Hellripper - Coagulating Darkness

Artist: Hellripper
Release Title: Coagulating Darkness
Year: 2017
Label: Barbarian Wrath
Genre: Black/Thrash (Speed) Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Bastard of Hades
2. Anneliese
3. Demdike (In League with the Devil)
4. Within the Everlasting Hellfire
5. From Hell
6. Black Invocation
7. Conduit Closing
8. Coagulating Darkness

Storming out of the underground in 2014, Scottish one-man black/speed metal project Hellripper is a part of the vast catelog of quality projects created by James McBain to spread his strong musical voice to the masses through the variety of these projects. After numerous highly-praised splits and EP releases, the full-length debut was initially released April 14, 2017 on Barbarian Wrath.

Much like previous efforts, once again this one offers a full-scale assault of their previous assault of blackened fiery speed metal in a more professional setting. Built around even more of the fiery riff-work, the stylish leads and frantic outbursts that were apparent on their previous outings only taken to a more glossy sheen, it brings out even more dynamic intricacies in the bombastic riffing as the relentless energy continually pouring out. The volley of tight riffing featured here creates such a whirlwind of vicious, high-energy speeds that bounce along at truly engaging speeds that it makes for a far more engaging experience with the remainder of the instrumentation following suit on the thrashing within each of the tracks. That each of the tracks here feature such a ferocious energy and fiery performances is all the more impressive due to the project being a solo endeavor, and that all helps to create an engaging and exciting experience. The fact that the album is just so brief and could use a little more to enhance the experience is about the only downfall here, making this one seem to be over before it’s really getting started and contains so much quality material within that a little more time and exposure to this kind of quality would’ve been appreciated. Otherwise, this is truly an engaging and explosive offering.

Really, the fact that we need more tracks here as the experience is so much fun and really over before it really should’ve been being the only flaw found here is what makes this one a no-doubt purchase for fans of dark, ravenous thrash, black/thrash metal in general or fans of his other projects.

Score: 98/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
https://hellripper.bandcamp.com/album/coagulating-darkness

Demonic Obedience - Nocturnal Hymns to the Fallen

Artist: Demonic Obedience
Release Title: Nocturnal Hymns to the Fallen
Year: 2016
Label: Satanath Records/Sevared Records
Genre: Death/Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Create the Shapeless
2. Portal of the Sacred Kan
3. Forced Obscenity
4. Impermissible Irreverence Pt. 1
5. Nocturnal Imagery
6. Godmade Beast
7. Impermissible Irreverence Pt. 2
8. Gehenna

Now finding residence in Scotland, Greece-based one-man death/black metallers Demonic Obedience have brought their intensity and explosive fury to the forefront while trying to hold a connection to both places involving the projects’ residency. Taking a two-year gap between releases, the second full-length album was originally released May 18, 2016 in a co-release between Sevared Records and Satanath Records.

Combining their styles into one wholesale effect, this here manages to take on quite a few elements of each element here into creating a dark whole. That is primarily based around the album’s predominantly dark, churning riff-work that keeps this one charging along with plenty of ferocious death metal-styled rhythms as the majority of the tracks fall into agonized sprawling patterns or thumping chugs which keep the focus of the album firmly rooted in the death metal realm. The tighter, blackened rhythms featured here top off this effect with a stylized sense of controlled fury that accentuates the darkened atmosphere rather well as it  keeps alternating rather nicely between these variations and offers the album quite a generally positive experience by not getting bogged down in the one-note approach so many efforts who attempt this style also make. Flying between faster, more up-tempo numbers with churning riffing alongside the slower, more agonized sprawling sections does manage to give this a distinct variety within itself, but it also manages to highlight the fact that there’s not a whole lot of differentiability within the tracks themselves, which tend to focus on the same few select rhythms within here and never changes the overall rhythms or approaches here, ending up causing the album to run together quite easily here especially in the second half where it’s entirely possible to lose where you are in the running order as the tracks have already yielded their surprises and don’t really offer the surprise variations that were featured in the top half. Otherwise there’s not a whole lot to dislike here.

Though it’s quite familiar and tends to run itself into the ground without much variation throughout here, there’s still such a prominent and powerful attack at the core of the film that it manages to overcome a lot of those issues and manages to hold itself up enough to make for a worthwhile choice for any fan of the style or his previous works as well.

Score: 82/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat149-demonic-obedience-nocturnal-hymns-to-the-fallen-2016