage marks solo artist James McBain‘s largest headlining concert to date, unsurprisingly considering all of the band’s prior Scotland headliners have sold out. Today, he also releases his fourth album Coronach, so there’s no shortage of reasons to nab a ticket.
SARCATOR hail from that sanctuary of black thrash, Sweden. Formed in 2018, the quartet has discharged three full-lengths and already bagged a spot on Century Media‘s roster. This is their debut outing to the UK, and judging by the audience’s reaction, they do a fantastic job at entertaining them and spawning crowd surfers. Let’s face it – metal is an ageing genre of music, so it’s refreshing to see a youthful band with bundles of energy in a busy room. Their neckbreakingly ferocious headbanging (which must be whittling away their cartilage) and making full use of the spacious stage effectively demonstrate their enthusiasm for playing live.
Their tunes are a coupling of AURA NOIR and DESTRUCTION, oscillating the needle closer to thrash or black metal in a song’s progression. Their sound is liberated by borrowing from contemporary metal, setting them apart from the slavish ’80s worship common in this subgenre. This also arms them with an abundance of variety, maintaining The Garage’s collective attention. Songs like the calmer, heavy metal-inspired Grave Maggot Future, the punk-smeared Perdition’s Hand and the longer, slower The Long Lost show off a band with lots to say. A cover of their compatriot crust punk ANTI CIMEX‘s Dogfight goes down with the audience like a banquet to a beggar. All of these aural assaults are accompanied by crystal sound. This is a paradigm performance of what young bands can hope to replicate in the live theatre.
Rating: 8/10
This crowded room of metalheads is appropriately sauced by the time Aberdeen’s greatest metal export, HELLRIPPER, lines up on stage. Instantly, James McBain and his hired guns kick things up to eleven by opening with the MIDNIGHT-worship of All Hail the Goat. Sordid riffs, fire-starting solos and accelerated drums formulate one of the headliner’s finest anthems. The results spark a rapacious pit and audacious crowd surfers. Another ode to MIDNIGHT follows with Hell’s Rock ‘n’ Roll, perfectly crafted for the devilish concert experience. As today marks the release of HELLRIPPER‘s fourth album, Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite) is the first new song they air. Named after a historic clan’s war cry, this track builds on the MIDNIGHT, VENOM and SABBAT foundation but with refreshing, introspective heavy metal influence, culminating in a catchy chorus.
Two other new songs – Hunderprest and Mortercheyn – are served, with the urgency, melodic atmosphere and savagery of the former striking particularly hard. The fresh numbers expand McBain‘s pool of influences, yanking from melodic death, goth and more heavy metal infusions. Older speed metal tracks, Within Everlasting Hellfire and The Affair of the Poisons, detonate on the crowd with their machine gun tremolo riffing. The Nuckalavee is a prominent highlight of the night, demanding one of the more frenetic responses from the attendees. McBain has the audience in the palm of his hand. Making use of all three microphone stands gives him more movement than other guitarist-vocalists. In between songs, he’s chatty and conversational, easily squeezing a few laughs from the punters. Usual live bassist Andy Milburn has been replaced by Edinburgh thrashers DISPOSABLE bassist Billy Robertson, who does a fine job.
The only real downside of this show is when the band decides to cover Mainline by the hardcore band ZEKE. While the cover is serviceable, it’s not better than another HELLRIPPER song, and even the audience drops their intensity. However, enthusiasm wrecks the roof when Bastard of Hades is aired out, with Jack Batcharj from DISPOSABLE providing guest vocals. The chorus of SLAYER‘s classic Angel of Death is inserted into the composition for more hype. After what feels like a manic set, HELLRIPPER and his live line-up leave, only to return for a muscular encore of Demdike (In League with the Devil), spewing forth crusty BATHORY and TOXIC HOLOCAUST-inspired riffage. This is a marvellous way to launch a new album, and hopefully the start of a successful global tour from arguably Scotland’s best modern metal act.
Rating: 8/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Glasgow from Duncan McCall here:
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